Not long ago, a diary was a deeply personal thing – a journal of thoughts and observations, kept under lock and key and often hidden from unwanted eyes.
The web has a way of changing things. Now, a diary of thoughts, observations and insight may be a way to boost your business.
Blogs have therefore become a way that businesses can engage readers and potential customers.
A blog for business can still act as a journal of sorts, but must be updated on a regular basis and can contain content like news, opinions, ideas and can be used to brainstorm or ask for feedback from your audience. It might also have links to other sources of information, other websites and other blogs.
Many blogs cut both ways, inviting readers to post feedback on what they see. While that can apply to everything from sports and entertainment, it can also generate interest in products and services and, ultimately, generate income for your business.
Used wisely, blogs can be used for the following five basic business objectives:
1. Expose a new or little-known product or idea
These days, many companies are using using more than just the written word to bring a new or little-known product or idea to an interested market. Videos are a lot easier to produce these days – a good smartphone can produce videos that you can post onto your business blog, and onto YouTube to further expose it.
That, in turn, can lead to a more informed customer and a more time-effective sales process. Rather than taking time to pitch your product or service to a client who may not need it, a good business blog makes you become an information source. If a prospect contacts you, that’s great. If not, you’ve wasted no time in explaining something that generates nothing in return.
2. Improve your search engine rankings
Blogging also puts you in touch with customers in other ways. If you have a website that ranking well in search engines, you’ll know that the vast majority will be coming from search. Website visitors that come via Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines can provide numerous leads. A regularly updated business blog will bring you ore traffic because the search engines will see that there is regularly added content to index, especially if your blog allows readers to post a response.
3. Position yourself and your business as an expert in an industry or field
Blogging can also be an effective marketing tool to establish yourself as an authority in your field. Not only can that generate leads, it also sends a positive message about your credentials through the marketplace and also gives your business a face and a personality.
4. Influence public opinion
If you struggle to get journalists to take notice of your press releases, business blogging can make you become a publisher of your own thoughts and viewpoints. Blogs are fast becoming a powerful influence on public opinion, and even the big brands with huge marketing budgets are using blogs of their own and paying to get exposure on other blogs – there is a reason for this…they work.
5. Engage in a forum openly with your customers
Just as important, blogs that solicit reader comments can provide a sense of immediacy with your customers. In one respect, that’s a ready source of feedback on what you’re doing right and what you need to improve.
