So, you want to promote your small business. You could turn to the radio or television advertising. Though it’s guaranteed to get your name out there, it’ll cost ya. Same with getting a domain for a website–not to mention hiring someone to develop and design it.
Networking on social media is ideal if you’ve got the time to wait for attention by anything other than a bot. Plus, gaining popularity on those sites relies on their algorithms, which can get tricky to navigate.
You can see how choosing any of these methods can become daunting, but they aren’t your only options to begin with. After all, you could try starting a blog. There are lots of benefits of blogging for small businesses.
These days, blogging isn’t just for immortalizing your personal life experiences. It’s commonly used in the world of business as well, and the two aren’t as dissimilar as you may believe. People seek information that is relevant to them; a blog will provide that for them, while also allowing your small business to reap benefits as well.
Here are five benefits of blogging:
It Sets You Apart.
You have a passion and you want to share your expertise. But the thing about business is that there will always be a competitor. As you’re gaining exposure, you’re vying for the same position as others: to be considered the number one expert in your field. The key is to present your valuable information in an entirely original way.
And the thing that sets you apart from the others, is your purpose. Almost as much as wanting information, people are interested in learning about individuals–essentially, in knowing there’s a person behind the product.
Blogging allows you to voice your purpose plainly and from the heart, without the limits of stuffy, formal writing, unburdened by character limits or time constraints. And let’s face it: when you’re on the audience end, ads can become pretty intrusive.
Eventually, people are just going to turn the channel. To put it plainly, they’re boring. People are more likely to engage with a service offering their relevant information if it’s backed by feelings. Never forget your purpose, and your audience will never forget you.
Establishes Brand.
Finally, you’ve got your audience–now you’ve got to keep them! But never fear: this method of blogging is unique in that it relies on promoting your personality along with whatever services or information your expertise lie in. Doing so in the form of consistent blogging allows your audience to develop trust in your brand.
So hopefully you’ve got a personality. Chances are you do, and here’s the good news: you’re an expert on that as well. Therefore you have full reign over how the audience gets to know your brand.
Your credibility depends on your audience learning who you are. Once they do, you are that much closer to being their reliable source. It’s almost too much power.
Strengthens Relationship with Audience.
Once you’ve established your brand, it’s important to consistently engage your audience with that brand. Things like traditional websites or advertising fall flat in that regard, as the communication there only goes one way. Blogging is perfect in that it promotes open communication with your audience, typically in the form of a comments section.
People enjoy giving their opinions on things, and encouraging this will make them feel treasured. This is fun for you too, as you’ll get to learn just exactly what your audience wants and tune your approach accordingly. This gives you a leg up on competitors.
But be careful: the wonderful results may prompt you to want to double up on the number of posts you churn out, but you don’t want to overdo it. It’s easy to drive away an audience by overloading them with information. Striving to blog consistently, not constantly, is best.
Search Engine Optimization.
Want your page to be the first link someone clicks on? The Internet is here for you! Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, is basically a built-in magic wand of the Internet. By prioritizing high quality and relevant content, it determines how search engine results are processed.
The amount and quantity of traffic that reaches your blog will depend on this. Ensuring your posts contain lots of keywords of phrases contributes to its visibility. As in, your blog could potentially be listed number one on a results page. And who doesn’t want first place? So be sure to optimize to reap all of the benefits of blogging!
Shared Content.
Just because you’ve got your audience doesn’t mean the benefits end there. Because of the connection you’ve dedicated yourself to cultivating, your audience will love you so much they’ll start recommending you to other people.
That’s right, the daunting business of getting your name out there can be done by your loyal audience, lightening your load! They’ll even sing your praises in the offline world too. You’ll see an increase in blog traffic and then business growth, and realize just how advantageous your blog has been.
In Short
Blogging for your small business is a simple matter of staying dedicated to your purpose. As you’ve read, the benefits of blogging will take your small business to incredible heights.
It’s highly effective in the way it features more assets than any other single method can give you: it’s free, allows for an open community, and exists as an open portal to the exposure you need. At the same time, you get to dodge many drawbacks, such as financial strain, one-way communication, and complicated social media platform structures.
Curating the delivery of your valuable information in a way that speaks to your audience will make what you’re selling much more palatable, and the fruits of your laboring will be plentiful indeed.
