Blog for Business: What They Are and Why They Matter

If you have never been fond of writing, the thoughts of using a blog to market your business probably don't sound too appealing.  What if you found a reputable resource to do your blogging for you?  Let's say you take on the task of changing the motor oil in your car – letting the professionals do it for you can be a far better use of your time, money, peace of mind, and "fingernails" in this case.  Don't forget there's proper disposal of the old motor oil that comes with the task.

You've probably heard the terms blog, blogging, and blog post, but the truth is you probably already have plenty to do and the thoughts of learning these new terms then squeezing the benefits from each would strip you of valuable time, not to mention shifting your focus away from whatever it is you do best.

The problem is by not having a blog, your competitors who do will constantly be pulling further ahead in the minds of consumers than your brand is.  You can counter your businesses competitors, but you will need to: think of a compelling topic, set the tone and voice, find a supporting photograph, edit the copy, make a list of reference links, add a few tags for Google search, publish, share on social media, and finally add the blog post to your website.  Yuck!  Who wants to blog?  In a word, Oevae. Yes!  That's because this is one of the areas we thrive and have talented authors, creative and technical writers who are passionate about doing these types of tasks.  But first, you should understand what a blog is and why they matter for growing your business.   

Ok Google, what is a blog? 

Blog /bläɡ/ is a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.

Ok, that sounds great and all, but I'm talking about a business blog. If you don't have a business blog you'll probably reconsider after exploring the benefits. The bigger question is how do you know if it's working and doing what it's supposed to do?  Easy. Since each blog post becomes a seed scattered on fertile ground.  The number of views for each blog post will grow over time.  This will tell you the overall appeal, meanwhile providing data that can help build a human aspect for your brand and build relationships with consumers – create household brand names (Kleenex, Scotch Tape, Xerox, Google, Popsicle, Ziploc).  Experienced examination of analytics will reveal which blog posts are compounding against those that need additional grooming versus those you should delete.

The top five benefits your business blog offers:

1. Provide answers to common questions you receive about your brand
2. Help establish and strengthen brand values with supporting photography
3. Create a position of authority and leadership for your brand
4. Convert visitor traffic into leads with long-term results
5. Drive targeted organic traffic to your website

The research behind blogs and what a well-written blog can do to help a business grow is no mystery.  The reality is the vast number of small business owners have no clue or no experience at leveraging best practices that yield legitimate results.

A blog is the human voice of your brand.  So it is imperative for building a brand a consumer will listen to, understand or learn from, trust, and are willing to share their experience with friends, family, and in Google reviews.  Without a business blog to create regular content about your brand, you miss out on the benefits of compounding (posts whose traffic grows steadily over time) blog content.  As a compounding post generates more traffic, its search authority and hits increase, and more traffic becomes a virtuous growth cycle.

A high-performing business blog works tirelessly as an advocate for your brand, available all hours of the day, even on days, you don't want to work.  The blog for a business is often on the company website, shared on social media, linked from Google business profile, delivered in an email newsletter, sent via text messages, and scanned from QR codes. Each one can maximize the potential for a growing number of website visitors over time.  The best time to start a business blog was the day you started your business, the second-best time to start a business blog is now.

Make a brand difference.™