Why Your Business Needs a Blog
Your business is all set up with an online presence — including a website and social media accounts — but your efforts to fully integrate your business into the world of digital marketing isn’t complete until you have a blog.
“Wait,” you think. “A blog? But why? I don’t have anything to say.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. You, as the owner, manager or marketing director, know your business inside and out. You know how trends in the industry affect it. You know what sets your brand apart. You know what your customers want from you (or, at least, you should know that). You have plenty to say in a blog.
More important, however, is the fact that a blog is a great tactic for putting your business in front of customers more frequently.
Here’s why your business needs a blog, and what steps you can take to start writing.
A Blog Gets Visitors to Your Site
There are two reasons that somebody is going to visit your website. First, there are the people who already know about you and who want to learn more. Then there are the people who accidentally stumble upon you either because they saw a post on your business page on social media or they were directed there by a search engine. Blogs can help draw both types of people.
Those who are already loyal customers, who patronize your business frequently and who follow you on social media, will appreciate the fresh content that keeps bringing people to your website. Now, visitors on your website don’t necessarily bring you any money (unless, of course, you offer online sales and delivery, which many businesses are adapting to do during the coronavirus pandemic), but having people visit your website more often means that you stay in the forefront of their minds, that they feel a stronger sense of brand loyalty, and they are more likely to see important announcements when you make them (more on that later).
Yes, That Includes New Visitors
But for the people who have never heard of you, here’s how the blog gets those people to your site: Let’s say they get on a search engine like Google and they search for something related to your industry. Having a blog with the right keywords means your website is more likely to pop up for those individuals.
Now, using the right SEO keywords is a completely separate topic to delve into at another time. The short version is these are the words you want to use in your business blog because you know that people are putting them into a search engine. And if you’re using them on your site, then people are more likely to find them.
Let’s face it: There’s only so much text you can put on the “About Us” section of your website. But with a blog, you have more opportunities for more text. That’s more opportunities to use a wider variety of keywords. That’s more opportunities for people to find you through a search engine.
Let’s say you run a family-owned Italian restaurant that specializes in authenticity, using recipes that your great-great-grandparents brought over from Italy 100 years ago. Sure, you could include some of that information on the “About Us” section of your website, but if you write a blog topic about the difference between authentic Italian pizza and the pizza we’re used to eating in America, then somebody who is Googling “authentic Italian pizza” in your area is more likely to be directed to your site.
And once they’re on your site — well, then it’s a chance for you to convert them to customers.
What Should You Include in Your Blog?
A good business blog is more focused on being informative rather than self-promotional. People don’t want to read a blog that’s saying, “Look at me! Look at what I offer! I’m great!” Instead, they read blogs for the same reason they read anything else — they want to be informed, and they want to be entertained.
This doesn’t mean, however, that your blog won’t turn those readers into customers. How? Because an informative blog from a reliable source with an engaging personality is going to make a reader go, “Huh! These folks know what they’re talking about.” Whether the reader realizes it or not, they’re starting to see your business as a trustworthy leader in the industry.
So what does this mean you should write about? You have plenty of topics. Think of questions that your customers ask you — you know, the ones where you could talk for hours in response to them. Think about the last time you found yourself wanting to explain something very important to a well-meaning but uninformed person. Think about ways you’ve witnessed people be misguided or clueless about your industry. If it helps, you can keep a running list of topics you want to cover in your blog, or you can ask your customers or your employees for their input.
A Business Blog Isn’t Difficult to Write
Remember, this is your business blog — it’s not a dissertation. Even if you’re not the strongest writer, that’s OK. People are reading blogs from their computers or their phones. They want something that’s easy to read and conversational. Keep your language simple and your tone casual.
It’s also important to remember consistency. Your business blog won’t do you much good if you’re only posting to it every six months. Aim to have something new every week, and don’t forget to share your fresh web content to social media so you can drive traffic from your followers there.