Why Your Small Business Needs a Blog
Why bother blogging? You have a million things on your plate when you run a business or organization. Why should you spend more of your valuable time on something like blogging for your business? Creating a blog can help position yourself in your industry, attract new customers or donors, and expand the reach of your business. Here are a few of the ways including a blog on your website will help your business grow.
Search engine optimization
As a freelance writer, it’s common for me to see the term SEO tossed into job postings that are seeking entry-level writers to work for pennies. The problem is, Search Engine Optimization is something everyone wants, but not many people have the knowledge and training to implement successfully.
Not incorporating an SEO strategy into your website can have far-reaching negative effects. For one site I worked to build as a side project for myself (nounconformist.com), the site’s name didn’t even pop up in a google search when I entered it. By posting regularly on the blog and including the site name in each post’s title, on top of some other strategies, I was able to at least rank on the first page of google searches when I typed in my own site’s name. But of course, the dream is to rank not just for direct searches for your business, but also for searches looking for the services you provide. Imagine what you can accomplish with a more comprehensive SEO strategy in place.
Help your ideal customers find you
The more content you put out there that aligns with your business persona and objectives, the more opportunities you have to tell interested customers why-or why not-you’d be a good fit to work with.
Take the example of an eco-friendly homebuilder. A blog would give potential clients the opportunity to learn about their processes and services, seeing how they fit into their personal ethic. It’s a way to attract prospects who aren’t quite ready to commit to purchasing just yet, while still getting them acquainted with your brand to potentially return with open wallets in the future.
Help prepare customers for an experience
In experience-based businesses, it can often be challenging to convey all the ins and outs of what to expect before your customers arrive on site. What do they need to wear, where do they need to meet, what type of experience is right for their ability level? All of that info has its own place on a dedicated page of your website.
But breaking it down in a new way in a blog post, like sharing a visitor’s write-up of their trip or an interview with a guide, can help customers get a different view to be more prepared. That lets you better serve your customers, improving the experience for them and for your staff.
Embrace inbound marketing
In an ideal world, you wouldn’t have to go out and search for customers. They would find you. And that’s the beauty of inbound marketing. That’s exactly how it works. According to HubSpot, “Inbound marketing is a business methodology that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them.” You’re providing value, serving your customers, and establishing trust and strong relationships right from the start with inbound marketing through your blog.
The reality is, you may not have time to do it yourself. But there are plenty of ways to make a blog happen for your business. Get in touch to see how I can help craft the blog content that will drive revenue to your business.
Originally published at https://juliabsmit.com on August 22, 2020.
