Why You Need a Business Blog

Why You Need a Business Blog

The only way to grow your business is to gain more customers or to increase sales. Depending on your industry, that can be a challenging proposition. Consumers now tend to ignore many traditional advertisement channels, such as television and direct mail, in favor of less invasive forms of communication.

Fortunately, the digital world in which we live provides businesses with plenty of opportunities to increase visibility and reach new customers. A key way to naturally put your brand in front of new audiences and to nurture existing relationships is to start a business blog.

According to research conducted by digital marketing firm Demand Metric, 68% of consumers spend time reading about brands, and 80% like to learn about a company through custom content, such as blogs. Better yet, 60% of people will seek out a product after reading content about it.

However, Writing a business blog is quite different from starting or maintaining a personal blog. While there are many best practices, there are four key things you’ll need to be aware of before starting a blog for your company.

Rules to Follow When Starting a Business Blog

1.  

   1. Nail the Right Blog Topics

      If you’ve ever come across a viral video or meme through social media, you’ve witnessed the power of content in action. While very few pieces of content achieve this meteoric fame, any successful business blog will start with the same premise: filling an audience need.

      There are several ways to determine what your audience wants to hear. One is to do some keyword research on topics related to your industry and see what topics and ideas are trending. Google Trends, BuzzSumo and AnswerThePublic are just a few available tools to help you isolate popular topics.

      However, while it is important to address the common questions related to your industry, don’t forget to dig a little deeper into the unanswered questions. Topics that no one is addressing could boost traffic to your business blog and make your company stand out next to your competitors.

      Also, don’t forget the expertise within your own company when seeking blog ideas. Sales leaders are in touch with potential customers on a daily basis and know what they want to hear. Other industry executives within your company will also be aware of the pain points and challenges customers are facing, providing you with a springboard for generating blog topics.

   2. Consistency Is Key

      When launching a blog, you’re committing to a lo endeavor. It can take time to build an audience and a following, but you’ll quickly lose that momentum if you don’t follow a regular publishing schedule.

      For best results, release your blogs on the same days and times. To ensure you can follow through, write several posts before launching your blog, and then continue to write regularly. It’s important to have a queue of posts ready to publish on the established dates.

      Consistency is also important when it comes to the tone or voice of your blog. Your audience will come to expect a certain style from your brand. Changing that midstream could result in lost followers.

   3. Continuously Evaluate Your Efforts

      While topic research is vital to identifying ideas for your blog, it is also important to monitor your efforts. Continuously evaluating the effectiveness of your published blogs will provide you with insights that will help you improve your content marketing outcomes. 

      One of the most important factors to measure is traffic to your blog. Posts that receive higher levels of traffic are filling a need within your audience. Consider publishing more content on topics related to those posts, maybe expanding into more niche segments.

   4. Make Sure Your Efforts Are Professional

      78% of consumers would rather get to know a brand through quality, engaging content than through ads. When reading that statement, let’s put the emphasis on quality. That means your blog needs to be both insightful and well written.

      If you aren’t an experienced writer, and no one within your organization fits the bill, consider partnering with a freelance writer to create your blog posts. Developing a lo relationship with a single writer helps to ensure consistency in tone and style. It also gives the writer a chance to get to know your brand to create more detailed insights. 

      When looking for a writer, consider checking LinkedIn. Most professionals will have their profile on this professional networking site. Word of mouth is another way to locate a talented writer, by relying on the guidance from trusted colleagues.

      Either way, once you’ve identified some writers, be sure to ask for samples of written work. This is the best way to ensure that the writer is capable of producing quality content that fits your brand.

Benefits of Launching a Business Blog

While launching a professional business blog can take consistent effort, the results have proven well worth it. For one thing, having a blog gives your website a boost in search engine rankings. According to research, the presence of a blog results in 434% more indexed pages, meaning your website is far more likely to be found by consumers searching for terms related to your products and services.

However, there are some less tangible benefits that could really give your brand a boost. Businesses with a blog build industry recognition and status as a thought leader. This level of authority can help your brand build relationships with key buyers, as 53% of decision makers spend an hour or more reading content produced by thought leaders. 

Having regular blog posts at the ready could also help you expand your company’s media presence, by providing you with topics or content that you could pitch to media outlets. Getting published with industry publications not only boosts your exposure but helps to cement your reputation as a thought leader.

Last, blog posts can also provide you with fodder for additional content. The information provided in a post can be turned into an infographic, for example, or provide fuel for a social media campaign.

Given the importance of content to a strategic marketing strategy, launching a blog is one of the easiest ways to engage with audiences and develop relationships that could later lead to new sales.