5 Reasons Your Business Needs to Blog

Think your business doesn’t need a blog? Think again. I have yet to come across a business or industry that wouldn’t benefit from having a well-planned business blog. In fact, over 35% of Fortune 500 companies have blogs. This is up from just 23% in 2010.
 
Unfortunately, I come across plenty of companies who either don’t have a blog or are blogging the wrong way. You see, it’s not as simple as throwing up a few posts about your business and calling it a day.
 
While there’s plenty to learn about blogging, none of the technicalities will do you any good if you don’t understand why you should be blogging in the first place. Here are some reasons to blog for your business but also sure what you’re missing out on if you’re skipping this crucial marketing   ​

1. Generate Leads

Small business that blog earn 126% more lead growth than the competition that skips blogging. If you’re not blogging, you’re leaving leads on the table. Compared to other marketing avenues, blogging is a simple way to generate leads with minimal effort (especially if you outsource your content needs).
 
But here is where business bloggers sometimes get a little mixed up. Don’t treat your blog as simply a marketing outlet, but instead a conversation. You want to avoid shouting your services at potential readers and instead focus on putting a solution out there for them without them realizing it.   
 
The biggest mistake by far that I see business bloggers make is selling through their blog. The second you start doing this, you will lose potential leads. If you’re having trouble deciding what to write about instead of yourself, check out my post on different types of business blog posts.

2. Your Competition is Blogging

​Have you ever decided to not work with a company because of something they didn’t offer? Maybe you didn’t want to work with an insurance company because they didn’t offer the same bundling package another company did. Or maybe you didn’t want to work with an online retailer because they didn’t offer free shipping like their competitor did.
 
You chose to avoid these companies not because of what they did or didn’t offer, but more simply because of the inconvenience they caused you. While not having a blog in itself may not be deterring potential new clients, keeping simple information difficult to find or not offering advice and dependable information could be.
 
When a business blog is put together the right way, it serves as an attractive feature just like bundling, online ordering, free shipping, and rewards programs. If anyone in your business is blogging and you’re not, you’re at risk for being left behind.

3. Blogs Serve as a 24/7 Employee

​One of the reasons I prefer writing blogs more than any other type of website content is because they allow you to put more personality into topics. I like to think of a business blog as an in-store greeter. When it’s simple for readers to find, they can get a feel for what to expect from your company in that first interaction. When your blog is put together efficiently, your 24/7 employee can continuously generate leads and convert for you.
 
Take the time to make sure your greeter is front and center. I’ve seen companies hide their blogs or try and get too creative with its name. Also, make sure your blog is welcoming. A grouchy blog that comes off as condescending can do more harm than good. Finally, make sure your greeter is qualified for the job. A blog that’s filled with spelling and grammar errors could hurt your reputation.

4. Keeps You Focused on Marketing

There are an infinite number of ways to market your business. Maybe you’re starting small and just putting up flyers in local businesses or you’re going bigger with radio commercials. Perhaps you’re trying out some Facebook marketing or have sponsored posts on Instagram. While these are all great ways to market (any marketing is better than no marketing), they don’t tend to keep you very involved. They’re more like “set it and forget it” marketing methods.
 
Blogging keeps you in a marketing mindset. You’re consistently drumming up new ideas, replying to comments, or repurposing content through social media channels. While a true marketer never stops putting their business out there, blogging helps keep you more involved and focused on making progress. ​

5. Boost Search Engine Ranking

​When you start to blog on a regular basis (including guest blogging), you can earn nearly 100% more inbound links than your competition. More inbound links lead to higher search engine rankings. Can you imagine what would happen to your business if you started ranking #1 on Google for all your target keywords?
 
When I start working with a client who hasn’t blog before they usually fall in the one of two categories. They either know that a blog can help them in Google but have no idea how or they think that they know how a blog can help them but they’re not constructing and executing their content properly.
 
I’ve helped companies secure the coveted #1 spot on Google before and with the right research, planning, and content, I can do the same for yours. All of these reasons should have you seriously considering business blogging. Once you see the results, you’ll wonder why you waited so long.