Blogging for my business: Is it important?

With the internet growing at rapid speeds, it’s important that your business stays current in the latest social media channels and has an active, human voice in the online community. Before we dive into why blogging is important and how it can improve your business strategy, we’ll share a little history…Blogging has only been around for a little over twenty years, and it’s only in the last ten years that it has really taken off and implemented into marketing practices. According to Webdesignerdepot.com, “1998 marks the first known instance of a blog on a traditional news site, when Jonathon Dube blogged about Hurricane Bonnie for The Charlotte Observer.” Political blogs paved the way for blogging and several mainstream media sites started their own blogs during the late 2000s. Blogs became a reliable way for news organizations and political candidates to connect with readers and viewers.

Blogging today has the same goals, to connect with users as a direct communication channel and provide them with relevant information they’re seeking. So, regardless if you’re a family-owned pizzeria or a multinational company, blogging for your business is important for your marketing strategy and deepens your customer relationships.So, you may be thinking, why is blogging important for my business? Well, according to Social Media Today, “77% of internet users read blogs.” That’s a huge chunk of people that look to a blog for information. If we haven’t convinced you yet, here’s four things blogging does to improve your business!Blogging fuels your SEO: Blogging helps your SEO when you’re optimizing to rank for a particular keyword. Implementing keywords in your blog help optimize your blog post (which search engines love) and in turn, boost your search results.Blogging gives your brand a voice and helps to develop a relationship with customers: Consumers want to feel like big companies and brands care about them. Blog posts provide your customers with answers to questions they might not go out of their way to ask, provide them with helpful and useful information and assure them that there’s a human behind their favorite brand.Blogging brings the consumer to your website quicker: Although initially, the consumer wasn’t looking to stumble upon your website, they eventually will after spending time on your blog. For example, if a consumer searches on a search engine, “Things to do while visiting Central Florida” and they end up on a blog you wrote and are now thinking about booking an airboat tour and decide to check out your website. Now, you’ve converted a stranger into a lead by just a helpful blog post!

Blogging is a long-term marketing investment: Let’s use the example above again, if you write a blog post in April and someone stumbles upon it in November and then decides to buy your product or service, you've promoted your business and helped out your sales team even months later. The best part is blogs are living on the internet forever or until they get deleted, so you never know when someone will find your post, find it helpful and become aware of your brand! That's the benefit of posting evergreen content.If we haven’t convinced you yet, Social Media Today also notes that 61% of U.S. consumers have made a purchase based on a blog post and 67% of B2B marketers use blogs to generate 67% more leads!So, how do you get started with blogging, even if you’re not a marketing agency?First and foremost, get to know your audience. As inbound marketers, we always refer back to our buyer personas. After all, a great chunk of your business strategy is centered around capturing your ideal customer’s attention so they can convert. Then, brainstorm content that would be helpful to your buyers without coming across as too salesy. Remember, consumers want to feel like they're truly cared about, not just another dollar sign. Finally, look into blog platforms like HubSpot or ask your marketing agency if blogging is something they can offer you!If you're looking to set up a blog for your company but don't have the time or interest in doing so, fill out this form or find us on social media because we spend the majority of our time on inbound marketing at Reach and blogging is a crucial part of the inbound methodology!