Utilizing various channels of content marketing is extremely important for businesses because it gives your brand an approachable voice that consumers can relate to. Showcasing your business’ personality through blogging is an extremely effective and versatile way to connect with consumers and help them get to know your brand, products, and services in a new way.
Increase Web Exposure
One of the greatest benefits of blogging as a business is the increased exposure your brand will receive – if your content is good. Your business’ mission is to solve a problem for your target market. When people have problems, the first resource we turn to is the internet for solutions, and your blog could be the answer they are looking for.
It’s estimated that customers will manage 85% of their transactions without speaking to a single person (Source). Customers taking to the internet to do their own research means your digital presence needs to meet their needs in an easily digestible way. Blogging improves your SEO and allows users to find you. Through blogging alone, research shows that companies are thirteen times more likely to be found online. (Source)
The more frequently your business is able to produce solid content, your chances for acquiring quality leads and eventually new customers will significantly increase.
Stats on Active Blogging (Source)
- Generate 55% more site visits than competitors who don’t have a blog.
- Receive 97% more backlinks to their websites from sites sharing relative audiences.
- Blog pages are indexed 434% more often than any other site content.
The encouraging factor about blogging is that businesses can start gradually blogging and build up to a more frequent schedule over time. Committing to a blog once a month versus an occasional update every few months will increase your lead generation by 13%. Businesses reported in an inbound marketing survey taken in 2012 that they saw a 56% increase in customer acquisition after blogging once a month, versus when they didn’t blog at all. Business owners from the same report also stated that they saw anywhere between a 66% – 92% increase in new customers when they increased their blogging to a weekly or daily basis.
Competitive Advantage
We are closely approaching a point in e-commerce where not having a blog won’t be an option. Every business model has the opportunity to share their story, and every form of target audience wants to hear what you have to say. Business-to-business companies are reporting a 67% increase in lead generation versus other companies that do not blog (Source Via Hubspot).
If you don’t make time to share your company’s story, your competition will. Blogging is quickly becoming a vital component in staying relevant with your audience, and gently helping them understand what makes your business and solution different from other options.
Build Authority
Industry sources state that at least 37% of business owners are finding blogs to be one of the most valuable sources of content because of the educational element. Not only does it help consumers understand your business, but it also builds authority among your industry.
Showcasing industry leadership through knowledgable content opens your business up to new networking opportunities that can enhance your overall business goals. To ensure business growth, it’s important for others to see your company adding to the professional conversation happening in the digital community of the industry. Blogging is one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to transition from simply joining the conversation to leading it as a respected influencer.
The most important thing about blogging is that it has to be done right to be effective for your business’ marketing goals. Take the time to research your audience’s digital behaviors, determine your digital voice, and define what action you want users to take with the information are just a few things to keep in mind when starting to blog as a business. If you’re still not sure what to do, let the Treefrog team help you get started with the most effective and cost efficient content strategy.