By 
Business blogs are becoming an increasingly common way to expand a company’s online presence. Six months ago I asked does your business blog? According to Hubspot, the number of companies that blog has risen 17% in the last two years to represent 65% of all businesses surveyed. That increase is not at all surprising to me. After all, as well as improving search engine rankings, blogs can be one of the most cost-effective marketing tools available to businesses. With so much competition online, they have become a powerful channel for both developing brands and generating sales.
While blogs continue to mystify many companies who think that they are just for people expressing their personal opinions, more and more businesses are realizing the hidden powers that a business blog can provide to their sales and marketing efforts. Even successful B2B blog case studies are beginning to appear.
If your business still hasn’t started a blog, consider the potential hidden powers that a business blog holds for your company that you might not be aware of:
1) Communicate Freely
Unlike web pages that often remain static for too long, business blogs provide a quick and convenient platform for new company information. For providing resourceful industry information, background regarding your press releases, in-depth analysis of new product launches, promotions, or simply conveying up-to-date company news, they are an invaluable tool for many current businesses. Especially if your website isn’t updated regularly, blogs can be a very effective means of promotion, keeping regular customers informed, and attracting new customers to your web presence.
2) Loosen Up
A business blog allows you to communicate in a more informal setting, which can help you to connect on a more personal level with your customers. Unlike the more formal aspects of a main business website, a blog can afford to be more conversational. Under the leadership of your social media content czar, blog writers from both within your company as well as from outside sources can write regular and diverse content that can still relate closely to your company’s philosophy and meet your fluctuating needs.
3) Boost Your Ratings
Even with a standard blog on your main website, there are many opportunities to create links to and from your site, enabling visitors to find relevant information with a single click. This can encourage visitors to discover other relevant pages on your website, and it will also naturally help your search engine optimization. As the blog brings in more people to your website, you have more opportunities to promote your products and services, which can convert into more sales.
4) Save Money and Time
With a regularly updated blog, you can afford to spend less money and time on expensive advertising. Giving a worldwide audience new company information will cost very little, if anything at all. It’s your choice whether you want the blog to be updated every day or every week. Whatever you decide, you can be in complete control of the content and branding and feel comfortable in the fact that search engines will be indexing your content to provide potential clients new ways of discovering your company online.
5) Get Feedback
If you need to know what your average customer thinks about a new product or future company plans, surveys embedded in blog posts or simple comment boxes can provide you with immediate consumer feedback that would otherwise take weeks or months to obtain. You can even use the blog to answer visitors’ questions.
Even though blogs are an excellent marketing tool, they do require time and management to keep them up to date, but they should not be dismissed because of the real value they can bring to almost any business. As a tool for organic SEO, a vital link to potential customers, and a means of inexpensive, effective communication, business blogs can possess powers that are hidden to those who don’t use them. If your company doesn’t have a blog yet, there’s never been a better time to start blogging.
Black Seo Guy
I stress to businesses that having a blog is more helpful then they think, because I explain the power of it..then people a;ways say how fast can you build one for me..
“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”
nealschaffer
Love it Coleman! Thanks for dropping by – you are on my Windmill Networking VIP list, by the way … stay tuned
Gabriele Maidecchi
I always like to mention that a business blog can be the real hub of the social media efforts of the company. Your strategy – in my opinion – has to be tailored around it, as it gives several advantages like the ones you mention in the post.
Additionally, every other social media platform (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube etc) can work with and for it, boosting their whole effectiveness.
nealschaffer
Boy Gabriele, if I closed my eyes and heard you speak I could swear that it was me speaking! Really enjoy your comments and finding someone out there that has such a similar perspective on social media like I do. Thanks for your support!
Breannecooley
Just posted this on my company’s internal FB-type app….we launched a blog and it’s going really well — great article, Neal!
nealschaffer
Thanks Breanne! Let me know if I can ever be of any help to your business – or you
Glenn Hansen
Neal, thanks for posting this. I am surprised that 65% of businesses surveyed say they are blogging. But are they blogging well? Maybe, because deeper in that same study it said 71% of respondents who blog are doing so “at least weekly.” Great news for our industry. Let’s reach out and make sure we can help these companies blog well! Thanks, Glenn Hansen
Cleopatra Fitzgerald
Mr.Neal Schaffer,
Nicely put and those 5 steps are productively the way to help
businesses to further prosper.
By providing customers a chance to firsthand observe the business’s blog it
ignites a social, interpersonal atmosphere with the force to initiate brand
attachment. It introduces the cascade’s flow of ever new ideas and advice
at a “minimal cost and saved time.”
Kristi Hines
Great points! Proves why just about every company should have a blog. No matter what industry, someone (especially clients) are bound to be interested, especially if they get to offer a chance to give feedback!
nealschaffer
Preaching to the choir Kristi! Thanks for the comment!
nealschaffer
Agree with you 100% Glenn! And I have my doubts that all of them are blogging well, just like most companies are “doing” social media but is there room for improvement? You betcha!
nealschaffer
Thanks Cleopatra!
SEM Services
Great points. #5 is a major bonus for nearly all business.
Bebo Kobo
All five point are fabulous, I like them. As we have seen business blogs have become online interface of business that give some exposure to their customers.
nealschaffer
Thanks for the note Bebo … or is your name Gerald?
Why I Blog, and Why You (and Your Business) Should Too | GoldenVisionTraining.com
[...] months ago that almost every social media strategy should have a blog component in it. The benefits of business blogging are huge: One of my clients literally doubled their website traffic with just 2 blog posts aligned [...]
Tampabayse
Creating a blog for your business is really a great way in increasing traffic and popularity for your business. These means a lot more chances of having customers and prospects for the business you own.
Kent
Thanks for the article, do you have more related to blogging or any websites that you can recommend to improve business blogging?
nealschaffer
Yup!
nealschaffer
Hi Kent – Please look at the posts in my blogging category for more business blogging advice:
http://windmillnetworking.com/category/blogging/
nealschaffer
Hi Kent – Please look at the posts in my blogging category for more business blogging advice:
http://windmillnetworking.com/category/blogging/