Whether you’re a new or established business, setting up a blog for your business comes with a lot of benefits including getting found organically online. “Getting found” is probably terminology you’ve heard before, but what’s involved in having people get to your website without actually typing your URL? It’s about evaluating your buyer personas and figuring out the words they would use to find you - target key words. Your blog gives you a platform where you can use these keywords in articles that are of interest to your audience, which means they would presumable do a search for a topic online, find your article on your blog, and “find” your website.
Here are some additional benefits to setting up a blog for your business.
Be the subject matter expert
You have a good idea of who your customer is and why they would seek you out (and if you don't, you should make that the first thing you work on after you read this article). Are you selling locally sourced bamboo cutting boards? Maybe you’re selling hand-knit sweaters using domestic cotton? Whatever your business focus may be, sharing your know how is a great way to be recognized as a subject matter expert in your industry. By setting up a blog you can use the platform as a way to educate your audience on anything they need to know to improve their business. They'll thank you for it by sharing your content and coming to you when they need advice or when it's time to make a purchase.
Grow your following on social media
A blog is a great resource for material that can be shared on your social media channels. Even if you don’t have a large following yet, topics, keywords and hashtags are searchable in social media feeds regardless of whether someone is following you. When setting up a blog you want to make sure your post titles are catchy and shareable. Titles are as important as the content itself. And once people find and follow you on social media, you can strengthen the relationship by continuing to share timely and useful information via your blog or other blogs that interest your audience.
Improve your website rank
This is one of the main reasons businesses choose to set up a blog for their website. Search engines crawl the Internet and rank websites based on their content. If you've selected target keywords, use them on your site and in your blog articles, the browser crawlers will note that and over time increase your ranking for those specific keywords. Make strategic decisions about which words you want to target, making sure they’re relevant to your business and to your audience, and write about these topics in a natural and informative way. The browser crawlers will take care of the rest.
Make a connection by showing them who you really are
A blog can show off your personality or the personality of your brand! Of course you want to be professional and informative, but a blog is also an opportunity to show off your style. If you’ve got a small family business you can include information about your family, kids, traditions, hobbies, and even a little history. These personal touches help your audience connect with you so you’re not just another vendor, you're a real person who they want to support.
Guide your visitor through the buyer’s journey
Your blog can serve as the roadmap for your buyers’ journey.
- Awareness stage: educate your buyer about the problem they're having
- Consideration stage: compare solutions so your customer can find one that best suits them
- Decision stage: identify yourself as the solution
This makes your blog the go-to online resource for your visitor, because you provide information in a logical flow that’s in line with the visitor’s decision-making process, also known as the buyer’s journey.
Setting up a blog can seem overwhelming and challenging if you’ve never done it before, but since it’s a critical component of websites today for some of the reasons mentioned above, there are lots of online resources to help you through the process. Start by publishing one article and build your library from there. Set a goal for the number of articles you want to publish each week, and keep in mind some of the benefits of setting up a blog to keep you motivated.
