In speaking with businesses of all shapes and sizes across a variety of industries, there are three things that almost all of them want to achieve:
- Be a leader in their space
- Attract more customers
- Provide more value
Which is why I’m always shocked when their answer is ‘no’ when I ask if their website has a blog that they update on a regular basis. If you’re one of those people that doesn’t have a blog, take a look at the explanations below on how blogging can greatly enhance your business. And then start writing!
Become a Thought Leader
The biggest benefit to blogging on a regular basis is that it establishes your brand as a thought leader in the space. If you’re continually putting out high quality content that’s relevant to your industry, people will take notice.
It may take some time, but once your blog starts getting some traction it will be shared on social media platforms, emailed between potential customers, and quoted in industry publications. Your business’s name will start to become well-known amongst your target audience, people will start reaching out to you to request that you speak at their upcoming events, you’ll be asked to write guest pieces on other blogging sites. All of these are real, tangible benefits that come along with being a thought leader in your industry, and being a thought leader means you have to write.
Attract More Customers
“How do I get more customers?”
This is undoubtedly a question every business owner has asked themselves at some point. And while there are a lot of answers to that question, one of the simpler answers is, you guessed it… blogging! Blogs attract customers organically by getting your brand’s website ranked for various keywords on Google. Assuming you’re creating industry-relevant content that caters to your customer base, eventually these posts will start building authority with search engines and will be seen when users search for related terms.
Showing up in organic searches is a great way to attract more customers and reach a wider audience because these are often users that are unfamiliar with your brand. Assuming the content is relevant and helpful, the users then become curious about the company that created it and can then be on-boarded into your sales funnel.
“These days, people want to learn before they buy, be educated instead of pitched.”
– Brian Clark
Provide Value
An obvious, but often overlooked benefit of blogging, is providing value to your user base. It might not show up as a line item in the monthly revenue report, but we are big believers in the law of reciprocity. In the short term, providing value to your readers through the content you create might not make much of a noticeable difference to your business, but it will come back ten fold in the long run. Genuinely helping your users while expecting nothing in return creates customer loyalty and often converts readers into ambassadors for your brand. Trust me, if you give your users value, they’ll return the favor.
“Give them quality. That’s the best kind of advertising.”
– Milton Hershey
Putting It All Together
No matter what industry you’re in, if you depend on sales, you want more organic website traffic, or you want to be seen as a leader in your space, you need a blog. We know, it’s tough to find the time when you have a hundred other things to do for your brand that seem more pressing, but it’s important to create content, even if it’s only once a month. Blogging is a lot like flossing, it’s hard to start doing on a regular basis, but once you work it into your routine and you start seeing the benefits it won’t feel like such a hassle.
