As a small business owner, you’ve done your due diligence of creating multiple social media profiles, running some paid ads campaigns, and creating a great website with tons of informational pages. But is that enough? Have you ever compared your site to your competitors’ sites and asked yourself, “Do I need a blog?”
And the very simple answer is yes, your business needs a blog!
Blogs help you establish yourself as an expert in your industry and keep customers coming back to your website. If that isn’t enough to convince you, keep reading. We’ll dive into more specifics about blogging for small businesses and starting a business blog.
[Related: 5 Things Customers Want to See on Your Local Business Website]
What is blogging?
Simply put, blogging is the process of creating articles, photos, graphics, or other forms of content and publishing them online. Generally, they’ll include more informal language than other webpages, a laid-back tone, and give regular updates, tips, and lifehacks with the purpose of generating engagement.
When it comes to marketing, blogs are used as a more organic form of advertising. It’s a way for you and your business to share knowledge with your audience and potential customers in an entertaining and less-salesy way.
A blog can help you create brand awareness, increase your online presence, and generate more leads.
Do local businesses need to blog?
Studies show that 83% of internet users claim to read blogs at least once a month. So, if you own or run a local business and are interested in increasing your online presence, then yes, absolutely you need to be blogging. Let’s break down exactly what starting a business blog can do:
1. Raises your SEO rankings
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a strategy that’s used to get your small business’s website into the top results on search engines. A blog can help your SEO efforts exponentially by increasing your chances of ranking higher in search by 434%. This is because blogs feature relevant, up-to-date, and helpful content for internet users.
When you create blogs that target the right keywords, i.e., keywords that internet users are searching related to your products or services, the more likely it is for them to come across your blog post (and, in turn, your business) in the search results.
SEO can definitely take some time to master though. That’s why many local business owners turn to Hibu Local Ranking to help them dominate the search results.
[Related: Does SEO Matter for Your Local Business's Website?]
2. Helps get your brand recognized
One of the hardest parts about marketing a small business is just getting your name out there. Many business owners resort to paid advertising to solve that, but a blog can help you do the same thing for free. Besides, 70% of people stated they would rather learn about a company through articles than advertisements. Increase your brand awareness for free and give potential customers what they want? Seems like a no-brainer.
When online searchers start to consistently find your blog popping-up in their search results, your brand recognition with them builds. Soon they’ll be seeking you out directly, because they know you can provide the type of expertise they’re looking for. Research shows that companies that blog get 55% more website visitors than businesses that don't.
[Related: 3 Reasons Why You Should Use Online Content to Attract Customers to Your Local Business]
3. Gets you more conversions
Not only does having a blog on your website get you seen by more potential customers, but it also helps you convert those potential customers into leads. Companies with blogs produce an average of 67% more leads monthly than companies that don't blog.
When someone reads your blog, you want them to do one of a few things: sign up for an email list like a newsletter, share your blog on their social media or elsewhere online, spend more time on your website by reading more blog posts or navigating to other pages, or make a purchase. So, the more blogs you produce, the more chances you have at converting a reader into a lead.
You can do this with a strong “call to action” or CTA. Whether it’s a field for their email address or links that take them to more blogs, you should include some kind of CTA on every post.
4. Offers opportunities for cross-promotion
Repurposing content is a huge cheat code when it comes to digital marketing. When you create something meaningful, post it everywhere. Blog content offers an excellent source of repurposable content that can be posted on other types of platforms.
Use your blog post to create an infographic for Instagram, turn it into a series of short videos for YouTube, and pull out notable quotes and stats for LinkedIn pieces. You can generate two or three other types of content just from one blog post.
Starting a business blog
Now that we’ve convinced you how important it is to blog for your business, are you ready to start a business blog? Here are some things to keep in mind once you begin the process:
- Come up with a list of engaging content: Before you start writing, come up with a list of topics you want to cover. Ask yourself how you want people to find your business, what they would want to know about your business or industry, and how your expertise could bring value.
- Do keyword research: To make your blog the most effective for your SEO efforts, you’ll need to do some keyword research. This can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. You can either pay for an SEO service or use a variety of tools and tactics like checking out what competitors are writing about, using Google’s “people also ask box,” etc.
- Stick to a consistent schedule: Search engine algorithms love to see fresh content, so posting frequently helps your rankings. Decide on a cadence, like posting 1-2 blogs a week on specific days, and try to stick to that as best you can.
- Promote your posts: Don’t just throw new blog posts up on your site and wait for people to find them. You need to promote them on your social media channels, in emails, newsletters, etc.
- Encourage sharing or other calls to action: Whether it’s within the body of the post or elsewhere on the post’s page (or both!), you need to tell the reader what you’d like them to do next. Link a “get started” form, add a phone number for them to call, or include a form for them to fill out with their details.
Let Hibu help with your content strategy
If you think your local business could really benefit from the presence of a blog, but you just have too many other tasks on your plate to handle creating and implementing a full content marketing strategy right now, tag in Hibu for a little help.
We’ll handle creating and posting keyword-rich blogs right on your website in addition to any blog posts you’d like to create yourself.
Not only can we aid in the creation of your blog posts, but we can also assist in your other digital marketing needs like email marketing and social posting, so your blogs get seen, too. Want to learn more? Call Hibu at 877-237-6120 or complete our short Get Started form for a free, no-obligation consultation.
