Does my business need a blog?

A business blog is typically a page on a website that is dedicated to sharing articles about subjects that pertain to your business’s industry. Customers can visit your blog to learn more about your company, industry, and services.

Not every business has a blog. By not having a blog, you are missing out on opportunities to increase sales and brand loyalty. Blogs are another great way for your website to gain attention and attract new customers.

This article will inform you about niche marketing, the benefits of blogging, and will also provide you with some helpful tips and tricks for creating your own content.

What types of businesses have blogs?

Generally, personal blogs fit into a niche category. For example, some niches are:

• Lifestyle: Writers focus on personal health, beauty, parenting, and development
• Food: Food blogs feature recipes, best places to eat, and food photography
• News: News bloggers tend to have a wider focus and will write on politics, business, entertainment, and science
• Fashion: These blogs write about the best past and present trends in fashion
• Business & Finance: These blogs teach you how to be a better investor, entrepreneur, and how to increase your business sales

While personal blogs have to find a niche they want to be present in, your industry is already your niche. You will find that there is a blog representing almost every industry online. The question shouldn’t be, “What types of businesses have blogs?” It should be, “How can I get started in making a blog for my business?”

Even if there are hundreds of companies similar to yours with a blog, you should still consider implementing one. It shows your audience that you are familiar with your field and that you feel comfortable explaining your service as an industry leader.

How will a blog help my business?

If you aren’t convinced that your competition having a blog is enough of a reason for you to have one, some other benefits may change your mind. Blogs do take work. You need to create content that will interest your readers, you need to include high-quality pictures, and you need to sell yourself. With all that work, it is only fair that you get something in return.

SEO

Having a single blog post on your site is not enough to boost the search engine optimization of your website. However, if you are regularly blogging high-quality content with relevant topics for your audience, it can make a difference in how your site performs on the search engines. Blogs allow you to incorporate different ways to rank higher on search engines, like using keywords that will help people find your site faster.

The more you post on your blog as it pertains to your business and industry, the more opportunities you’ll have to capture new audiences as do their research for related services online.

Engage Customers and Potential Clients

Being an expert in your industry will encourage customers to engage with your blog. Your blog can be a spot for potential customers to learn more about your products and services and what they can do with them. It should also be a spot where people go to learn more about company news. For example, if you make a company announcement, consider posting it to your blog first, and then sharing it to your other marketing channels from there (social media, email marketing, etc.).

Industry Leader

As we mentioned before, having a blog will help set you apart by increasing your status as an industry leader. Having a blog on your site where you are frequently educating your users about your company, products, and services demonstrates that you are knowledgeable in your industry. Customers are more likely to trust and work with a company when its leaders know what they are doing.

What kind of content should I post on my business blog?

It can sometimes feel overwhelming to generate new, original content for your blog. Something that may help you is to mix up the type of content you’re posting. This is as much for you as it is for your readers. You don’t want to write the same things over and over again, and they don’t want to read it. Here are some ideas for different types of content that can help your blog stay relevant and interesting.

How-Tos

For businesses that sell a product, consider creating a post about how to use it. Your post should include step by step photos, detailed instructions, and maybe even a video. How-to content can be especially useful when your product is new and people aren’t familiar with it. They can also be beneficial if you have multiple products or if you can do multiple things with one product.

Industry News

Part of being an industry leader is knowing what is going on in your industry. If there is news in your industry that affects your services or products, it should be included on your blog. This is a great opportunity to get your voice out there and put your perspective on the things that are going on in your field.

Lists/Infographics

Similar to a how-to, lists and infographics provide information for your service or product, but in a very easy to scan way. How-tos are very detailed, while infographics use basic information. Listicle blogs take the basic information to create a list wherein your product would fall. For example, if you sell furniture, you might have an article like, “Top 5 Midcentury Modern Pieces.”

