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Your website is like a shop front. A window into your world and what you have to offer. If it’s pretty, it helps draw people in. But there still needs to be something of substance there or they’ll just keep walking.
If you are a fan of a quick fix and fast results maybe you don’t get why written ‘content’ is a thing. We’re all told we should be creating content – things you can share on social media and online, whether it’s videos, podcasts, blogs and so on – and it can be time consuming.
So why should you bother with blog posts? After all, it’s just one more thing to do.
Think of a blog as part of your window display. And it helps fill up those shelves behind the counter that people like to peer at in case there’s something else of interest they’re missing out on.
Here’s how small businesses can benefit from blogging:
Blogs increase traffic to your website
Search engine optimisation, or SEO is not a ‘dark art’. There are many ways you can make your website more appealing to the search engines and blogs are one of them.
More people visiting your website means more potential clients.
Blogs help with SEO
The more traffic you can get to your website – and the longer people stay on it – the better you will score in search engine rankings. So, the more interesting, relevant content you can provide, the better.
Blogs give the search engines more reason to rank you when people are searching for answers you can provide. This means they will be more likely to discover you exist and visit your website.
Each time you add a new blog post you are giving the search engines a signal that your website is active. They will ‘crawl’ it again to index the new content.
Make sure you have all the right keywords, headings, and so on, in your blogs but remember you are talking to your target clients, not robots. Your tone, language, and content need to reflect that. People need to read it and get something out of it.
Even the algorithms now penalise poorly-written content of little value. AI writing tools can be useful aids, but don’t depend on them to do the job for you.
The right blogs can help drive small business leads, letting you compete with much larger companies.
Blogs build engagement, trust, authority, and community
You know you’re an authority in your field. You know how you can help people and add value to their lives and businesses. But how does anyone else know that? It’s no good just telling people how great you are on your About page and expecting them to go with it.
Be interested and interesting
People want to see proof that you know what you are talking about. They want to know you care. That they matter and even that there is a like-minded community they can be part of.
Blogging about subjects your customers are interested in can showcase you as an authority in your field. You can share insights and your perspective on things that matter to you and your customers. Blogs can help reiterate your brand values and open up opportunities for discussion and reflection within a community you are building.
Keeping people engaged with your company and your brand keeps you front of mind.
You can create more content from your blogs
Businesses are increasingly under pressure to produce a seemingly never-ending supply of content for various social media channels. It’s not easy, especially if you are a small business with a limited number of products, services, or employees. Generating new content can be hard.
Your blog posts will give you ready-made content you can share. You can share the post – and others can too, giving you greater reach and a new audience. You can talk about them in your newsletters and email campaigns.
Ways to repurpose your blogs
There are plenty of ways in which you can repurpose your blogs. You can take snippets and talking points from them for new social media posts.
Maybe you can reference discussion points that come up in the comments. And of course you can return to your blogs anytime they become relevant.
Maybe you blogged about something a couple of years ago that has just become a talking point in a news story. You can share your original blog again or update it and share it with a different emphasis.
You can even use them as a way to give people further information that might be of interest to them when they buy a product or service from you. By sending a link to a relevant blog you’re adding value and increasing traffic to your website at the same time.
Creating a content marketing calendar
It can help to create a content marketing calendar so you have a plan of what you will be blogging about, instead of trying to think of something last minute.
Your content marketing calendar can be as detailed and comprehensive as you like and they are just as useful for small businesses as they are for large ones. As a small business you can be a lot more flexible.
Start with easy things – maybe there are events or ‘days’ that apply to your sector you can put into your calendar. Then you can build up content around them. Frequently asked questions are a great source of ideas for blog posts so put some of them in.
It won’t take you too long to have a basis for blogs your customers should be interested in.
Remember, for content, quality and consistency (even if there is less of it), is better than sporadically bashing out reams of average ‘stuff’. Plan out what you can realistically achieve and commit to it.
Getting a professional to help you
If writing blog posts that will resonate with your clients and keep the search engines happy is not your forte, find someone who can help. A good SEO website copy writer will create blogs that make a difference. Just because you are a small business doesn’t mean you can’t compete with larger companies.
Would you like to find out how blogs could help your business? Why not book a call?