In a recent meeting with a prospective client to discuss her company’s website redesign, I was asked, “Do you think our site needs a blog?”
It is a question I’ve received from several associates during the past few months, and my answer, as always, was an unqualified “YES.” In fact, I believe a blog is an essential piece of a successful and effective online presence.
I am surprised at how many businesses forgo a company blog. Perhaps they think a blog is a waste of time and money, or maybe it is because they think they have nothing to say. In both cases, they are wrong.
So why should your business have a blog? Here are three reasons:
Regularly updated, relevant content helps your search engine rankings
Your company can have the best-looking site on the internet with all kinds of doodads and the latest technology, but it’s not worth a thing if no one can find you. EVERY company wants to be on the first page of a Google search; being on page 29 doesn’t do you a lick of good. The latest algorithm used by Google gives a lot of weight to blog posts. If your company is regularly posting relevant material on a blog, your search engine rankings will improve.
A blog is an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise
Nobody knows your business better than you do. Why not show what you know on a blog? When you provide subject-related content to your audience, you present yourself as an expert in your field and become a resource for your audience.
A blog is a great way to connect with (and impress) your customers and prospective customers
Your customers (and the people you want as customers) have questions. A blog is an excellent way to answer those questions, often before your customers even think of them. Over time, as your blog readership grows, you can even build a community of readers who will return to your blog, comment on your posts, and (hopefully) share your knowledge through social media and links to your site.
In short, a well-written, frequently updated blog can be an incredibly effective and low-cost marketing tool for almost any type of business. Your business needs a blog because non-blogging businesses will lose out to competitors who use a blog to build communities, position themselves as experts, and provide relevant and valuable information to their clients and prospective clients.
There are many resources on the web about blogging for businesses, but one excellent Birmingham-based resource is Wade Kwon’s Birmingham Blogging Academy. Wade is one of the most influential bloggers in the state, if not the South, and he is an excellent source for all matters related to blogs. I heartily recommend that anyone interested in blogging sign up for his e-newsletter.