Though blogging was once primarily a vehicle for people to share stories and opinions from their personal lives, it has become an important part of marketing and relationship building for small businesses.
Effective blogging can help you build trust with potential customers and provide an extra level of customer service for your existing clients. It is also an important tool for generating new content for SEO and social media. In this article, we will discuss five reasons blogging is vital for small businesses.
- Statistics Support the Importance of Small Business Blogging
Content marketing expert Hubspot compiled their own list of six statistics proving small businesses should take blogging seriously. You can read the full article here, but in short, their list included:
- B2B marketers who blog receive over two-thirds as many leads as those who do not.
- Businesses and marketers who blog are 13 times more likely to experience positive ROI.
- In three years (2020), your customers will manage 85% of their relationships online, without speaking to a human.
- Blogging is essentially free, costing only your time. The ROI on blogging is virtually unlimited.
- The websites of companies who blog receive 97% more links. Links to your website means traffic to your website.
- Blogs are in the top five most trusted source of accurate online information.
Your website is your most valuable marketing asset. It allows you to tell your full story and craft your message in your own words. Though you may combine blogging with other forms of marketing (advertisement, sales calls, etc.), small business owners cannot deny the potential ROI of blogging.
- Blogging Builds Trust with Current and Future Clients
Small business blogging is most effective when it is used to provide valuable information for your clients. Though you may announce promotions, or review important new products, your business blog should not read like a sales catalog. An effective business blog positions you and your business as the subject matter expert in your industry, building trust with current and potential future clients.
If you own a trustworthy widget company, your list of potential blog topics and titles includes:
- How to Effectively Use These Widgets
- Six Important Widget Maintenance Steps
- Signs Your Widget’s Components Require Repair
- Answering: Why is My Widget Making that Loud Noise
- Seven Ways This Widget is More Effective than this Similar Widget
These titles and topics are not promotional; however, they demonstrate your knowledge and experience, building trust with potential customers before they step foot in your shop. If your website is functions as a digital front door to your business, your blog is like an hour-long conversation at your counter. In a world inundated with loud messages, trust is as or more valuable than name recognition.
- Blogs are Useful for Social Media and Email Marketing Content
Consistency is key when managing your social media pages and email marketing. Utilize your blogs to fill out content in email newsletters and on your social media pages. You can share the blog itself on Facebook and then pull quotes from it to use for several additional posts. Your blog may make up the majority of your email newsletter, with links for readers to follow to your website for the rest of the story.
- Blogging Helps Improve Your Website’s SEO
Search Engine Optimization is a term describing the process of making your website friendly and visible on search engines. Google insists one of the most important things you can do to improve your website’s SEO is regularly publish relevant content. Blogging is a simple means by which you can consistently publish new content.
- Blogging Drives Traffic to Your Website
Whether it comes from Google, social media, email marketing, or links, blogging provides several paths by which potential clients can find your website and interact with your company. Finding you through your blog provides an opportunity for you to build trust and credibility with your visitors.
Blogging is an important piece of the content marketing puzzle. If you want more information on how to maximize the effectiveness of your company’s website, contact us. We would be happy to share with you how SEO, blogging, and social media can work together to help you generate leads and convert new clients.
For more information about the benefits of blogging and small business web design, contact us.
