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Traditionally, people thought of blogging as a public personal diary type of thing. Here I am, sharing my thoughts from the day. And that still happens certainly, but business blogging goes deeper than simply sharing a stream of thoughts. But how do you make business blogging work for your company, and why is it worth the investment?
In this article, I discuss:
- What is blogging?
- The benefits of blogging for business
- What makes a good business blog?
- How does the blogging business model work?
- Small business blog ideas
- How to create a business blog
- Business blogging best practices
- How to write engaging blog posts
What is Blogging?
Blogging started off decades ago as an online version of a personal diary or journal. People would write about their daily thoughts, activities, interests, and lives. Readers would get a peek into a stranger’s world.
While personal blogs still maintain popularity, blogging has expanded into all sorts of niches. There are now food blogs, travel blogs, photography blogs, hobby blogs, and more. Some of them make bank with affiliate marketing – they talk about products, link to them, and get a cut when somebody buys.
The type we will focus on here is business blogging.
Business blogging is when a company creates blog content centered around their industry, products, services, company culture, clients, or expertise. It serves as a way to share insights, build trust and credibility, and raise brand awareness. Blogging helps businesses connect with potential customers in an authentic way.
A business blog may highlight:
- Expert advice related to the company’s specialty
- Client success stories and case studies
- Commentary on industry news and trends – real-time marketing for the win here!
- Behind-the-scenes company culture details
- Educational tutorials, FAQs, and how-tos
- Thorough product reviews, comparisons, and guides
Well-executed business blogging goes deeper than promotional content about how great the company’s offering is. It provides value to readers first while subtly revealing the blog host’s capabilities.
The Benefits of Blogging for Business
Many businesses are wary about investing time and resources into content with indirect returns. However, business blogging offers several compelling benefits:
Personality Display
A consistent publishing cadence allows a business to highlight its expertise while showcasing company culture and values. Blog posts with photos, videos, narratives, and other multimedia help a brand’s personality shine through. Readers get a better feel for what a company is all about beyond the products or services offered.
Thought Leadership
Blogging demonstrates knowledge and insight related to an organization’s specialty. Positioning key staff as industry thought leaders through contributed articles builds credibility. Readers come to see the company and its people as trusted resources for commentary and advice.
Inbound Marketing
While rarely a direct revenue stream, business blogging supports lead generation when content answers common customer questions and covers topics people research. Writing for search engines as well as audiences ensures blog content surfaces during need-based queries. This inbound marketing is subtler yet more welcomed by readers compared to aggressive sales messaging.
Ongoing Communication
Websites too often turn static with outdated information. A blog offers a means of continually refreshing site content with relevant information. During quiet periods when companies have fewer announcements, product launches, or news events, blogs fill communication gaps with customers.
You can also use the blog content and repurpose it for ongoing social media posts and even email campaigns.
Stuck on where to begin blogging? Let’s chat and craft a custom plan for your business.
What Makes A Good Business Blog?
An amateur-looking blog with mediocre, infrequent content will likely fail to attract much of an audience. Investing thought and planning upfront helps ensure your business blog captures attention. Here are the key ingredients of a good business blog:
Compelling Topics
Aim to feature subjects that directly tie to customer and prospect interests and questions. For example, an accounting firm would want to tackle posts around tax changes or common pain points individuals face when managing finances.
Use search volume tools to identify frequently searched terms and phrases to strategically target content creation. Google’s related searches and autocomplete features also reveal popular subject areas to potentially cover.
Valuable Insights
Present information in your blogs that educates readers with analysis and unique viewpoints they won’t find elsewhere. Include relevant data, expert perspectives, how-tos, comparisons, study results, and more to demonstrate your command of the topic. Treat content as an opportunity to answer and anticipate customer questions before they ask.
Facilitate skimming
Structure posts with headers, bullet points, images, stats, quotes, and other formatting to facilitate skimming. Break content into snackable sections for those short on time. Cut overly promotional language that distracts from the core value. Clear headlines allow consumers to understand even while just skimming.
Consistent Cadence
Establish an editorial calendar that maps out publication dates in advance to maintain output momentum. Start by committing to a once-weekly or twice-monthly cadence that provides enough runway to brainstorm ideas, write drafts, secure approvals, and promote each piece. Increase frequency over time as resources allow.
How a ghostwriter can help you get started!
How Does the Blogging Business Model Work?
Business blogs typically don’t earn money directly but are key to the company’s overall marketing strategy.
The most lucrative personal blogs insert advertisements or sponsorships within their content. However, this risks compromising editorial integrity, especially for content centered around reviews and recommendations. Personal finance gurus or life coaches who build authority to sell specialized courses, books, and consulting.
For companies, blogging aims to raise visibility for whatever core offerings drive revenue, including products, services, subscriptions, etc. Blog content markets indirectly by addressing buyer challenges, questions, and journeys that lead to eventual purchase consideration. For example, a home security company could author a blog post on 5 Signs It’s Time to Upgrade Your Home Alarm System. This serves the reader while hinting at the company’s solutions.
