Does your company's website need a blog? The short answer is a resounding "yes!" Don't just take our word for it, though. There is enough evidence available to prove it. Statistics from marketing software company HubSpot show that 82 percent of marketers who blog daily generated successful new business leads during 2013, while more than half of those who blog monthly did so, too. So why has blogging become the new gold standard for company websites? Because it delivers, that's why--specifically in the following ways.
Fresh Content
The most important aspect of having a company website is providing fresh content on a regular basis. Now, there are only so many times and ways you can rewrite your existing copy, and there's only so much industry news you can use. You really need to publish new material often enough to keep your site in the queue for search engine indexing, and that's where a blog comes in. It gives you a platform, a reason and a way to publish monthly, weekly or daily if you wish, covering anything from your thoughts on the market to education about your product or service.
Searchability
Until recently, search engine optimization meant using appropriate keywords in the content of your site. Now, searchability--and the resulting increased traffic--relies on publishing quality material often that is relevant to your target market. For both methods, business blogging delivers the best possible option for posting information that is useful to your readers and which includes the keywords they are likely to use when searching for your products or services. Therefore, to succeed in search, you really need a blog.
Lead Generation
Inbound marketing is the science of generating qualified sales leads online from users who want what you sell. To do this, you need to entice them to give you their contact information, and they'll only do so if they believe you really can help them. You need a blog to showcase your expertise in the field, your wares and your tips and advice for customers, along with strong calls to action.
Social Sharing
Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are great ways to interact with users who are interested in what you sell. The problem is, you need something to share. Unless you're a social media buff, it's unlikely that you'll be able to find something fresh and new to post every day. A blog, however, opens many doors for posts:
- Post a link to it on the day it gets published
- Use it to generate questions and engagement with your followers
- Find related material to post and link to it
- Invite readers to share it with their social media networks
Link Building
Inbound links are a vital part of successful online marketing, and we don't mean the ones you can buy. We're talking about genuine, high-quality links to your pages from other websites who have used you as a reference or source and aren’t ashamed to admit it. Those types of users don't link to your sales pages—why would they? They link to material that shows you as an industry expert or that provides data they can use in their own communications. That kind of information is found on your blog, so you need one to attract links that provide value. You can also link back to other pages on your own site, where readers can find additional information on topics.
Communication
Methods of communicating with current and prospective clients are limited--unless you have a blog. Sure, you can use your website's home page if you really want to change it all the time. You can use email marketing methods, send "snail mail" or make phone calls, to a limited extent. Or you can do the easiest thing and use your blog to speak directly to clients, who will learn to frequently visit it or follow it to get insights from you on a regular basis.
Credibility
Most business leaders strive for thought leadership in their respective industries to enable them to dominate their local market and build up a reputation as an expert. That's very hard to do if you don't have anything to use as evidence of your ability. Your business blog provides you with a medium for displaying your knowledge, and tools such as Google Author Rank make it possible to build up an online portfolio and a ranking for your posts. All this goes a long way towards establishing credibility and is a very important reason why you should blog regularly.
Don't lag behind on building a business blog. Create it, post on it and share it often to reap the benefits of having it on your site.
* Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
