Sound reasoning to Blog for Business - mainly because it works
Posted by Gary Ares
Recently, I happened to find a well done business blog post , which made me stop to grab a paper and pencil to jot down several of my thoughts that support the original title "Why Businesses Must Blog". First of all the word must, taken literally, could sound a bit strong, but the evidence on tangible benefits for your business are more compelling than ever.
This list was developed, pretty much on the fly, and could probably be lengthened with a little more thought, but for now it'll do just fine. It might even be a good idea to somehow bookmark this post, as well as the link above from YMarketing.com for that day when you might be heard to voice "ah ha", or may a simple "hummmm", and have the urge to share your treasure trove of knowledge with a friend.
A few more reasons to support how business blogs are beneficial;
- Every post is like another free advertisement that, over time, will substantially build your web presence; if you add 2 posts a week, then over a year's time there will be about 100 more opportunities for views to find your business.
- Leverage every chance you can to convert a visitor into a customer with a "call-to-action" on each post. These can be links or even a button or graphic to promote an other's in your industry, an event, a white paper, register for a trial of your product or service, and the list goes on.
- Develop a network which can be utilized to gather and share helpful information, and attract new or even repeat buyers to your site. This is where the term Social Media comes in with names like Twitter, Facebook, and Linked-In. Take them like a golf game - one stroke at a time.
- Attract people who have an immediate need, and others who can be developed with a lead nurturing system. Either way, your helpfulness and ability to attract the right kind of persona, with the skillful use of keywords, will target more qualified eyes to read your business blog.
- People love to share their thoughts, and even become ambassadors for your cause, product or service. Build a following of people who can't wait for your writings, so they too can share their enthusiasm and ideas. For those who cringe at the idea of a defamatory comment being posted...read on....
- The internet has broken down many barriers of communication a long time ago, so the idea of controlling what is being said about your business is just that, " a thought", but far from reality. In a nutshell, the benefit greatly outweighs the risk; a great opportunity to better understand what is actually being said about your business. If something needs to be addressed, then your blog could serve as the main PR launching pad as well. Your readers will appreciate your courage and commitment to ethical business in addressing issues.
There are more many reasons to blog for business than not, and if you are interested in developing a truly business worthy means of low cost communications to enhance your web presence, please continue digging. Some excellent resources for gathering relevant Web 2.0 knowledge are;
David Meerman Scott, Seth Godin, Bernie Borges, the executive team of Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, and Dan Ronken. Oh, and please return here to VeloRep for more thoughts and ideas to help grow your business and career.