Business blogging is perhaps one of the most effective ways to marketing your company online. Having a blogging plan included in your local marketing is essential towards creating a holistic advertising campaign where the opportunities to reach your target market are endless!
It’s not enough to have a static company website that solely sells your products with checkout. No! You must be dynamic in your approach so you are meeting the ever-evolving needs of a “technology dependent” consumer. Your business blog positions you to have a voice, establish trust with your market, and solve problems in the marketplace. In fact, you will be viewed as the expert and “go-to” person as you deliver content that speaks to your potential customers.
Whatever your local online marketing goals, business blogging will take you there! The key is having a true understanding of the value a blog provides to your audience and brand so that you can move forward with confidence that this investment (time and money) will be well spent.
The following are four compelling reasons how blogging adds to your current marketing campaign and the potential results experienced from leveraging this strategy.
#1 Search Engine Results Are Filled with Blog Content
If you check out the big search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, you will find that most of the organic results are from blog content. In other words, blogging gets you free exposure just by sharing content related to your industry. Companies spend tons a year on PayPerClick (PPC) advertising with Google…yet, you can naturally pop up and leverage this same traffic for free just by blogging.
Of course it’s important to be in tuned with your target market so you know what they’re searching for thus you can use these keywords in your content. Here’s some quick tips on local search engine optimization (SEO) to boost your rankings in the search engines.
#2 Blogs Drive Traffic to Your Websites
Posting content regularly positions more of your blog posts to be found in the search engines and attracts targeted prospects to your page. You see, your blog serves many purposes including sharing value to your market, generating leads to build your email list, growing your brand and creating exposure about your business (truly a win-win, right?). It also drives traffic to your actual company website, increasing leads and sales potential.
To generate leads with your content, it’s important to tell your visitors what to do next or give the call to action (CTA). A strong call to action is congruent with your message…so for example, if you’re sharing information on “5 steps to lose 10 pounds in two weeks”, then your CTA should line up with that topic, providing either a free eBook or checklist they can download.
Regardless, be clear in this statement as it can be the different between capturing a lead or someone gleaning much value from your content, yet moves on to the next thing.
#3 Social Media Sites Love Blogs!
Have you visited the Trending News section in Facebook recently? Click on any of the trending topics and you’ll see it’s full of blog posts! Social media networks like Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram drive tremendous traffic to blog content due to that powerful feature called “share”. Because users are able to spread content throughout their networks (and their friends can do the same), there is great potential for your message to go viral.
Don’t forget the call to action…tell them to share, comment, or like your stuff!
#4 Your Business Blog Separates You from the Competition
As mentioned, your blog gives you a credible, authority presence in your niche. While most companies are still relying on their static website to do all the selling for them, you are being savvy, strategic and smart with your blog. A static, company website does not deliver value and solves problems for your market…but your updated blog posts do. A static site does not involve and engage their visitors with a comment section…but your blog does!
Your blog can inspire, empower, educate, and promote…giving you that ongoing competitive edge.
Having a business blog certainly enhances your local marketing efforts. The key is to get started, be consistent, and provide value while giving solutions to problems. Happy Blogging!
For assistance in creating a content strategy that is congruent to your local and online marketing goals, please contact us here. We’d be happy to help!