Blogging helps businesses get discovered by prospective customers researching problems to solve. Someone googling reasons my house alarm goes off may find that blog targeting common alarm issues. This top-of-funnel attraction guides visitors into a company’s sales funnel through calls-to-action to download gated offers, sign up for demos, or talk to sales. So blogs enable inbound marketing to pull visitors versus traditional ads, which push messaging on audiences.
Small Business Blog Ideas
Unsure what to write about if you’re a small business? The best blog topics relate closely to the products or services you provide or to your particular expertise. Here are some examples across different industries:
Home Services Company
- Plumbing tips before winter
- DIY projects to increase home value
- Clearing a clogged drain without harsh chemicals
Software Provider
- Pros/cons of various project management tools
- Using automation to improve efficiency
Financial Planning Firm
- Questions to ask before 401k rollover
- Avoiding these five costly Medicare mistakes
- Tax prep guide for freelancers/contractors
Digital Marketing Agency
- Beginner’s guide to search engine optimization
- Is your website driving away traffic? (Common web design mistakes)
- How often to post on social media
As shown above, aim for specific, practical themes that attract those interested in or struggling with issues related to your field. Share advice even non-customers would find useful while subtly indicating your relevant capabilities.
How to Create a Business Blog
Ready to launch a business blog but unsure how or where to start? Follow these steps to get up and running:
- Clarify your blogging goals – What specific outcomes do you want to achieve? More leads or sales? Establish thought leadership? Boost brand awareness? Understanding goals inform topics and content format.
- Pick a blogging platform – Leading options like WordPress and Wix make launching user-friendly. Most website platforms also include built-in blogging capabilities. Ensure your platform allows integrating blog content directly into your existing site. After all, the blog should help raise the authority of your main website and is not a standalone, one-off landing page.
- Design an attractive template – Treat blog content with the same priority as other site pages by maintaining consistent branding, imagery, and navigation. Optimize layouts for reading clarity on both desktop and mobile.
- Create an editorial calendar – Map out themes and publishing dates in advance to develop content momentum. Build in time for writing, approving, and promoting each post.
- Assign author responsibilities – Who will write initial drafts, and who reviews/approves final versions? Consider guest posts from staff subject matter experts.
- Promote and repurpose new blog content – Increase visibility by linking to the latest posts. Share blog URLs via email, social media, paid ads, and other channels. Hack the content up and use it as standalone social media posts or emails.
With the right systems and resources in place, publishing regular blog content quickly becomes second nature rather than a burden. Measure analytics like page views, search engine results, and subscriber growth to optimize efforts over time.
Business Blogging Best Practices
Here are a few proven tips for maximizing the impact of your company’s blog:
Go In-Depth
Avoid thin, generic posts by really jumping into each piece with strong research and analysis. Seek to provide the definitive guide on respective topics versus quick hit commentary. Demonstrate true commitment to delivering value first for readers.
Get Visual
Insert relevant charts, graphs, illustrations, photos, and videos throughout blog posts to reinforce key points while facilitating skimming. Break up dense walls of text that can overwhelm readers online. Ensure imagery aligns with content meaning.
Talk About Trends
Industry conversations evolve constantly. Contribute timely perspectives on the latest news developments, technologies, research, controversies, and shifts related to your field. Share what changes mean for customers and where things might be headed. Establish your company as an expert resource.
Promote Content
Allocate dedicated time and staff resources to sharing links and tidbits across social networks, email subscribers, online community groups, and more. Repurpose blog content into visual quotes, charts, and key statistics for easy social image sharing. Consider paid promotion through ads, too.
Refine and Refresh
Review analytics to identify your best-performing blog posts as well as underwhelming ones. Double down on themes and formats that resonate while adjusting ineffective approaches. Freshen up old evergreen content with new examples, data, and trends.
Read next: Boosting Your Authority Even More Through a Video Blog
Final thoughts
Set a smart business blogging strategy in place from the start by clearly identifying your goals, securing leadership buy-in, and committing sufficient resources. What specific metrics will define success – leads, sales, traffic, subscribers? How will you track analytics to optimize efforts? Who manages the editorial calendar, writing drafts, and promotion responsibilities?
Struggling with getting started? Let’s talk!
Follow proven industry best practices around valuable insights, visual orientation, trend commentary, and regular cadence. Treat your blog with the same level of thoughtful planning and care given to other key marketing initiatives.
The payoff for prioritizing business blogging can be tremendous in terms of brand visibility, thought leadership, and inbound customer attraction. Content that answers buyer questions and demonstrates expertise drives relevant site traffic that converts at much higher rates than interruptive promotional outreach alone ever could.
So, rather than viewing business blogging as an added burden on already stretched teams, embrace it as a smart marketing play when executed strategically. The continually refreshed content acts as a magnet, pulling your perfect next customers closer through search and social sharing. Make blogging a priority starting today and transform your organic growth within the next 12 months.
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