Business Blogging Benefits, Part I

Why Your Business Should Start Blogging

Blogging isn’t just for the computer savvy teenagers anymore. Nor for the DIY Moms. Not even for those strongly opinionated, politically aware urban hipsters. No. Blogging is now one of the best ways for businesses, big and small, to connect to their consumers.

Blogging for BusinessThink of some of your favorite businesses and visit their websites. I’ll bet you won’t be able to find a single business that doesn’t have some sort of blog section on their site. Macy’s has one. Walmart has one. Even McDonald’s has one. If these billion dollar companies are running blogs, then shouldn’t you be doing it too?

In this two part series, I’ll explain to you why blogs are good for business and why, if you don’t have one, you should definitely consider getting one. First, let’s start off with the most important benefits.

Blogging Builds Trust

A blog for your business allows you to put a voice to your image. Your posts can be educational, funny, even pointless. Your words give readers a sense of who you are and what your business is about. If visitors to your site read your content and connect with your personality, they are more likely to become a valuable customer.

Think about it this way. A manager is looking to hire potential employees. The manager receives two nearly identical resumes from two different applicants. However, one of the applicants took the time to drop their resume off personally and introduce themselves. The other applicant did nothing else and is just a faceless resume. Who is going to get the interview?  Blogging establishes a familiarity with visitors to your site. Familiarity equates to more valuable leads.

Show What You Can Do

Your blog posts can show the world what you know. Posting informative posts about your industry lets potential leads know that you are the real deal. If you have visitors to your site, they will be looking to see that you can deliver what they want. Blog posts can increase the confidence in potential consumers and current consumers as well. Your blog can become the go-to for customers looking for help, and the more you help them, the more loyal they will be to your business, leading to profits in cash flow and goodwill in the long run.

Not to mention, posting frequently about new technologies and strategies keeps you up-to-date on the industry and hones your skills just by writing about it. Writing about it also lets you sharpen your skills of explanation for when you meet directly with potential leads.

A Sense of Community

Open up the comments section on blogs and let the customers talk to you. Comments can open up a discussion with clients that could lead to more leads and, again, more loyalty. By carrying conversation with customers, you increase your online presence and show that you care about the customers. The customers can also give your business feedback on what they want and what could be done differently.

If your business has multiple employees, letting others post their own blogs can help build a greater sense of community within the company. The blog, the business, then becomes a group effort where the employees feel a deeper connection with their work. Blogging can be used to create an open forum to connect your business to customers, but also you and your employees.

These reasons should be motivation enough to get your to start your own blog. But if it is not, stay tuned to part II, where I’ll discuss some of the more technical benefits of business blogging.

But in the mean time, get started on your own blog to start reaping the benefits! Everyone else is doing it. And when everyone else is doing it, you do not want to be the one that gets left behind. There are many sites where you can start a free blog, like: Blogger, WordPress, Wix, and Weebly.

(P.S. I do not advocate peer pressure…unless it’s about business blogging.)