How can blogging benefit your business?

Blogging has a lot to offer any business – it’s a very powerful tool when used well but should not be employed as a blunt instrument. Blogs can help to increase online traffic and keep customers engaged with your brand, build credibility and help to set your business apart from the competition. Well thought through content that has been created in line with a strategy and designed to be informative and engaging can be positively transformative – anything too lazy or promotional may have the opposite effect. As long as you bear this in mind there are some very positive benefits for your business where blogging is concerned.

• Increase your customer base. A blog that is designed to meet the needs of your customers – and potential customers – can bring more people to your brand. Today, many consumers search online before making a purchase or look for tips and ‘how tos’ relating to issues that they have or problems that they are looking to solve. If your blog content provides answers then you will be able to draw new people to your brand.
• Grow your traffic volumes. If you’re consistently and regularly posting positive content that has value for users then you’ll give your traffic volumes a serious boost. The more visitors to your website the more potential for leads and conversions and the more likely it is that your content will be shared.
• Work with others in your industry. Blogs have a double benefit when it comes to the competition – from reading other blogs you’ll be able to see where your competitors are focused and what they feel is important. You can also use blogs to build collaborative relationships with similar companies, sharing links and news.
• Use the blog as a showcase or portfolio. Although it’s important to stay away from being purely promotional a blog can be very useful when it comes to demonstrating what your business can do. This might be showing customers what they can expect from your business or what you’ve achieved for others. For example, if you’re an interior designer a blog that features impressive images of previous work can be very motivating for those who might be looking for something similar for their own homes.
• Don’t underestimate the value of older blog content. According to HubSpot, 90% of their leads come from older blog posts. New content is key to getting the benefits of blogging but don’t forget the content that is already out there and how that can attract attention. With this in mind you may want to revisit older posts so that you can update links and make sure data is still relevant.
• Establish credibility and trust. A well written, knowledgeable blog is a great way to establish trust with your customers and others in your industry. Once you have trust then you can start to build on this so that readers become customers, into the long term.

These are just a few of the benefits that blogging has for any business looking to develop a profile online.