Yes, you need a blog. It takes time, and you already have a full plate. You have to come up with engaging content to post on a consistent schedule. Then you have to market your blog articles, so someone reads them. The results are not immediate, not like running a paid ad or promo. But the ROI is worth it.
You might think that blogs are just for bloggers. And for sure, there were more than 31.7 million bloggers in the United States in 2020, churning out impactful articles every day or week. But, if you’re a business—digital or bricks-and-mortar, selling a service or a product, you need a blog.
Here are six reasons why the investment of time is worth it.
-
Drive Traffic to Your Website
Consider these statistics:
- Companies that blog increase their leads by 67% per month.
- Websites that have a blog have 434% more indexed pages. (OptinMonster)
- Companies with a blog receive 97% more links to their websites. (OptinMonster)
- Brands that create 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 new leads per month.
According to 2019 statistics, 81% of consumers report that they search for information about a brand before deciding whether to purchase a product or engage in services.
We’ve shared lots of data in previous articles about consumer behavior. Unless your website has made it to the first page of SERP, your potential consumers are unlikely to find you. Sure, you’re on social media and paying for promos. But ads are time-limited. Your blog articles can be evergreen—helpful information that is not time-sensitive, that addresses the questions and concerns of your potential consumer base.
Blog articles keep your website visitors on your site longer. Dwell time is one of the metrics the Google algorithms use to rank your website. A longer dwell time will improve your website ranking.
You need a blog to boost your visibility on Google and other search engines.
2. Authenticity and Trust
In 5 Reasons Why Your Digital Footprint Must be Authentic, we talked about the declining levels of consumer trust in brands. There is even less trust in brand advertising. A carefully crafted blog will help you build authority in your industry and authenticity as a brand.
A company blog provides an opportunity to showcase your knowledge about what’s going on in the world. Articles that inform, answer questions, and demonstrate awareness, build trust between you and your consumers. You prove that you’re about more than your bottom line.
- Among consumers who say that they have a relationship with a brand, 64% cited shared values as the primary reason they have chosen to do business with that brand.
- A Wunderman Thompson study found that 85% of Gen Z Americans want their brands to be about something more than profit. 80% said that brands should help make people’s lives better.
- An international Accenture Strategy survey found that 62% of consumers want companies to take a stand on issues such as sustainability, fair employment practices, transparency, and other social/political issues.
Blog articles are a great way to share your brand’s values and to showcase the commitments you’ve made to address social or environmental challenges.
3. You Can Link Your Blog to Your Social Media Channels
You already know this—you have to be on social media. Read our tips on being effective on social media, even as a small brand with limited time. Linking between your social media channels and your website blog will draw more organic visitors to your website.
4. Repurposing Expands Exposure and Saves Time
It may be a lot of work to put out informative, authoritative, engaging blog articles, but you can repurpose them into multiple formats once done.
- Video
- Infographics
- Scripts for a podcast
- Snippets for LinkedIn posts
- Tweets
- Animations
- Slide deck.
If you write a series of articles covering a single topic in-depth, you can combine them all into a downloadable ebook that you provide for your consumers free of cost. It’s a perfect way to give value to your customers.
5. You Need a Blog to Reach Potential Consumers You Haven’t Identified
If you’ve created an effective marketing strategy, then you’ve
- identified your audience
- found the digital channels where your consumers hang out
- and are targeting your marketing content.
But there’s an untapped pool that you don’t know about. You need a blog to reach them.
- Write articles that touch upon the questions and concerns trending in the world today.
- Share how your service or product can help address some of the problems.
- Welcome questions and comments from your readers.
Your blog will become a popular place to find current and trustworthy information. If a reader finds your content useful, they’ll share it across their digital channels, increasing your brand exposure and drawing new visitors to your website. You’ll tap into that hidden pool of potential consumers.
6. A Blog Helps You Establish Yourself as a Thought Leader
Establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry helps you leap over your competitors. As consumer trust in brands continues to tumble, publishing valuable and unique content that is helpful to your audience will establish you as an authentic brand. Your blog will attract industry attention and other thought leaders. Well-written blog articles, especially evergreen content, can open the door to networking opportunities that expand your market reach. You’ll drive more organic traffic to your website, improve your SERPs and reach your long-term business goals.
Bottom Line
If you want to be competitive in the crowded field of online commerce, you need a blog on your website. Whether you do it yourself or contract with content writers, the time and effort you put into your blog will net amazing results.
- You’ll improve your search engine ranking
- increase organic traffic to your website
- provide yourself with content that you can use on all your social media channels
- establish yourself as a thought leader
- develop trust in your brand and build a loyal following, and
- achieve your business goals and objectives.
**Please feel free to leave comments or questions in the box below. And don’t forget to our blog and social personas.