Many people are intimidated by the idea of starting a blog, but blogging is simply publishing content regularly. Although blogging frequently has some benefits, you do not have to spend hours each week writing and publishing content. Even one post per week can benefit your business or enhance your personal life. These are just some of the many benefits of maintaining a blog.
Creativity
Personal blogs provide an outlet for personal creativity and expression. You can blog about anything, from what happened at work on a particular day to how much fun you had spending the holidays with your family. Personal blogs are also a great way to stay in touch with family and friends when you can’t visit them in person.
Enhanced Credibility
Customers like to do business with trustworthy, credible people. Writing a business blog helps demonstrate your expertise to current customers and potential clients, as you can post tips, tricks, and warnings about your industry. It is also easier for people to trust someone who has a regular online presence and posts free information.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization refers to a set of techniques that help improve your website’s ranking in search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. When someone searches for a word or phrase related to your business, you want your website to show up on the very first page of results. Blogging can help you achieve this, as the search engines look favorably upon sites that publish content on a regular basis.
Community Creation
Some blogs turn into vibrant communities where people exchange ideas and advice. Having a business blog is a great way to create a community around your brand. Users can comment on new products and services, share their experiences with your company, offer each other tips and advice, and get in touch with your staff members directly.
Competitive Advantage
Starting a business blog helps you compete effectively against other companies in your industry. Customers do not want to work with companies that do not respond to their concerns or suggestions. Giving your customers a way to interact with your staff members sets you apart from companies that do not take customer service seriously.
Generation of Referrals
Once you have an established community that sets you apart from other businesses in your niche, you can generate referrals from your happy customers. Personal referrals are very valuable, as they cost you nothing.
Reputation Control
Unfortunately, dissatisfied customers are more likely to share their experiences with others than satisfied customers. However, blogging gives you a way to respond to negative comments and show customers that you value their business. When you resolve a problem or answer a question in a public forum like a blog, people will see that you respond to concerns and may be persuaded to do business with your company.
Public Relations
Your business is competing with all of the other businesses in your area for good publicity. Ideally, you want to capture the attention of local, regional and national journalists and convince them to write about your company. One of the best ways to get good publicity is to make it easy for reporters to learn about your products and services. Maintaining a blog allows you to publish information about what you offer.
Additional Income
Once you have an established blog, you have the opportunity to make extra income in several ways. Other blog owners might approach you and ask you to write guest posts for their blogs. If your blog receives a lot of traffic, you can offer advertising space to related companies. A furniture company owner, for example, might sell ad space to companies that sell lamps, rugs and other decorative items.
Reduced Marketing Expense
Some forms of marketing are very expensive, such as purchasing ad space in magazines or buying commercial air time from a local television station. Blogging allows you to market your business at a very low cost, which reduces your expenses and helps you increase profits.
Social Media
Many people use sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to network, find product vendors and connect with service providers. When you have a blog, you can use these social media tools to even greater advantage. Tweet about your recent post to drive visitors to your site. Let your Facebook friends know when you have new content on your blog. Share your blog address with LinkedIn contacts so they can follow your business.
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