written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource Jesse Bouman
Blogs arrived with the opening of the 21st Century–a long time in internet years. Though some call them antiquated, blogs and blogging endure. Blogging continues adding value to a small business. Consider these five advantages that come with a blog post each week.
Writing is Cathartic
Writing can be (not guaranteed) a relaxing exercise. Taking time to sit down every week and write a blog post is a healthy activity. It allows you to slow down, sit back, reflect. By taking the time to clear the decks and focus on a fine point of your business in a candid blog message, you’re designating time for stepping back to think about your company from the outside. By putting your words onto a blog, you’re strengthening your beliefs and arguments
Position Yourself As an Expert
Trust is what leads customers to sales. They trust that your product or service is right for their needs. Lots of different factors can play a role in building trust. One is positioning your company as an industry leader. Everyone wants the best. By consistently posting high quality content, you can establish your company as a thought leader in your industry. Over time, as people make related searches, if your company keeps popping up in the search engines, it can help a potential customer feel more comfortable with your product/service.
Use Targeted Keywords
A blog presents a way to create unique and consistent SEO content for your website. After you complete an SEO audit, make sure you incorporate the keywords you decided to rank for. Every time Google crawls your site, and it will find more content with the right keywords, titles, links etc. The more original content a search engine finds, the more your site will be considered creditable in the eyes of the search engine.
Build Your Online Voice
Another component to building trust is familiarity. As you continue to write, your writing will start to develop a tone, a voice, and unique feel. This personal voice is something that the readers will become accustomed to. When they read your content over time, they’ll be more familiar with your communication style, and this can build long-term trust. It will, in the best analysis, lead to sales or word of mouth sharing. So don’t be afraid to inject in your blog a bit that begins to cover who you are in your blog posts. It’ll be a personal blog; it doesn’t have to read like a press release.
Build a Network for Content Sharing
Over time, (It will takes months, if not years) you can count on a blog building traction and authority. When this time comes, you’ll have built a subscriber list of individuals who value what you’re writing about. These subscribers are your power users, people who are active learners, wanting more information. They’re also the people who are more likely to become evangelists for your brand. When you have big news to share you have a network of influencers who can–and often will–share your content and spread it around the internet.
Blogs still have value. They can be the hub that connects all your social media outlets. It, blogging, takes time, but it can be a very worthwhile investment of your time. Even if you don’t get the thousands of monthly visitors you desire, just writing down your thoughts will make you more effective at what you do. Carve out an hour or so for blogging on at least a weekly posting schedule. Too busy? Some weeks you will be; enlist key staff to take a turn once in a while. Can be morale builder for others in your organization.
