Why a blog for your business is no longer a maybe

If you run an online business, there are many benefits to having a blog and keeping it up to date. Blogging on a regular basis is a reasonably easy –not to mention inexpensive – way to make your marketing efforts more effective. Here are some of the reasons that mean you can no longer afford to say to a blog.

Establish your business as an authority

It doesn’t matter how small your business is; blogging is a great to get noticed and to build trust within your industry. The way to do this is to provide expert information that becomes a go-to resource for those looking for advice. Blogging is especially important if you are in a competitive industry as it is a great way to set your business apart from the rest.

Connect people to your brand

Blogging allows you to show the more personal side of your business; it reminds people that you are human (rather than a faceless corporation). This also allows you to offer your readers a sense of what you stand for, as well as the passion you have for the subject matter, which will appeal to your readers. For more on how to humanise your business or brand, Econsultancy.com is a great source of information.

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Forge relationships with customers

As well as allowing you to communicate with existing customers, having a blog can be a fantastic way of obtaining new custom. Write and post things that your customers find interesting and help them in some way. Even for fairly unknown brands and difficult to market industries like this, you can use the platform to ask or answer customers’ questions at the end of your posts to start a dialogue and create a rapport through comments and feedback. This helps to build trust, as well as giving you valuable insight into what your customers want.

As suggested from articles such as this, engaging with your site visitors and answering their frequently asked questions can help you inform potential new customers. Those people then feel a sense of brand loyalty and view your company as the expert. Making them more likely to purchase with you.

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Do away with hard-sell tactics

These days, people have a real appetite for useful, interesting information. What they don’t want are hard sell tactics. According to Entrepreneur.com, 70% of consumers want to learn about a company through articles, as opposed to traditional advertising. Meanwhile, 60% of people say that content helps them make better buying decisions.

When you write and post something interesting, share your posts on Facebook, tweet them on Twitter and bring the conversation to a wider audience. Add social media share buttons so that others can do the same. This is free marketing and helps to build credibility for your business.