Why Do A Business Blog?
There are still plenty of business owners who question why having a blog on their website is necessary.
These are some of the reasons why this belief is still so common.
Few businesses nowadays do not have a website. But how do you get people to visit it and how do you keep it visible on search engines like Google?
We don’t need to regularly update our website
Actually, you do, especially if your business has what’s called a brochure site, which means it showcases products or services that do not change frequently. A big problem is adding regular new information, which is one of the many ways Google uses to assess how valuable a website is.
A blog is an easy way to add something new to your “brochure” website – it can contain the latest news from your industry, entertaining facts, problem solvers, humour and it can help demonstrate that your business knows its stuff and is trustworthy.
We use social media, we don’t need a blog
The important word here is “social”. A business may be using social media to have some conversation or interaction with its customers, but how do you get them to the point of deciding to contact you or eventually make a purchase?
That’s where you can use social media to encourage people to your website by including a link on posts to your latest blog.
Blogging doesn’t increase sales
One blog alone will not do that, of course. However, if your blogs focus on your customers, with content that interests them, answers their questions or solves their problems, you will convert readers into customers.
At the very least, it will win you some “brand recognition” so that when they are looking for a service you provide they’re more likely to remember your business’ name.
Customers don’t read blogs
Blogs tend to rank highly on search engine results so while your website statistics may suggest that customers aren’t clicking on them, that doesn’t mean they aren’t reading them as part of searching your website.
You have to blog every day
NO you don’t. Quality is better than quantity.
It wouldn’t be practicable to blog every day because it actually takes a couple of hours to write a decent, readable blog.
It takes serious research. If you are including facts and figures, how reliable are they and can you give references? You need to understand your customers’ likes, dislikes, interests and concerns. What key words or phrases will they use to search for your services and therefore need to be included in the blog, while still keeping it readable?
Even so, it can be difficult to find something new to put in a blog and this is where working with an experienced marketing content writer can help. It really is a case of two heads being better than one but it can also save time if you collaborate on the planning and idea generation but then have the writer produce the content.
They will do it more quickly, more readably and without spelling and grammar errors.
