Business Blogging: Is it worth it?
If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur, chances are you wear several different hats and juggle enough roles for an entire staff; trust us, as a fellow small business, we know how that goes. For us to suggest you add something to your to-do list may sound crazy, but bear with us! We’re going to break down three benefits of having a blog for your business, and why you should consider starting one.
First off, let’s address a common misconception about blogging, which is that blogging boomed back in 2009 and has become more or less obsolete with the rise of social media.
Has blogging taken a backseat to its younger and cooler cousins named Facebook and Instagram?
Sure it has, but that doesn’t mean blogging can’t be a useful, FREE tool for your business. Let’s get to the benefits, shall we?
Benefit #01: It’s a free marketing tool.
We have to start this section off by saying this: your blog needs to be more than a sales pitch. It should be helpful, educational, and create a connection. If your blog sounds like a sales pitch, your audience will tune out, click away, and probably not come back. We’re not saying to avoid all self-promotion within your blog, just make sure there’s more to the message than “buy this”!
Alright, moving on. A blog, much like social media, is a FREE marketing tool that can be leveraged for the benefit of your business. This marketing tool can position your brand as the expert, drive your audience to your website, and gives you a space to promote your services and offerings. Starting a blog may feel like shouting into the void, but with strategy and consistency it can have some major ROI for your business.
You can also use your blog as a funnel for your email list, which is a huge marketing tool in and of itself. The more people you direct to your blog, the more website visitors you’ll have, and as these visitors grow more comfortable with your brand, they’ll be more likely to sign up for your email list. The more people on your email list, the more potential customers you can reach directly in their inbox.
Benefit #02: It creates connection with your consumers, clients, or audience.
With a blog, you’ll be sharing your insight, expertise, and knowledge with your audience for free. Your customer’s “like, know, and trust” factor in your business will increase; you’ve proven your expertise and shared content that has helped your customer in some way (and they didn’t have to spend a dime or enroll in a 12 week course). A blog is also a great place to showcase more of who you are personally rather than simply focusing on what you do, which is another way to connect with your customers.
Benefit #03: You’re creating reusable content for other platforms.
We get it, it might sound like we want you to add another task on to your endless to-do list, but it may actually save you time. How? The content you create for your blog can be used elsewhere: social media posts, email marketing pieces, LinkedIn, and more. For example: start with the blog post, create 3-5 social media posts based on the topic, and then use some pieces of the blog copy for your newsletter that week. Boom - coming up with what to talk about on your social media and weekly email just took way less time and effort!
Building a blog takes time and consistency is key, but it can have big pay-offs for your business. If all of these benefits sound great but you aren’t sure where to start, we’re here to help. Reach out to us and we can come up with a marketing game plan (blogging included) for your business.
