I’ve read countless articles recently on why, as a business, you absolutely don’t need to be blogging. These sources are touting the idea that you don’t need to be a talented writer to be a talented business person, that having a blog is a lot of work, and that the blog world is too saturated with unnecessary blogs that may or may not get read while they float in the infinite black hole of the world wide web (ouch).
Whether you’re a freelancer, an entrepreneur, or a small business owner, these articles say that your time is better spent marketing your services via advertising, email networking, and optimizing your business’s web pages for search engines. While all of these marketing tactics are valid and helpful, I still find myself sitting here saying, “Are you kidding?”
That’s because a business blog is one of the best ways to promote your business to both existing and prospective clients for just about a billion different reasons. Okay, maybe not that many; but still, a business blog is a brilliant marketing tactic that is being seriously underused in today’s small business and entrepreneur sphere.
Let’s start with my personal favorite reason to have a business blog: it helps you create a defined business brand. It’s true. Consistent business branding is often overlooked, but your branding is the primary reasons clients are drawn to you in the first place. By blogging regularly, you’re very clearly communicating your business’s values, services, and ideas, solidifying your brand.
Your blog posts are giving your prospective clients an in-depth look at who you are before they commit to working with you. Every business owner and entrepreneur wants to work with their ideal clients, and through a brand-unifying blog your ideal clients are more likely to seek you out and find you based on your blog content. Not to mention that any blog posts you promote are acting to cement all the reasons your current clients already love working with you.
A blog is also an excellent way to establish experience in your field. In other words, writing about what you do and providing useful and accurate information to your readers, gives you some serious street cred. Without a blog, clients are expected to just blindly trust in your expertise. It won’t matter if you have a five inch thick file of references, referrals, and pieces for your portfolio; none of those things actually show your client what you can bring to the table for them.
But, if someone stumbles across your blog post on social media (we’ll get to that in a minute), and it speaks to the exact pain points they’re experiencing and offers a few helpful tips, you’re immediately in their good graces. Your business has something to offer, and a blog helps highlight that in a professional, efficient way.
Circling back to the social media concept, a blog is amazing fodder for social media sharing. If you’re regularly publishing rich, engaging content that’s relevant to your target client base, your social media engagement will sky rocket. This is another amazing way to engage old and new clients alike, all while marketing yourself and your business in a seamless, professional way.
To get a little more technical, your blog drives more traffic to your website, and increases your sales conversion. By linking your blog posts back to your website, you’re successfully optimizing your web pages so that their visibility to search engines is evenly distributed. This not only helps your blog posts to get more views, but it redirects your readers to your web site. Each blog post increases the likelihood that your blog and website will appear in a search engine, and the more visibility you can capture, the more likely you are to grow your business.
Taking this idea a little further, you can use your blog posts to your advantage without being slimy and sales-y in mass email marketing campaigns that people generally find off-putting. By incorporating calls to action in your blog posts (think: links back to your contact page, free offers for tutorials or infographics, etc.), you can effectively promote your products and services while completely avoiding the yucky feeling you get after sending a flashy sales pitch email to a lead list.
Next time you see an article explaining that your business blog is a waste of time and isn’t growing your business, don’t give it the time of day. Your blog can be as involved as you want it to be, and research has shown that a blogger who only posts 1–2 times a month still pulls in up to 70% more leads compared to business owners who don’t publish blog posts (Hubspot [1]).
Does your business have a blog? How does it help you grow professionally? I’d love to hear your opinions and thoughts.
