Why Your Small Business Needs A Blog, And How to Set Yours Up for Success
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“Why do I need a blog?” is a question so many small business owners ask.
After all, you’ve probably got a lot to be getting on with day after day to ensure its success.
Nonetheless, there’s an important reason why so many businesses have blogs.
A blog can give you a golden opportunity to showcase your expertise, share important information with customers, increase engagement with prospective clients, and drive organic traffic for free.
In this article, we’ll explore why having a blog is essential for small businesses, followed by action steps on how to get started. So let’s dive in!
#1: It helps drive people to your website
Promoting your services and goods is not easy, especially in a highly competitive business environment! That's when blogging comes in handy.
Having a blog can help drive people to your website and attract prospective clients, especially if you’re new and word of mouth isn’t an option yet.
Every time you write a blog post, you’re creating content that people can share on social networks, like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, which helps expose your business to a whole new audience that may not even know you and your service yet.
And even if you’re not getting immediate results, it will continue to drive people to your website in the future, especially if you keep optimising your blog posts.
#2: It encourages people to utilise your services
This leads into the next point: if people are already on your website, chances are they’re likely to want to buy from you!
In fact, according to Demand Metric, did you know that content costs 62% less than traditional marketing, but generates 3 times as many leads?
Each post is a new opportunity to encourage people to utilise your services.
Some people want to learn more about your company and the product they're interested in or discover why you're selling the merchandise before they fully commit.
That’s why having a blog is so invaluable: it delivers the information they seek and encourages them to finalise their purchase.
Thoughtful blog posts introduce a potential prospect to a brand in a non-threatening, passive way, driving a contact deeper to a company website or your services page.
#3: Establishes your business as a thought leader in the space
Finally, having a blog helps to build trust in your brand and can positively influence how potential clients see you – especially if you publish content that's specifically relevant to them.
The great thing about posting interesting, relevant content is that it not only helps clients by providing them with useful information, it also establishes your business as a source of knowledge.
Clients are much more likely to buy from a company they trust and see as an expert in their field.
If you publish useful content regularly, you’ll become a ‘go to’ source for information – and that means more traffic to your website and (hopefully) more conversions.
Key points to consider before getting started:
Define your blog’s purpose. At the heart of it, your blog’s purpose should be about providing value to your target audience.
As a starting point, think about what questions or pain points they might be experiencing, and try to answer them.
For instance, if you’re a recruitment agency, you could give job seekers advice like what to include in their CV, how to look for a disability-inclusive employer and anything else related to the world of work.
Figure out who your target audience is. In order to set up a blog, it’s key you know exactly who you’re talking to.
Many businesses just starting out struggle with questions like ”Who should we be writing for?” and “How do we know which content topics they’ll be interested in?”.
A great way to do this is to do some online research. Look at what your target audience are saying on social media. There is so much information you already have at your fingertips.
Set clear, measurable goals. This will help you work out what’s working well, and what isn’t. To do this, use the SMART goals framework.
Your goals should be (S)pecific, (M)easurable, (A)chievable, (R)elevant and (T)ime-bound.
There’s no point setting unachievable goals that you can’t commit to or deliver on due to a lack of resources.
Pick a consistent, simple style. When writing a blog, pick a clear, consistent template that you can replicate each time you write a post.
Don’t go too crazy with styles or templates - often its the simplest designs that work the best.
For accessibility purposes, don’t underestimate the importance of white space and picking a font that’s easy for everyone to read.
Learn SEO to optimise for best results. SEO is your blog’s best friend. If you don’t include SEO in your blogging strategy, you won’t get the results you’re looking for.
When you have a blog that’s updated regularly with blog posts that are high quality and on topics relevant to your audience, it can make a huge difference to how your overall website performs in the search engines –meaning that your visitors can actually find you!
…
A dedicated blog for your business can be a powerful tool.
Not only does it help to drive people to your website, but it also strengthens your market position as a thought leader and encourages customers to buy your services.
Setting up a blog isn’t always easy, however, but with the right approach and strategy planning, you can reap the results.
It’s reliable content that attracts people back to your website, helping build trust and loyalty - key factors of success with any business!