Can you believe blogging has been around for about a decade already? There are reasons why blogging has become so popular, especially with businesses and professionals. Many businesses have success using a blog to communicate with their customers, help promote their business, provide content to help boost the website, as a reputation management tool, and to establish your business as an authority in your industry.
Communicate with Your Customers
Your blog is a vehicle for communicating with your current and potential customers. Most businesses don’t make regular changes to the website; that is what the blog can be used for. A blog is not just about selling; a lot of it is about communicating with and engaging your customers and your audience. What should you communicate on your blog? Some communication ideas include: holiday specials, announcements about your business or staff, your store hours, and pretty much anything that you want to tell your customers about your business. Remember that blog posts don’t only have to be text, images, pictures, and videos can help tell your story and make your blog more visual and engaging.
Help Promote Your Business
As we said before, a blog is not only a sales tool, but it definitely can be as long as you mix sales messages with the other four reasons you should have a blog. Your blog allows you to give more information that the website does, or even an in-store display does. Tell a story about new products, or explain why you are featuring something on sale. Each member of your staff can write a short blog post where they can each talk about their favorite product or service.
Provide Content to Support Your Website
A blog can often work in conjunction with your website. However, on your blog you can further expand more about what is on your website. Besides helping expand upon your products, instead of helping to sell them and beefing up the information, you can link to your website and help promote your business in two places instead of just one.
Reputation Management
Reputation management is something that all businesses need to worry about because of social media and online reviews. Most customers nowadays will research a company on the internet to see what you say about yourself and, most importantly, what others say about your company. One of the big factors that plays into online reputation management is about prevention rather than reaction. A blog helps you put more messages and information about your company out there. That way when someone is searching for information about you online, they see more positive things. The more different pieces of information about your company there is out there, the less it can make negative things impact your online reputation.
Establish Your Business as an Authority for Your Industry and Community
A slightly different angle for your blog is to use it to establish yourself and/or your company as an authority in your industry. You are an expert at what you do. Flaunt that expertise on your blog. Let readers know things that they never did about your company or your product or industry. In addition to establishing yourself as an authority in your industry, you can also highlight your company as a proponent of your community. This adds to your company’s credibility and offers a chance for networking and getting publicity from other companies in your community.
Summary
Blogging has been around for a long time now and there are many reasons why you can use a blog to help your business. Blogging doesn’t only have to be about writing text, remember to include video, images, and pictures to add interest and appeal to readers. Our 5 reasons for starting or even rebooting your business blog are to communicate with your customers, help promote your business’ sales, help support your website’s content, put some reputation management into place, establish your business an authority in your industry and community.
Bio: Richard Larson is blogger and Brand Manager for GoPromotional Business Gifts. He enjoys sharing tips on marketing and online business.
