Do you find it a chore to write blog posts for your small business? Do they seem to take up valuable time that could be used for ‘real’, paid-for work? Do you set them aside for when you think you’ll have spare time, instead of scheduling them into the daily routine of your businesses?
If your answer to these questions is ‘yes’ it’s time for you to rethink the purpose of your blog and to realise that it’s essential to your business. Your small business blog can make a BIG difference.
Why it’s not a waste of time:
- It’s a direct, personalised, two-way communication channel: Your static website may contain a lot of useful information, but it can’t build relationships in the way that a blog can. A blog gives your company a voice and personality, builds trust and gives visitors the opportunity to interact with your brand one-on-one, through comments and feedback.
- It’s a cost-effective marketing investment: Your blog only costs you some thought and time. There’s no printing of brochures, no booking of costly advertising space in a magazine. And if your audience likes what you’re saying they’ll even share it, free of charge!
- You’ll learn about your customers: Through user-feedback and blog statistics you’ll learn more about your customers, what interests them and what their needs are. This can help you to tailor the way you communicate with them and the products you offer.
- You get to share your expertise: Through your blog you can establish yourself as a thought-leader in your particular field. You can tell your story in detail and share insight into your company and philosophy. Sharing useful information with your customers for free adds to their experience of your brand, and if they find what they take away valuable they’ll keep coming back for more.
- Your blog can drive traffic to your website: If you plan your blog well, with strategically chosen keywords, it will help to drive traffic to your site. Each blog post is an extra indexed page in your website that will show up in search engines and is also content that people can share on social networks. Research shows that companies with active blogs generate 55% more site visits and 97% more links to their website (Source: Small Business Trends).
So next time you find yourself sighing at the prospect of writing a blog post when you have so many other important tasks to do, keep these points in mind. It’s worth spending a little time creating some high-quality content that will add value to both your customers and your company.