“Do you blog?” is the first thing a communications firm will likely ask you or recommend to you when you ask how to get more business or website views. We can’t stress enough how important it is for a company to create and distribute original content on a regular basis. Here are our reasons every company should have a blog and the benefits that accompany blogging:
Blogging Boosts Website Traffic
A website is the most effective place the public has to view and learn about your company. Our friend Jason Dodge of Black Truck Media says:
“the hope is that the more people that can see your site, the more business you receive. But these days where having a website is nearly mandatory, it’s just the starting point. Blogging aids in the constant updates to your site that search engines pick up on. Remember. A search engine really has one goal in life. Find and present a user with information that is the most relevant to his/her search. Hopefully that’s your website. One way to attract the attention of search engines is by constantly updating your site through blogging. The constant creation of content (say that 5 times fast), provides search engines with the notion that your site is relevant on a particular topic.
Makes You An Expert – Dare We Say…Thought Leader?
Hey! Speaking of thought leaders, you ARE one so blog about your craft!! How do you find out if the professional you’re hiring is the real deal? Recommendations from friends, their website, credentials and if you can see they actually know what they are talking about. Blogs add authority to your talk. By sharing your knowledge with the public to question and respond to, answering common questions and providing public advise or insight is a great way to gain trust from a customer before even working with them.
Blogging Adds To Social Media – Think Integrated
We know social media updating takes a lot of time, but blogging and social work hand-in-hand to thrust your message into the universe. Blogging can help boost your presence in the social media sphere. Allowing your blogs to be posted and shared throughout social media adds extra value into writing your blog. Need more to tweet or post? Pull articles, practices or news on a portion of your recent blog topics. This will be an easily addition to your social media posting and reinforce your blog and expertise. Don’t forget to post your blog links and drive viewer back to your website, this is key to creating an integrated public relations plan for your company.
Leads To Networking Opportunities
When blogging is shared through social media and other sites it leads to many opportunities for connection. There will always be other blogs on the web that share the same opinion that you just wrote about. Find them and connect with them. These connections can either help your company grow in the future or be a great way to keep an eye on the competition.
Blogging adds to your business over the long run. It adds website views, social media presence, trust, knowledge and in the end more business for your company. So next time you question if you want to *waste* an hour writing your blog… really think about how these will impact your company in the long run and instead, consider that hour an investment into your business, not a detraction from it.
