Bill Gates said it best waaaay back in 1996: “Content is king.” He predicted in what was the Dark Ages of the interwebs that content is where the “real” money could be made on the internet, which people back then thought was a pretty looney-tunes notion. Turns out… good ol’ Bill was RIGHT, which is exactly why your business needs a blog, even if you’re not in the influencer or digital content space.
See, blogging isn’t just a fun way to share your new favorite makeup and accessories. (Although, that’s a spin some people take on it, and that’s cool, too!) Blogging actually has a bunch of valuable benefits for businesses of all kinds, whether you offer physical products or digital services, and anything in between!
When you blog, you create a multitasking space that generates buzz, boosts SEO, builds authority, allows for connection, and humanizes your brand—among other benefits—all in one place, all for a low (or no!) cost.
Sound too dreamy to be real life? It’s not! So let’s walk through some of the very best benefits of blogging and exactly why your business needs a blog.
01. Blogging creates brand authority.
You probably know more than a little somethin’-somethin’ about your industry, don’t you? You wouldn’t be selling products and services in your field if you didn’t! And blogging is a prime way to take that knowledge and share it with your ideal audience and clientele for free to begin building trust with them.
When you blog about topics that answer the questions your target audience is wondering, and in an interesting way, you position yourself as an authority in your field. In fact, 60% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading content on its website according to financial resource Taxoo.
So, if you’ve been looking for a way to stand out and gain some recognition as an expert in your industry… blogging is it.
02. Having a blog drives long-term traffic to your website.
The incredible thing about blog content is that when it’s centered on topics people will always be searching for, it will continue driving traffic to your website. The more blog content you create, the more opportunities to show up in search engines.
Of course, honing your SEO strategy will help your blog content shine and direct organic traffic to your website. For starters, always Google a new blog post’s headline and see what kinds of phrases come up repeatedly in your search. Try to weave those words and phrases (aka, SEO keywords) into your own post organically to boost your own ranking.
RELATED: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to SEO: How-to, Hacks, and Tricks to Get Traffic
03. Increase your blog traffic by improving internal and inbound linking.
Inbound linking is when other websites link to yours, while internal linking is where you link to your own website and posts within your own content. BOTH can get a little caboose-boost with a regular blogging practice because your content will be showing up more regularly in searches, which means more eyes will be on your website. Companies with blogs actually get 97% more inbound links than those that don’t… I mean, dang.
Internal links are pretty obvious. When you write a post, simply try to link back to another related blog post or some other content on your website. Not only will you keep people on your site longer, but internal links are fabulous for boosting SEO. (And so are inbound links!)
04. Blogging can fuel your social media content.
Whether you share a relevant blog post with your LinkedIn or Facebook followers and ask for feedback, or take a part of a blog post to use as a caption on Instagram, blog posts are rampant with opportunities to repurpose on social media.
Think about it: Blogs are original content written in your brand voice to answer a question of your target audience. All you have to do is pick out snippets that work best on short-form social media channels, copy, paste, and hit publish. Easiest content plan ever, and it’s content that your followers will actually care to read.
RELATED: 3 Secrets to Creating Content that COUNTS
05. Running a blog allows interaction between you and your audience.
This might be one of the very best reasons to blog. It’s a place to connect and start conversations with your audience! While social media is a great place to do this, too, you can’t share thoughts, information, and resources in quite the same way on social media. Blogging is a long-form medium that allows you to educate, inspire, entertain, and empower readers to take action or get involved in some way.
That means calls to action (or “CTAs”) are key to making your blogging journey effective! If you write a think-piece on a controversial or important topic, invite your readers to share their own thoughts with a strong CTA. It could be as simple as, “Leave your thoughts on this topic below in a comment — I would LOVE to hear from you!”
06. Blogging boosts leads, email list growth, and sales.
You can think of blog posts as a first step in your sales funnel. Someone searches a topic you’ve written about, lands on your blog, and then what? You should have ample opportunities for them to continue their journey with your brand.
That could look like reading more free content in the form of a related blog post. It could look like a pop-up inviting them to join your email list in exchange for a freebie that they’d find interesting. Or it could be inviting them to a webinar or a sales page for an offer that they’d find useful.
I hope you see that blogging isn’t just a forum to share your woes and musings. While you can certainly weave in some opinions and personality, it’s not JUST an online journal! Your business needs a blog because blogging attracts traffic organically and then leads those readers to more helpful resources, offers, and content. It’s a helpful way to kick off a relationship with your target audience and begin building the trust needed for them to buy from you eventually!
Head here for the 3 Secrets to Creating Content that Counts.
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