If you are a small business owner, blogging can be an excellent way to grow your company and increase profits. It’s important that your blog posts are genuine and provide value for the reader or viewer. This blog post will show you 7 ways blogging can help grow your small business! And, naturally (since we both know you’re busy with so many other aspects of business) why and how you can trust me to do all the blogging for you and your marketing goals!
1. Blogging doesn’t cost a ton, yet the ROI is impressive!
Blogging is free and low-cost, so you’ll be able to get started right away. The most basic blogging strategy is to create a blog and publish new content on it. That’s all there is, really! Obviously, you’ll want to provide value in your blogs and not just write to, well, write. Make sure you are speaking to your audience and answering the questions they want!
For example, one of my clients who owns an HVAC company recently shared with me tips they had on keeping air conditioning costs significantly lower. One of their tips was that keeping fans on keep the house up to 4 degrees cooler, and for a fraction of the price of what it would cost to keep your system running that long. That tip, alongside several others, made for highly shareable content proven by the many times over it has – and continues to be – shared via Pinterest and Facebook!
2. Blogging increases brand visibility.
Blogging for your small business is an easy way for people to see what your company does and how they specialize in specific areas. Blogging will help increase the size of potential audiences that might not otherwise know about your small business or product offerings. Beyond that, you can elaborate on just what your products and services include and how that differs from competitors.
Another client owns a bookkeeping and Virtual CFO option. At the onset of their business, their typical client would request bookkeeping services. Which was wonderful and all, but the real profit was in the upsell of their services as a Virtual CFO. When we began blogging about this add-on option, more calls poured in and now, they actually have the opportunity to hire on additional staff to assist with bookkeeping. So, now they can continue with the higher-paying services they strategically planned to be the breadwinner for their bottom line! Blogging did that!
3. Blogging helps improve search engine optimization (SEO).
Your business’ blogs actually help your ranking in search engine results! Why are blogs a factor in Google’s mysterious ranking algorithm? Because web pages produce fresh content which are updated regularly. This means there are new website records created each time a blog post goes live. This improves rankings for certain keywords or phrases that may cause someone to find your business.
You’ll want to take the time to blog about your products and services. Namely, how you can solve a problem, coupled with other valuable tips. Then, it is assumed you’re less likely to be a spam or scam. Google’s reputation depends on the quality of its results. So, good content gets good rankings. Make sense?
4. Blogging is a great way to improve customer service.
Hosting a blog can certainly impact your brand in a positive way as customers are often more willing to reach out via social media or comment on blog posts than they would be through traditional customer service channels like email and phone calls. In turn, you’ll have an easier time solving their issues which will result in happier customers! It’s win-win! They’re happier and you’re getting free market research on how to optimize business operations by way of opinions!
5. Blogging helps with lead generation.
Blogging is a great tool for building relationships by providing content that people want to read such as breaking news articles, valuable tips and tricks, expert advice etc. This can help generate trust between the company and potential clients who may go from being just visitors on your website to leads who’ve shown interest in what you’re offering.
*Tip: make sure you proofread some of the articles you are planning on sharing or elaborating on in your own posts. Sometimes, if not read carefully, you can forward or reference a current event that is counter-intuitive to your brand.
A brief example of this is when a recent client, who is a massage therapist sent over an article that she wanted me to tie into her own blogging. The article title led people to believe that massage therapy was recommended for children in high schools as a form of stress-relief, but as I read the article, it turned dangerous for her brand when the punch line was that a principal was being reprimanded for offering said massage to his pupils. Had we linked that article in any of her blog, it would have been counter-intuitive and even dangerous for her brand’s reputation.
6. Blogging provides another avenue for communicating with customers and getting feedback from them.
As mentioned briefly above, blogging is great for customer service, but also overall operations. You’ll be able to ask questions, provide surveys or polls, solicit customer testimonials etc. This can help with last-minute changes you might need to make based on what your customers are looking for in a product/service as well as create an active dialogue between the business owner and their clients!
Final thoughts.
In conclusion, blogging is a great way to connect with your customers and potential clients by providing valuable content that will help grow their business! So what are you waiting for? And, don’t worry! If you see the value in writing, but simply don’t have the time to write it yourself, you can count on me to do it for you! Just contact me with questions and we can discuss what topics would be best for your unique marketing goals.
