Table of Contents
Why would a business have a blog?
Some of the reasons that businesses have blogs include:
- Authority
- Traffic
- Lead Generation
Let’s now cover each of these.
Building Authority
Businesses often use blogging to talk about topics in their industry. Companies sometimes use this medium to identify problems that their target audience might encounter and offer potential solutions. For example, Slack talks about productivity, business, and the workplace.
After reading a blog, audiences who previously didn’t know a company – and therefore didn’t trust them – might change their minds.
Growing Web Traffic
Historically, several businesses have used blogging for web traffic. Companies can list blogs on Google and other search engines, which distribute their content to audiences searching for related content.
Businesses normally don’t see web traffic results from blogging for months or even years, and this leads to many quitting, but the long-term return on investment is fruitful if they stick with it.
Lead Generation
Companies also use blogging as a way to generate leads, especially when manual outreach gets frustrating and time-consuming. When users see a relevant blog topic, they click on it – and if the content answers their questions, they might stay on the website.
After a few months, customers might then contact a company about their services or sign up for a free trial.
How can blogging help my business get found online?
When users need answers to a question, they’ll often turn to search engines, YouTube, or podcasts. If a company’s blog appears, a user clicks on it, and the content answers their question, trust is formed – but if they don’t get their question answered, they may never return.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is what contributes to most blogs either getting seen or buried among the competition. You should use several methods for SEO, such as optimizing your content structure and organically receiving backlinks. Relevant keywords and content structure are two other SEO factors.
What kind of content should I put on my blog?
There’s no hard and fast rule about the type of content you should put on your blog, but it must resonate with your target audience.
Some ideas include:
- Industry news and trends: Talk about what’s going on in your industry, and offer perspectives on what you think the future holds. Use statistics in your articles where possible, and provide tips on how to prepare or adapt.
- How-to guides and tutorials: Walk users through a problem they might have and tie it into your own products and services.
- Research papers: Conduct industry research and create in-depth papers about a trend or topic. For example, Gallup releases an annual “State of the Workplace” report.
- Repurposed content: If you already have a YouTube channel or podcast, consider repurposing your content for blog posts. It shouldn’t be word-for-word, but you can take parts of your structure.
- Customer success stories: Share the results that your customers have gotten from using your products or services.
- “Life at our company”: Share details on what it’s like to work for your company. For example, you can do “a day in the life of [Employee Name]”.
How often should I post on my blog?
Conventional advice tells most people to blog once per week or even more, but you must prioritize quality. Your audience would prefer that you post high-quality content bi-weekly or monthly if that’s where your capacity is at.
Consider each of these when putting together a blog calendar:
- Your resources: How much time do you have, and what’s your staff capacity and budget?
- Production time: From research to production, blogs often take several hours to produce.
You should also start slow and build from there.
How do I get people to read my blog?
Some of the ways to get people to read your blog include:
- Social media promotion
- Guest blogging
- Email marketing
Let’s look at each of these.
Social Media Promotion
Share your blog posts on your social media channels. Platforms to try include X (Twitter), Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. You’ll have to experiment to find what works for you.
Email Marketing
Include your blog posts in a newsletter. You can send these weekly if the quality isn’t sacrificed, but some businesses share updates once per month or quarter instead.
Guest Blogging
Guest blogging involves writing on other websites, often with a larger audience. Target readers can then see your products and services.
How can I use my blog to support my social media marketing efforts?
One of the most common ways to complement blogging and social media is sharing links to your articles, but this isn’t the only thing you can do. Some companies also repurpose blog content into infographics and other visuals that they then post across different platforms.
In more recent years, businesses have used short-form videos – such as Instagram Reels and TikTok videos – to promote blog snippets or summarize points.
How can blogs drive small business leads?
To drive leads from your blog as a small business, you must first understand your goals. Here are some examples:
- Signing up for your newsletter
- Completing a subscription purchase
- Signing up for a free trial
Offer valuable content and strategically place calls to action to move readers into the next stage of your marketing funnel, and avoid using clickbait because you will annoy more users than you convert. Examples of calls to action include:
- Requesting a consultation
- Booking a demo
- Buying tickets to an event
Why is blogging an influential tool in business?
Blogging does not provide instant results and will sometimes feel frustrating, but companies can connect more closely with their audiences.
As the blog catalog grows, companies can grow brand awareness and ultimately build sales; without these resources, businesses may become invisible to their audiences.
What are some legal considerations for business blogging?
Business blogging requires thinking about local laws and adhering to copyright regulations. Before publishing your first post, think about each of the following:
- Disclosures: You’re required by law to disclose sponsored content and affiliate partnerships. Do this in a sentence or two at the top of your page.
- Privacy: Install optional cookie plugins for GDPR and CCPA compliance. Only collect necessary information and create a privacy policy.
- Defamation: Never make false or harmful statements about others, and always fact-check what you write for full integrity.
Conclusion
Business blogging supports various communication and marketing goals, but it’s not easy, and you need to be patient. Stay consistent, learn about SEO, and ask your audience what they want.
You will have to experiment and see what works for your business. Try different blogging styles and social media platforms.
