The UK's Most Loved Telecom Company
Does your company really need a blog?
- 24 June 2017
- on News
Blogging. I’ve been threatening to write a regular blog for a long time now. Ages. But for whatever reason, whether it be procrastination, not having enough time or just the fear of putting myself out there, I just haven’t gotten into the habit. Which is a shame because I like to think I’ve got some interesting content to share.
I was at a Mastermind meeting recently where the subject of blogging and email marketing was being discussed. One business owner was discussing his reluctance in sending out more that one or two emails a month to his client base. We’re talking active clients here, not a bought in list of contacts. The emails were not salesy, just full of really useful content that was interesting, engaging and highly relevant for his clients. And yet he didn’t want to push the button. Why? He didn’t want to be seen to be spamming his clients.
Now, it just so happens that I am one of his clients and I could immediately see that his stance was illogical and was born of fear. I would certainly welcome getting more information from him if it could help my business. Sure, I probably wouldn’t read every email but I think I’d read most of them. So what was happening here was that he was saying no on my behalf and robbing me of the benefit of his expertise. So, are you robbing your customers of your expertise too?
Apart from this, there are some clear benefits for your company in having a blog:
1. Get more traffic to your website
Having a blog increases traffic to your website. That’s because search engines include your content through their complex algorithms. Given that you target a specific type of reader through relevant keywords in your content, it will help your business rank higher in search engine results for those keywords. A user, for example, searches for “virtual numbers for small business.” If your blog post contains these search terms and adheres to the search engine algorithm’s requirements (correct grammar, no misspelt words, many reader comments, etc.) then it’s likely that you’ll rank higher in the organic search results. The more blog posts that you create, the more likely that the search engine will index your pages.
Furthermore, when other websites link your post to their own content (or external link), you will receive additional exposure online, which will then allow readers to click on the link that redirects to your website.
2. Initiate consumer interest
Generating interest in your product and to what you do is only half the story. With your content, readers should become qualified prospects that will patronise your product or service. How do you do this? Your blog post should generate interest and contain complete information. Readers should get to know more about your product, how it benefits them, what problem it’s supposed to fix. A good call-to-action and a guarantee will help to turn website visitors into prospects. For example, you could write “Get your affordable three-month supply NOW…or your money back.”
3. Get to know more of your potential readers and leads
Through reliable digital analytics tools such as Google Analytics, you can track your reader’s behaviour on your website. What time of day do they usually read your posts? What link did they click to redirect to your post? What other posts did they read after your latest content? Qualitative data in the form of blog comments by your readers also create a valuable “reach” to them. This vital information helps marketers plan their content well. They can even customise their posts according to the insights they gather from readers. Some companies have even created new products or improved existing ones based on the comments they receive from their blogs. Your blog is your direct communication platform that is cost-effective and highly accessible.
4.Provides brand recognition through social media
By promoting your blog on social media, you provide valuable content that readers need. It establishes your expertise in an industry and would cement your place as the go-to source when they need information on a specific topic. In other words, your company becomes an authority. And because you’ve already established a name by providing them with needed information, you can be assured that you’re capturing good leads with your content. In fact, in a survey by Hubspot, it was found out that 57% of their customers have generated customers through their company blogs.
5. Supports sales campaigns at a cheaper cost
A good post will keep readers curious about what your business has to offer. Unlike social media ads, your blog post is displayed on your website as long as you want to and doesn’t have a limit on the number of words that you can use. Furthermore, setting up a business blog is cheap and can even be free! Low Hosting costs make it easy and convenient to set up a blog even when you’re just launching a startup.
Finally, building your network doesn’t have to cost thousands of pounds. Through your in-depth content, it can reach millions of readers worldwide and can help you achieve excellent B2B and B2C networks in a short amount of time.
With these reasons, there’s no question why your business shouldn’t have a blog. And remember, content quality is to be prioritised over quantity. No amount of content for your digital marketing campaign is successful if it doesn’t drive the reader to become your valued customer.
Questions? Contact the team.
Jez
- Posted on: 24 June 2017
