5 Reasons Why Your Business Should Keep A Blog

This is a guest post by Natalie Hamlin of Increase Visibility.

What if those mere minutes could be the key to connecting your business with an intently-listening audience?

Working in the digital-media sphere, any Internet guru can tell you that content is the key to gaining listeners, and there are a ton of businesses that haven’t gotten the memo yet. For all you companies that have a dedicated blogger on your team, here’s an imaginary gold star. For companies that haven’t yet jumped on the blogging bandwagon, listen to these five reasons why your business should keep a blog:-

#1. Blogs establish companies as thought leaders:-

Think about it. If your company is pushing its own ideas/advice into cyber space instead of the words of others, it makes you look like you know what you are talking about. People are more likely to come visit your site if you are compiling and distributing well thought-out content. Take a look at the top brands in any industry – they all have blogs, and are regarded as experts in their industry – no coincidence there.

#2. Blogs build traffic to your website:-

It doesn’t take a genius to know that the more traffic you have coming to your website, the more likely people are to buy something. What people don’t realize is that blogs have great search-engine value. A colleague of mine describes blogs as “mini research papers for the social generation” and the internet knows it. If your company is pushing content about a new product or service, shoot a hyperlink from your blog using keywords for your product. It will increase your SEO value and make it more convenient for readers to access ways to give you money purchase your services or product.

#3. Blogs give your business a voice:-

Blogs are the best way to give a little more explanation to your followers and customers. Sure, tweeting and posting Facebook statuses fall under the corporate voice umbrella, but think ahead. God forbid your business undergoes some kind of crisis! But if it happens, what will be the best digital media to reach out and apologize, give explanation, or defend your company? That’s right – the company blog. Think of it as social media that gives you more than 160 characters to explain yourself. I can think of a good example from Nokia’s blog when they misrepresented a product in a commercial. When you finish reading this blog post, I encourage you to check it out here.

#4. Blogs allow for better customer service:-

Companies are utilizing social media for customer service more and more. It’s more convenient for the customer and it allows for more transparency than other communication channels like a hotline. Customers can comment on your blog instead of waiting on hold or for the office to open to say what they need to say. If you’re struggling for blog content, take your company’s top ten FAQs – these can be made into ten blog posts. Your customers will appreciate it and it saves them a little time and energy when trying to get information about your company.

#5. Blogs keep it fresh:-

If you want your company’s website to be frequented, you have to keep new information circulating. Just having a blog is not enough, and you need to make sure that something new is posted at least once a week. It will make your social media manager’s job easier because it will provide new content to blast on a regular basis. It will also provide freedom to join some new conversations. Think of a hot topic and tie your business to it, i.e., Our Company’s New Year’s Resolution.

These are only five of the many reasons why a corporate blog should exist for your business. If your company doesn’t have one yet, suggest to the management that they join the industry leaders in producing credible content. It is a cost-effective way to reach your customers on a more personal level, reveal the culture behind your company’s name, and let people learn about the company from its official corporate voice.

Do your business keep a blog? Have you noticed any other benefits of having a blog? Please leave your comments in the comments box below.

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