At last count, there were over 152,000,000 blogs on the internet with a new one being created every half a second. Blogs come in many shapes and sizes, offering everything from entertaining content to information and education to news and just about anything you could ever dream up. For businesses, blogs provide an avenue to both engage with existing customers and to attract new prospects from anywhere in the world. Blogging is absolutely essential to the success of your organization. Read on for the why, what, where, when & how of blogging for your organization.
There are countless reasons why business blogs are so important. Let’s take a look at some of the more astounding statistics.
Companies that blog have 55% more visitors and 97% more inbound links than those that don’t. With the increase in social media and the explosion of mobile content, those numbers will continue to soar.
In addition, 60% of consumers say they feel more confident about a brand after reading their blog, while 61% have made a purchase as a direct result of reading a business blog post.
If growth and future success are on your list of goals, you absolutely, positively must have a business blog.
70% of consumers say they learn more about a company by reading its articles than by viewing its ads. What’s more, 82% of people say they enjoy reading relevant content from company blogs. In other words, blogging is an absolute necessity for your business. It’s where your customers are, and it’s where you should be meeting and educating them.
Of course, knowing you need to blog and actually doing so successfully are two entirely different things. As with anything else in business, there is a certain technique to getting the most out of your blogging efforts. Here are a few tips to get you started:
The best place to share your advice is your own blog. Think of it as your oxygen mask, put your own on before assisting others. Once you have reached a regular steady cadence, consider reaching out to external blogs that cater to your industry. Many external blogs will also let you syndicate your content elsewhere. Just make sure to check that the external blog doesn't require exclusive content before syndicating.
How often you post, and when you do so also play a critical role in how well your blog will perform. For instance, blogs that are updated daily receive 5 times more visits than those that are only updated weekly. Additionally, daily blog posts generate 4 times more leads than less frequent ones.
Timing is also important. Studies have shown that people are most likely to read blog posts on Monday mornings. Similarly, blogs posted on Thursdays tend to receive the most social shares. While you want to post throughout the week, make sure you’re taking advantage of these prime times by scheduling your most prominent posts to be published on Mondays and Thursdays.
Blogging should be an integral part of your overall marketing strategy. It’s where your customers and prospects are, and a valuable tool to help grow and expand your business as we push further on into the digital age. Not blogging yet? Get started today. Your audience is waiting.