Speak to most leading web developers these days and they’ll tell you blogging isn’t important…it’s mandatory. Traditionally, a website blog has been seen as a supplementary business asset, used primarily as an additional communication tool rather than an integral element of the brand’s operational structure. However, time and research have shown that for web businesses looking to get ahead, blogging can no longer be viewed as anything close to optional.
Brands have the option of handling their own blogs, or outsourcing them to experts. In either case, it’s a long-term investment of time and effort that’s not to be underestimated, though has the potential to deliver outstanding long-term returns.
But assuming you’re already running a solid website in general, why is it that blogging should still be considered mandatory?
1. Regularly Updated Content
Well, first of all there’s the way in which a blog ensures that your primary website benefits from regularly updated content. It’s universally agreed on these days that content marketing really is the most powerful and reliable approach when it comes to winning over a target audience. Content marketing basically refers to the art of ‘selling without selling’ – earning such trust, loyalty and respect from your site’s visitors than they naturally want to do business with you. With regularly updated content of the highest quality, this becomes much easier to accomplish.
2. Audience Engagement
It’s no secret that customer retention represents a far more profitable and achievable alternative than securing new, one-time-only customers every time. Your products and services may change very rarely, but fresh blog content published on a regular basis gives your customers every reason to keep coming back for more. You engage them with what you have to say, pique their interests and ensure they revisit your website time and time again. With content that remains static, this just doesn’t happen.
3. A Two-Way Communication Channel
A business blog also represents an important two-way communication channel that your customers can use to make their voices heard. By permitting comments, publishing feedback and even allowing guest posting, you create a fully-fledged discussion group where anyone with an interest in what you do can get involved. Instead of simply bombarding your prospects with information like some kind of lecture, the barriers between the brand and its customers are broken down in a highly beneficial way.
4. Authority Building
Another benefit of blogging is the way in which it allows you to put a human voice to the brand your website represents. Standing out from the crowd has never been more important, which means establishing your brand’s voice and personality, demonstrating your knowledge and generally building authority in the eyes of your target audience. Rather than simply expecting them to take you seriously, give them a reason to with informative, engaging and entertaining blog posts on a regular basis.
5. SEO Value
Last but not least, a regularly updated business blog naturally fulfils many of the most important requirements the major search engines are looking for. In order to take an SEO campaign to its highest possible level, you need to constantly update your website with rich, relevant and engaging content of the highest quality. As you may not be able to do so with the site’s static or ‘evergreen’ content, a blog represents a great way of getting the job done. Whether you do it yourself or bring in the pros, a blog can make a huge difference to your on-going SEO efforts.
If you are interested in adapting a blog to your company website or simply require some marketing advice and assistance, then contact a member of the Search and More team today on 0161 669 5544.
