Why You Need a Business Blog in 2024
Imagine your customers come knocking on your door with a list of questions. They want to learn more about your business and how you can help them. When they come to you, they see a building with the lights out, so they keep walking until they find someone available to talk.
What they don’t know is that you’re sitting there, working in the dark!
This is what it’s like to have a business in the digital age and neglect your website blog.
Having a robust online presence is a way to engage with your audience and answer all the questions they have as they’re exploring whether or not they want to work with you. Yet, many business owners feel that they don’t “need” a blog on their business website.
I’m here to tell you that leveraging your knowledge for blogging is a great way to boost your online presence and secure customers and clients, regardless of the industry you’re in. Here’s how:
The SEO Advantage
The most important and obvious advantage of blogging for businesses is SEO. You see, search engines like Google love fresh, valuable content, and that's precisely what a well-maintained blog can provide.
With the right strategy and keyword research, you’ll have content that centers around relevant topics – tailored to your target audience. As a result, every time you publish a new blog post, you tell search engines, "Hey, people need to see this.”
It's basically like leaving a trail of roses for your customer that leads straight to your door – and it works. According to DemandSage, having a blog can increase your organic business web traffic by 55%.
The more quality content you produce, the more opportunities there are for your blog posts to pop up and get recognized by search engines and potential customers. And the more keywords your posts rank for, the more customers you can pull into your product or service sales funnel.
For example, the cannabis marketing agency Cannabis Creative ranks for several niche cannabis marketing-related keywords. When brands have marketing questions, guess who’s consistently top of the list? Cannabis Creative.
These customers get regular exposure to the brand, keeping them top of mind. Moreover, the content provides real value, demonstrating the expertise they have in the industry and leading them to become the agency of choice when it comes to outsourcing cannabis marketing.
This is the same effect you need to have! Say you’re a productivity and mindset coach with a signature group program. By regularly creating content around productivity, mindset, self-improvement, and other related topics, you’ll start to be the go-to resource in your industry, and funnel customers straight into your program over time.
Key takeaway: Maintaining your business blog boosts your online presence and organically draws in more potential customers to your site.
Establishing Authority and Credibility
Of course, second to SEO is creating a name for yourself in your field. Building authority is like Willy Wonka’s golden ticket in the business world, and a blog can be your guaranteed way to get into the factory.
Not only does building credibility help your customers find you in the crowd, but it also helps your colleagues and competitors recognize your expertise.
When you regularly share valuable insights, tips, and knowledge in your niche, you're positioning yourself as a trusted source. Readers start to see you as the go-to expert and will continue to seek you out.
Key takeaway: A well-crafted blog not only positions you as an authority but also nurtures trust and credibility, making it an invaluable asset for your business.
Content Marketing and Lead Generation
Although the majority of blog content is centered around insights or answering questions (awareness and consideration content), there is always an opportunity for decision-stage content.
Blogging for your business does not merely attract visitors to your site, it also aids lead-generation efforts. By strategically placing call-to-actions (CTAs) within your blog posts, you're encouraging readers to take action, such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading an e-book, requesting a sample, signing up for a workshop, and more.
These CTAs are like GPS directions, guiding your visitors to the next step in their journey with your business. Constant Contact says, “SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads have a 1.7% close rate.” In other words, leads from your blogging efforts are way more likely to book with or buy from you than leads that come from other channels.
In other words, posting to your blog can be like planning dates with someone you’re interested in based on their interests, helping you build a relationship that is rooted in trust, understanding, and value.
Key takeaway: Your business blog can function as a starting point for potential customers who eventually become loyal patrons of your business. It's an integral part of the customer conversion process.
Showcasing Products or Services
Back to that customer knocking on your door with questions. Answering those questions is incredibly important, but so is demonstrating that you’ve done the work before!
Showcasing success stories and client testimonials is like the icing on the credibility cake. It's tangible proof that what you do works and that people trust you. When prospective customers see that others have had positive experiences with your business, it's a powerful endorsement.