Product/Service Related Content

No matter the style you use to write for your blog, your content should always be related to your company, products, services, or industry. Even if you are highlighting a community event, you should provide details about how you were involved. Your topic for your blog should always come back to your business.

How can I encourage people to read my blog?

Having a blog doesn’t guarantee that people will read it. However, there are ways to increase the chances of your blog being found and read by many.

Simple Subscription

When people visit your blog for the first time, have a simple subscription popup that will give them the option to be notified when you publish new blogs in the future. You can also include this signup form at the bottom of each post.

Comment on Other Blogs

One way to encourage people to read your blog is by commenting on other blogs and directing them, and their commenters, toward your blog by including a link. If you do this though, be sure not so spam other blogs. Make sure your comments are relevant to the articles that were shared and only share a link to your blog if it provides additional value to the conversation.

Write Guest Posts

Writing guest articles for other blogs can help increase your visibility and help generate more awareness for your company and blog. When you guest post on other blogs related to your industry, you can usually include an author bio which could link back to your blog if people are interested in reading more of your content.

Reply to Comments

When people comment on your blog posts, be sure to reply. This will help start a conversation with your customers and show them that you care about what they have to say. This can help promote brand loyalty.

Share Your Posts on Social Media

If your business has social media pages like Facebook, LinkedIn, or even Instagram, share your blog articles there! Create a post from your business social page introducing your new article with an interesting hook that gets your followers to click through and read it on your website.

Quick tip: For Instagram, post a picture from your blog and include a link to it in your bio. You can also try a tool like Later to keep track of your individual posts and their corresponding article links.

What are some ways I can make my blog better?

Having a blog with a following doesn’t happen overnight, and oftentimes people don’t religiously read blogs from a particular business, but rather happen across relevant articles in their Google searches. To show up in those searches takes a lot of work and frequent posting. Here are a few ways that you can improve your blogs for maximum viewing potential.

Target Audience

Before you begin writing your blog, you should be aware of who your audience is because it will affect the way you write. You can do some demographic research by reviewing your company analytics to see who is buying your product or hiring your services. Once you know who your target audience is, write with them in mind.

User-Friendly

Your blog should be user-friendly. Not everyone reads from a desktop, so make sure your site is mobile friendly so people can read your blog on their phones or tablets. User-friendliness also includes making your blog accessible to all users, like those who are blind, disabled, or elderly.

Check out our accessibility guide: 11 Tips to Make Your Website More Disability Accessible

Consistent Voice

Reading posts that are written in a consistent voice gives power to your brand. It makes it easier for your readers to understand who you are and what they can expect from you.

Photos

Every blog should have a photo. While stock photos are okay, it’s even better when the photos you use are your own. With that being said, try to use photos that are clear and professional and relate to the content that you are sharing.

Scannable

When people are on the hunt for information, they don’t want to have to dig through your article to find what they need. A way to help them find what they are looking for quickly is to write your article in a scannable way. Follow these quick steps:

• Include clear headings and subheadings that indicate what you’ll be discussing in each section
• Use small paragraphs
• Break lists up into bullet points

Grammar Review

Nothing ruins your credibility as an industry leader faster than poor grammar. Before you press publish on a blog post, have someone review it. You can also review your post through a software like Grammarly.

Headline Power

One way to excite readers into reading your article is through the power of headlines. Your title should be catchy so that it grabs the interest of readers. If your headline indicates that it will answer the reader’s question, they’re more likely to click on it and at least skim through it.

Think of the kinds of phrases people might be searching for or the questions they might have as they look for the information provided in your article. Use that for your headline/title.

As more people happen upon your blog, the more opportunities you have to turn them into customers. A good blog can turn readers into customers and customers into loyal fans. Though blogs take work, they are worth it for the increased web exposure, boost in search engine optimization, and ultimately new customers.

We know writing a blog can be a lot of work, but the possibilities to come from it are worth it. If you need help adding a blog to your website, give us a call! Our content team would love to help you come up with a good blog strategy.