5 Big Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs a Blog
Perhaps now more than ever, small businesses are venturing into unknown territory to stay relevant, grow their audiences, and make their voices heard. Gone are the days when a simple print ad in your local paper would bring all the ROI you need.
In today’s cluttered marketing world—where content and messages are bombarding consumers by the minute—small businesses must be engaging with their customers in real and meaningful ways. Simply put, if you want your business to reach new audiences—and to keep existing ones coming back for more—you need a business blog.
Let’s take a look at just a few of the enormous benefits of business blogging. You can also click here to watch our video on business blogging.
1. Content is king.
When a question pops into your head, where do you most often look for an answer? Probably a search engine like Google, right? And when you’re looking for business tips, personal inspiration, or a recipe for Green Bean Casserole, you’re most likely typing keywords into a search box. All of this is content that adds daily value to your life, both professional and personal. And most of the time, the content you consume comes from blogs, whether you realize it at the time or not.
We live in a multi-channel and multi-device world. People crave content in all forms: quick, snackable fun facts; in-depth reviews of products or services; and long-form pieces that inspire, inform, and spark conversation. If you’re not offering fresh, original content to your customers on a regular basis, you’re missing out on a major opportunity to be noticed and remembered by adding real and consistent value to their lives. Content marketing is powerful—it wears a crown of its own—and its benefits are so numerous that it's too big to ignore.
2. Boost your website traffic.
You’ve followed all the old hat advice for starting a business, and you think you’re doing everything right. You have a website, you’ve created social media accounts (even if you haven’t posted anything in a while), and your website URL is printed clearly on all of your business cards and collateral. So why are you still not getting the web traffic you need generate new leads?
Search engines like Google love fresh, relevant content. They build their entire reputations on serving consumers the best possible results for their search requests—so it's no surprise that they’re quick to reward the sites that have frequently updated content with outstanding search rankings, and to penalize the ones that don’t. If your site isn’t generating new, valuable information on a regular basis, it quickly becomes stale to search engines. Business blogging with high-quality, SEO-rich content is one of the best ways to ensure you’re providing valuable, consistent content that earns favor from both your customers and search engines.
Wait, why are we focusing so much on search engines?
An extensive study by Search Engine Watch found that 64% of all website traffic is driven by organic search (such as Google results) versus direct search (someone manually entering your website URL). This means that the nice person you gave your business card or brochure to at last week’s trade show may still be more likely to do a quick search for your business by name than to dig around for the materials you gave them. Search is fast, effective, and convenient, and it’s where your customers are going. It’s up to you to make sure they find you there.
According to a HubSpot survey:
Businesses that blog average 55% more website visitors than those that don’t.
B2B companies that blog earn 67% more leads per month than those that don’t.
B2C companies that blog earn 88% more leads per month than those that don’t.
71% of US consumers say that blogs affect their purchasing decisions.
It will take some time if you’re just getting started, but don’t give up! Consistency is key, and blogging is power.
3. This is your chance to lead the pack.
As a small business owner, you’ve probably thought: “I don’t have time to maintain a business blog. I don’t even know where to begin!” It’s a common reason why many small businesses hesitate to get started with blogging. But really, this is a good thing. If you can find the time or the budget to get started now, this is a great opportunity for you to dive in and begin engaging with your target audience in meaningful ways, all while your competitors are still dragging their feet. They’ll figure out the benefits of business blogging eventually, but you’ll have already built your competitive advantage ahead of time.
4. Become a trusted thought leader.
Face it: your customers have a lot of issues. They have needs, questions, and curiosities that only you can help with—right? Blogging gives you a platform to establish your business as a thought leader in your niche, an expert authority in your field. Be the site the shows up in their search results whenever they have a question specific to your industry. The more they see consistent, valuable information from you, the more they’ll regard you as a reliable resource.
Make an ongoing list of the biggest problems your customers face, and write detailed blog posts that provide practical solutions. Read customer feedback, social media comments, and general inquiries to identify ways you can provide them with genuine, valuable content on their terms.
5. Fuel your social media.
Finding ways to engage with your customers on social media can be one of the most frustrating and time-consuming aspects of content marketing. How do you know what to post? How can you drive them back to your website without always appearing to “sell” them something? Leave it to your blog.
An active business blog is a gold mine of content that can be shared on social media. Not only is this an additional opportunity for you to engage with and provide value to your customers, it’s a great (and tasteful) approach to drive clicks back to your website. And, unlike the print ad you place in a soon-to-be out-of-date paper or magazine, your blogs are long-term, and will continue to circulate and thrive on social media even years after they’re published on your site.
“Okay, I’m convinced that my business should be blogging regularly, but I just don’t have the time. What now?”
Let High Street take over. We’ll craft custom blog content for your business as often as you want it. We’ll take care of your content calendar, topic research, blog writing, SEO, editing, posting, and social media sharing. Break through the clutter of daily messages bombarding your customers and make yours really stand out.
Contact us today to learn more about our business blogging packages.