However, you don’t want to be the sleazy salesperson that suffocates customers with a deal. Instead, you want to seamlessly integrate product or service descriptions into your blog content, making them feel like a natural part of the conversation.
More like that friendly employee who will mention a product or service only if it’s relevant to your initial ask.
MAPI, an Ayurvedic lifestyle brand does this extremely well. Suppose you are an individual who is interested in improving your gut health through natural remedies. MAPI writes in-depth, value-driven articles that address what “gut health” really looks like and how to achieve it through natural, at-home remedies – including their own products.
They don’t shove it down your throat, though. They subtly place recommended products throughout the blog where relevant.
If you’re someone who wants to take action after reading up on the problem, you’ll have the solution immediately available for purchase.
And just like that, MAPI catches you as a customer – hook, line, and sinker.
Key takeaway: Your business blog is a great place to share your products and services and ultimately get more sales over time!
Building a Community
Another benefit of blogging that is typically overlooked is community-building. A well-known example of this is Glossier. The cosmetics brand is famous for having originally been a beauty blog that evolved into a product-based brand.
Glossier’s blog actively works on creating a loyal following by crafting content that resonates with its audience's values and interests.
Moreover, they host events and contests to actively engage their community. These activities offer a sense of belonging and the chance for their customers to connect and interact on a deeper level.
By doing so, Glossier turns its customers into brand enthusiasts who use its products and become advocates and participants in the brand's storytelling.
Last but not least, Glossier showcases the power of sharing user-generated content and testimonials. By featuring the experiences and stories of their customers on their blog, they've not only built trust but also allowed their community to shine.
It's this sense of inclusivity and shared identity that has made Glossier's blog a prime example of how to build a thriving, engaged, and loyal community around your business.
Key takeaway: A business website blog that engages your community and target audience may have the power to catapult your brand into success.
Analyzing and Measuring Success
If you’re sold into the world of business blogging, analytics is equally as important as content creation.
Understanding tracking tools is crucial to refining your business blogging strategy over time, with the two best tools being Google Analytics and native website analytics platforms. These analytics tools unveil crucial insights, such as which blog posts are most popular, how long readers stay, and which sources drive the most traffic.
However, it's not just about data collection; it's about setting and evaluating key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs are the yardsticks that measure the success of your blogging efforts.
Here are some recommendations on KPIs to keep an eye on:
Total website traffic
Top landing pages
Average session duration
Average duration per page
Conversion rates per page (if applicable)
Top referral sources
Armed with insights from analytics, you can refine your content strategy, tailor your approach to better serve your audience, and ultimately enhance the impact of your blog. It's a cycle of learning and adaptation that ensures your blog remains a potent tool in your business arsenal.
Overcoming Common Blogging Challenges
As much as I can sing the praises of blogging for business, it’s important to acknowledge the associated challenges. From combating writer's block and maintaining a consistent posting schedule to navigating the daunting terrain of SEO, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.
However, there's a secret weapon that can tackle all these hurdles: hiring a professional copywriter. We wordsmiths are adept at crafting engaging, SEO-optimized content that not only overcomes writer's block but also ensures consistency in your posting schedule.
With the help of a freelance copywriter, you can pinpoint the right topics to prioritize in your business, conduct keyword research, and create content that actually resonates with your audience.
So, when blogging seems totally not worth it or super overwhelming, a professional copywriter can be the guiding light you need – whether you outsource the process completely or tag team with them to understand your SEO performance and ongoing strategy.
Boosting Business Success through Blogging in 2024
If there’s anything you take away from this, let it be that blogging for your business has long-term value and a fantastic return on investment (ROI).
The compounding benefits of consistently publishing high-quality content are hard to ignore. Blogs continue to attract organic traffic and generate leads long after they've been published, creating a lasting, valuable asset for your business.
Your efforts will pay off as your blog accumulates authority, leads, and conversions over time.
So, if you haven't already, it might be the right time to jump on board and reap the enduring rewards of a well-crafted business blog. For help with your business blogging strategy, get in touch with me.
