Recently, small business owners focus on establishing their online presence through social media platforms. Besides, social media is convenient. People within their network are easy to find. Owners also don’t have a lot of things to set up. They can just make their social media pages for their businesses and start posting.
But in the long run, using social media alone isn’t enough to establish a good online presence. And that’s where a blog will come in.
You need to create a blog for your small business as the blog can help it grow.
What to Post in a Blog
The contents of your blog will depend on your business. But these contents need to be both informational and educational to provide value to readers. For example, say a business offers HR software that can help other businesses streamline their HR processes, such as timekeeping and payroll. This software business’s blog may include case studies. They will show situations where the HR software and other similar programs can be used and how they benefit businesses.
Insurance brokers might create insurance websites with blogs where they can post helpful financial information. For example, they can teach their readers basic budgeting strategies or provide advice on how to build an emergency fund.
Other types of content that can be posted on a small business blog includes success stories, reviews, a curated list of online sources, and infographics. The business must simply ensure that the content is valuable and relevant to their business and their target market.
Benefits of a Blog
Search Engine Optimization Boost
Many businesses are vying for a space on the first page of Google Search results. Being at the top of the search rankings gives businesses more visibility. This means having more website visitors who can potentially convert into paying customers. Unfortunately, using only social media isn’t enough for your small business to rank high in the search results.
Opening a blog will help you boost your ranking in search engines. Each post you make on your blog will increase your chance of being seen on the first page of search rankings, especially with proper optimization. Every month, 409 million people read 20 million blog pages. So if you create a blog, you increase your potential customer base significantly.
Better Business Reputation
Your blog can also help you build the reputation of your small business. For instance, when you provide valuable content in your blog, your readers will likely keep coming back to it when they need to learn something related to your business.
Also, if you consistently post valuable content in your blog, you establish your business as an industry leader. Website visitors will see that you are knowledgeable enough and can therefore be trusted.
Once you’ve gained their trust, your readers will be more inclined to interact with your brand. They might subscribe to your mailing list and, eventually, become a customer.
More Cohesive Brand Identity
Branding is important in a business. Through effective branding, the business can clearly convey its values to its target market. It can also help the business set itself apart from competitors.
Your blog can help you build your brand identity through the blog’s layout, the images you use, and the tone of your writing. For example, the owner of a small business that sells eco-friendly toiletries to young adults can design their blog to reflect what their business stands for. They can use earthy tones in their blog’s design and images. They can also use a conversational tone and even use internet slang given their target audience.
More Content for Repurposing
If you have a blog, you immediately have an arsenal of content that you can repurpose for other forms of marketing. With some tweaks, you can reuse some ideas presented in your blog in your social media posts.
Going back to the eco-friendly business example, their blog might have a post about eco-friendly alternatives to everyday items. Using information from that post, the business owner could create an infographic about how much waste is generated annually from everyday items that are non-biodegradable and can’t be recycled.
With 65% of people being visual learners, the preference for visual content has increased. So many people think that blogs are no longer relevant. But more often than not, when people want to learn about something quickly, they’ll search for a how-to article they can easily skim. And that article will more likely be found in a blog.
A blog is still a valuable tool for businesses to grow their business.
