Take a look at a range of business websites and you’ll find a common denominator.
Many of them don’t have a blog.
And the ones that do, rarely post anything.
It’s not difficult to understand why.
Most businesses have no idea what they should write about.
And anyway, if you own a small business, there’s little value in writing blog articles, right?
Wrong.
A blog that is regularly updated with fresh content serves several important purposes.
Here are some reasons why blogging is important for your business.
It supports SEO and drives traffic to your website
Blogging keeps your website relevant and fresh and makes your site more attractive to search engines and visitors.
It is also an important part of search engine optimisation work (SEO)
Blogging provides an opportunity to target relevant keywords and build a strong internal link profile.
Publishing informative, seo optimised content with the aim of ranking on Google for longtail keywords will help drive search traffic to your website and increase conversions and sales.
With intelligent optimisation, this traffic can help power the growth of your website and business.
It builds authority and brand awareness
Blogging can help establish your authority in your industry and build your brand.
By writing content that addresses common customer and industry concerns you build trust and confidence.
Your blog enables you to showcase your expertise, knowledge and personality.
It improves social media results
Linking to your blog articles via your social media channels drives traffic back to your website and key content.
Whenever you publish a new blog post, you have fresh content that can be shared across all your social channels, providing your followers with informative content or news directly within their social media feeds.
Again, this helps build your credibility in your marketplace.
It provides long-term value and results
Unlike some marketing strategies, blog posts can have a lasting impact on your sales.
Blog posts that rank highly on Google for your relevant keywords can be found by searchers years after they are published, continuing to generate leads and conversions at no additional cost.
This makes blogging a cost-effective form of content marketing.
So, now you know the value in keeping your blog updated, what should you write about?
Here are 4 ideas for business blog posts:
The list blog post
The post you are reading right now is essentially a list post.
A list post can be an effective way of making online content easier to digest.
This type of post gives the reader a clear understanding of what to expect in advance of reading the post. They know what they are going to get and that it will be broken down into key points.
So, what kind of posts can you write? Here are two examples:
- 10 Benefits Of …. Every business or industry has key benefits that your customers won’t know about. Share them! If you run a carpet cleaning business, you could publish a post titled: 10 Benefits of Professional Carpet Cleaning… or 5 Important Reasons To get Your Carpets Cleaned Each Year.
- 5 Tips On How To … There is great value in being generous and providing information and tips that will help your readers. If you’re an accountant, you could blog about an actionable tax saving measure. If you’re a trsapersperson with a trades website, you could post property maintenance and home improvement tips.
Success stories
Share customer or employee success stories.
Use past testimonials as the foundation of a new blog post and describe how your business helped your customer solve a specific problem.
These type of posts are popular and effective beacuse they provide social proof while demonstrating your competence.
You already have the proof in the form of the testimonial.
You just need to tell the story.
Product or service comparisons
Make it easy for customers to see the value of your service or product.
Compare your features and benefits to competitors in your industry and demonstrate how you are different.
In a competitive online marketplace, you need to have a unique selling proposition.
Make sure the customer understands what that is.
Behind The Scenes
Letting your readers see behind the curtains can be a great way of creating a human connection and personalising your brand.
In industries that rely heavily on trust, it can be a very effective way of building rapport and brand loyalty.
Consider using photos of staff in your blog posts and write about a typical day in the life, supported with images of your business and your employees at work.
And if you’re confident in front of the camera, you could even create a short video and embed it in the blog post.
The key to an effective blog is variety.
Yes, it’s important to write with a goal of improving website traffic and conversions, but don’t be afraid to experiment with different styles and formats.
Show some personality and avoid being too corporate or stiff.
You’ll enage more readers and your business will improve as a result.
- If you struggle to optimise or produce consistent blog content, we’d love to help.