Many small businesses question the value of a blog. They say things like, “What’s the point in spending valuable time creating content that doesn’t directly impact my bottom line?”.
Blogging is a strategy that takes time to see results from. It’s unlikely that a visitor to your blog will convert instantly, but that doesn’t mean you should let it fall on the backburner.
The words “last updated six months ago” shouldn’t be allowed to plague the News section of anyone’s website.
In this guide, we share five data-backed reasons why your business needs a blog.
1. It’s extremely cost-effective
Since businesses recognise that blogging doesn’t drive immediate results, they often wrongly assume that it won’t ever impact their bottom line.
That’s false. Blogging can be one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies, with B2B marketers finding blogging to be significantly more time and cost-effective than traditional lead generation methods.
(If you’re B2C, blogging can be effective for you too. More on that in the next point).
2. Content is a huge factor in customer’s purchasing decision
Regardless of who you’ve defined as your ideal customer, there’s one common denominator: content is a huge factor in how people purchase things.
Think about it. Are you more likely to read a review before you purchase something, or buy it on a whim without knowing anything about the brand behind the product?
If you did the first, you’re not alone. In fact, 47% of buyers consume 3-5 pieces of content before making a purchase. You could use your blog to provide this content and drive sales.
3. It’s proven to generate more leads
Did you know that your business’ blog could become a huge lead generation machine?
It’s proven that companies who publish 16+ blog posts per month get 4.5 times more leads than companies who publish less frequently.
So, whether you’re talking about business or healthcare, you’re bound to see an influx in leads when implementing a great blog strategy.
4. Blogging boosts social shares
Ever wished your business was more visible on social media?
Not only will proper use of social platforms drive-up brand awareness, but you could see an influx of site traffic if you’re doing social right.
If your brand is consistently publishing great blog posts, you could see a surge in both awareness and traffic. That’s because blogs that post daily get 5 times more traffic compared to those that don’t.
And, if you’re focusing on super-valuable content like how-to’s, you could cater to the 94% of people who share blog content because they think it might be useful to other people.
5. It gives you chance to target long-tail keywords
The final reason why your business needs a blog is because it gives you a chance to target long-tail keywords. We all want to reach Page One of Google, right?
Long-tail keywords are phrases that don’t have a high search volume, but they’re easier to rank for. And, the people searching for them are usually more likely to buy since the phrase is specific.
Tech Client found that including a blog as a key feature of your website will give you a 434% better chance of being ranked highly on search engines.
…maybe getting to Page One on Google isn’t that impossible, after all!
If you’re looking to build your blog and experience these benefits for your own business, contact us today. We offer digital marketing consultancy for brands in a range of verticals, and have years of experience with building successful blogs.