Tell your story in a blog
A blog is an important part of social media strategy, even for small business owners. Blog posts are shareable and can include a specific call to action. Most importantly, your company blog is owned by you.
While you might think of blogging as an old dog tactic, (first online diaries started in the mid-90s) the new trick for businesses is to keep it consistent, relevant and helpful in this ever-changing world.
Your story, your experience and your expertise
The statistics seem to weigh in on the importance of blogging.
- Small businesses that blog generate 126% more leads than SMB’s that don’t blog.
- 82% of consumers enjoy reading content from company blogs
- Over 30% of consumers consider a blog to be the second most influential factor when it comes to making a purchase
- Businesses that commit to blogging and publish over 51 posts receive a 77% lift in monthly leads.
There are several good reasons why even small business owners should consider writing a blog. Each business might have a different “most important” reason to blog, but here are the main reasons why a small business owner should blog.
Attract more website traffic
As your blog is shared and becomes more popular, it will lead to more visitors to your website. More visitors to your website give you the opportunity to get current and potential customers to stick around and surf. (yes, I said “surf.”)
According to survey results published by Local Vox, those small businesses with a blog received 55 percent more website visitors and an incredible 97 percent more inbound links.
Establish Authority
Blogging is the most powerful tool to help establish you and your business as an authority in your industry. Sharing your experience and expertise will help prove that authority. This will also help educate those interested in what you have to offer and will make them feel they can trust you more when it comes time to make a purchasing decision.
Some small business clients ask me why it’s so important to establish oneself as an authority. Consider this:
- Small business owners are experts on what they sell, how it’s used, the industry, etc.
- Customers want access to what experts know.
- Increasingly, customers expect a closer connection to experts.
This closer connection is what helps you make the contacts you need to develop your business leads. So, tell your story.
Boost Search Engine Optimization
One way to attract search engines is to consistently post fresh content using targeted keywords. Another way is to create material that people want to share. A blog accomplishes both objectives.
According to those same research results, those companies that blog receive 434 percent more search engine indexed pages.
Hold a Conversation
A blog is an important element of a small business online marketing plan.
The give-and-take nature of the comment section of the blog will help you develop relationships with potential and existing customers. In fact, blogs are really the original social media.
This gives you an extra connection to customers and allows you to answer more specific questions in order to continue your established authority.
Create Opportunities for Sharing
A blog is easy to share and brings people to your website. Any given blog post can be chopped up into several SM posts and parsed out over time. Sine you own the content of your blog, it stays relevant on the search engines for a longer period of time, especially if tagged correctly.
A well-researched and written blog could also get noticed by influencers and others in your industries and you could start getting some backlinks.
The Bone
Increase the chance your business is found by increasing the level of authority you have in your industry. You add credibility, it produces instant feedback and you have greater control.
Start your blog today.
Buried Bone
No ideas? Try this list of possible blog topics for businesses: http://www.evancarmichael.com/Marketing/5112/50-Blog-Topics-for-Small-Business-Owners.html