In today’s business world, blog posting is no longer a hobby for aspiring writers, braggadocios travelers and celebrity gossip mavens – it is a key component of any successful marketing strategy.
Google estimates that twenty seven million unique pieces of content are published on the Internet each and every day, many of those by savvy businesses who know the myriad benefits of maintaining a regularly updated blog. You could be missing out on countless business opportunities if you neglect to keep an active blog – it has been shown that companies who do generate 67 percent more leads per month than their competitors.
Indexed pages
With each blog that you post on your otherwise-static website, you create one more indexed page on search engines such as Google. Indexed pages have been proven by numerous studies to equal more business leads, as more and more potential customers encounter your content through online searches for related keywords. In fact, having between fifty and one hundred incrementally posted blogs on your site increases leads by double digit percentages. You do not want to miss out on this potential business!
These leads will not dry up when your post ages – in fact, they can actually increase over time. Up to seventy percent of the traffic generated by a blog is from posts that weren’t published within the last month. One good blog post can help you to gain new business even ten years down the road – not a bad payoff for a few hours of your time.
Become an authority
Blogging about a wide array of topics related to your business doesn’t just help you generate immediate leads – it also helps to establish you as an authority in your field. A broad, well researched catalogue of past blog posts shows your potential clientele that you keep up with the latest developments in your industry, and that you are a thought leader online. A personable, enjoyable piece of writing can also foster a feeling of camaraderie and trust between you and your reader, and can go a long way in making sure that your company is a customer’s top choice.
Regularly posted blogs provide you with fresh and unique content that you can post on your social media streams. Followers dislike status updates and tweets that simply repeat the same information over and over, but a well-curated blog can provide fresh fodder to keep them interested and engaged. Ideally, they will find the post so interesting that they will share it across their own networks, a personal endorsement to their friends and family that goes a long way in establishing trust with potential clients.
Provide quality content
It is important to remember that not all blog posts are created equal! You’ve no doubt encountered a poorly written advertisement disguising itself as a blog post and quickly closed the tab, and most people will do the same. In fact, over three years ago, Google cottoned on to the trend and now penalises content with too many keywords, too many spelling and grammar errors and content that is obviously shilling for a particular product or service. Avoid this at all costs – your blogs should be informative, interesting and fun to read.
(image courtesy of Wikimedia)