Blogging is the extreme sport of writing. It is less formal, more instinctive, more alive. Essentially, blogging is thinking out loud. However, many people are questioning the significance of this medium in the present climate that is dominated by social media marketing. They wonder if it can be of any benefit to their small business. The answer is yes.
Whether you own a multinational brand or a small business, blogging can ensure increased revenue and brand success. It is a key component of an effective digital marketing plan.
In this article, I will further discuss why blogging is still so important for small businesses.
Do you want more visitors? Every website owner does. Now let’s think of all the possible ways people may end up on your site:
They type your site’s domain directly on the address bar. This generally consists of people who already know about your business. So your site is not getting more traffic in addition to what it already gets.
They click on a paid advertisement for your site. To get substantial traffic through ads, you need to pay for a LOT of ad placements. So as soon as you are short on cash, you will be short on traffic too.
Therefore, blogging is still one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your website. Here is how:
Indexed Pages
How many pages does your site have? Probably not a lot. And it is also likely that you barely update these pages. To be fair, it can be hard to keep updating an About or Contact page. Fortunately, blogging can fix both these problems.
A new post on your blog means another indexed page on your site. And thereby, more opportunities for your site to get favoured by the search engines. It reminds Google that your site is active. And the search engine should go through it regularly to find new content that has surfaced.
Social Media
Blogging increases your chances of getting found on social networking platforms. Relevant and interesting blog posts equals shareable content on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. This means your business will get exposed to a completely new audience.
New blog posts also boost a brand’s social media presence. Instead of having to create fresh content for social media, the blog posts on your website can act as a repository.
It Can Put Your SEO On Steroids
Blogs can maximise your SEO efforts. If you want to get ahead of your competitors on the SERPs, you need to put out new content regularly.
Things like placing keywords in your posts can help you get found when someone searches for a topic related to your business. Even without this, publishing blog posts frequently related to your products, services or industry will improve your site’s ranking on search engine results.
Establish Yourself As An Expert in The Industry
Well-written and informative blog posts signal your brand to be an expert in the industry. By publishing posts on subjects related to the market and showcasing your grasp over them, you market your brand, products, and services as well.
For instance, a retailer publishing posts about the products they sell will position themselves as a source of knowledge for all the products customers need/want. A B2B posting well-researched, articulate articles about the services they provide will become a hub for the industry.
It also helps customers build confidence and trust in your small business. The more you demonstrate how well-versed you are in your industry, the more consumers will rely on you to give them what they want. Anyone who reads your articles will not only benefit from the knowledge you are providing but will also form a relationship with your brand.
Develop or Strengthen New and Existing Customer Relationships
With blogging, you can provide value and good customer experience to your audience. You get the opportunity to give them something helpful for free before they purchase anything. So you can share things like helpful ideas, checklists, recipes, etc in your blog posts. Educating before selling ensures your audience is loyal once they become your customers. Essentially, you build trust by positioning your brand as a source of knowledge. Customers like being informed, and particularly appreciate brands that inform them.
Moreover, as you would on any other social platform, responding to comments and interacting with customers on your blog can be beneficial. Do they have any questions regarding a product you have mentioned in a blog post? Reply to them directly on the website. The best part is, unlike most social platforms, it is very easy to search for blogs published on your website. Comments on there are easier to find than a Facebook post or a Twitter response. Your interactions will be visible to every other customer looking for information on the same topic.
Brand Awareness
One of the most important components of online marketing, blogging can help build brand awareness. It allows you to demonstrate the personal aspect of your brand to your customers. You can emphasise your message to existing and potential customers in a way that outbound marketing techniques and mechanisms cannot. Blogging allows you to give your customers an understanding of the vision, personality, business character, and corporate standards of your small business.
Conclusion
It can be said that blogging is one of the most effective marketing strategies. It can help improve your exposure online as well as position your brand as an industry leader.
This is why blogging is still so important for small businesses. In fact, it is a must. It can help your company get discovered and gain authority quickly.
