Blogging for Business Part 1: Do you really need a business blog?

While creating a multi-channel marketing and communication strategy, certain key platforms of online marketing such as digital marketing and social media marketing will be an indispensable part of the grander scheme of things. In the midst of piecing together your online marketing puzzle, you will ask yourself the question – Do I really need a blog for my business?

The answer is a resounding …Yes!

A meaningful and regularly updated blog is a great and inexpensive way to boost your inbound marketing activities, drive target audience to your site, build your brand and gain new prospects. Creating and maintaining a business blog offers you a direct channel of communication with your audience and opens up new opportunities for your business. Here’s why your business needs a blog:

#1 A Blog boosts your SEO ranking
Blogs have the power to give you the SEO juice you desire! Search Engines like Google and the Yahoo-Bing network (among others) love fresh, valuable and unique content. By creating and updating content on your blog consistently, you are offering original content for search engines to index; if you offer relevant keywords based content, your SEO ranking could get a boost. Every time you create a new blog post, you are essentially creating a new web page on your site, thus giving search engines more opportunities to index and rank your site. Websites that blog typically have 434% more indexed pages than those who do not blog. Moreover, websites that blog typically have 97% more inbound links than those that don’t ; inbound links increase your chance of gaining a significant share of the search traffic.

#2 Blogs convert traffic into leads
Blogs which provide value to users generate leads for the business, as users start referring to you as an expert in your domain. Incorporating a call-to action in each piece of blog content is a great way to convert your incoming user base into leads. A 77% upswing in median monthly leads is observed in businesses with more than 51 blog posts. The call-to action could range from filling out an information form, calling a 24×7 helpline or leaving a query on the blog post itself.

#3 Convert leads into sales
The ultimate goal of your content marketing activities is to generate revenue from your target audience – blogs have the potential to convert relevant leads into revenue generators, with the added benefit of being a low-cost avenue. 31.1% of the digital audience consider a business blog to be the second most influential factor when it comes to making a purchase. A well-curated blog serves as the brand’s voice and a rich source of information about new products, services and value propositions that the business has to offer to its consumers.

#4 Blogging positions you as an expert
When you create and post unique, interesting and share-worthy content within your niche, you are creating a clout of reliability around your business. Over time, your content and opinion on various industry relevant topics becomes valuable and resourceful. Aside from sharing your expertise with the online community, posting informative content on your business blog or on other blogs (via guest blogging) positions you as an influencer in the industry. According to Technorati, 71% of respondents who maintain blogs for a business have reported that they have increased their visibility within their industries through their blogs, while 56% said that their blog has helped them position as a thought leader within the industry.

# 5 It’s a great conversation platform!
Your business blog is a great platform to directly communicate with your audience. Blogging provides you with avenues to connect with your site visitors through comments, feedback and questions. By proactively responding to and engaging with your audience, you can build a favourable rapport with them; build a relationship based on trust and gain insights into what your customers really need.

Although a business blog is a cost-effective tool to boost traffic to your website and generate engagement, it requires dedication and a structured approach. But all in all, a blog is a must-have for businesses looking to establish themselves in the digital content space.