The Blogosphere is here and it is not going anywhere. It’s not just for people talking about what they’re eating for lunch or the next celebrity tabloid. Blogging is big business for entrepreneurs and business owners. CEO Blog Nation recently launched a directory of business blogs and we regularly blog for entrepreneurs and business owners and there are numerous reasons to blog.
Rescue a CEO asked some businesses how they use blogging to help their business.
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#1 – Driving Traffic
I'd say we use our company blog for a number of things. Driving traffic the most obvious, providing a useful way to re-engage with previous customers in our mailing list in addition to attracting new ones. We also use it as a fun way to explain our product, but most importantly it helps our website to stay fresh and interesting; the most important aspect of that being that we write insightful, useful articles, instead of just writing for the sake of writing.
Thanks to Nicolas Moller, USB Memory Direct
#2 – Help Our Clients Better Understand Us
We use our blog to help our clients better understand us as both individuals and as a business. It also serves as a great way to educate new moms on the fundamentals of newborn care. Newborn care is an intimate profession so the goal of our blog is to help our clients know us better and allow us to demonstrate why they can trust us in such and important role.
Thanks to Haleigh Almquist, Hush Hush Little Baby Newborn Care
#3 – Repost
I re-post my blog to sites that have readers who are in my demographics. Some times in my blog I will specifically mention my company most times I do not because most sites have a do not sell provision.I comment on other blogs on these sites to get my name out there. I use a picture of the company and not my own picture for the comments.
Thanks to Haralee Weintraub, Haralee.com
#4 – Grow My Business
I have used my blog in order to grow my business in several ways. First, I keep my content updated to inform my followers what new work I have been creating and that my page isn't stagnant. Second, by continually adding content to my site, it helps with my SEO and page rank! Lastly, I can use blog content to overlap with my newsletters and social media to drive traffic to my site.
Thanks to Alecia Lindsay, Alecia Lindsay Photography
#5 – Introduce
When I started my blog I had visions of establishing a following that eagerly anticipated my next post. While I do think there are some people that fall into this category I have found several other useful reasons that keep me aiming to create one post per week about something I find interesting and hope others will too. Sometimes my content is topical and not over reported so that I get found through organic searches, such as when I posted about my new black diamond crepe myrtle. In addition I use my posts to network and introduce readers to other artisans whose work I have purchased. These other artists will often share my post on their website or social media. I also introduce new products of mine such as my coloring cards. I find older posts can have great value as resource material, whether referring someone interested in a custom item to my “Design This” series which chronicles previous custom orders or introducing someone to a solution for their problem such as finding reasonably priced earrings for someone with sensitive ears,as my post about niobium ear wires does. My business URL redirects to my blog. Along with my posts I have created tabs (pages) on my blog that let me present perspective customers with static, easily accessible content about the different facets of my business. My reasons for continuing my blog for my business have become almost as eclectic as my creations.
Thanks to Cathy Stein, Eclectic Design Choices
#6 – Listen
I really use our blog in two ways. Primarily, I strive to provide substantive answers to questions that our customers may have. We utilize the live chat feature on our website to really listen to our clients and potential clients, and I want to get into the minds of my customers, providing answers to their questions – and anticipating future trends and needs, so we really are the thought leaders in the personal injury space. Secondly, I want to show the human side of our practice. Lawyers are often viewed negatively, in pre-determined ways, so I like to show how different we are than many of the stereotypes may portray. I like showing many different perspectives, and lots of angles – our blog is a place for open minds and we embrace different and often disruptive point of views.
Thanks to James Goodnow, Lamber Goodnow Injury Law Team
#7 – Fill in the Gaps
I am an online retailer and often use my blog to try to fill in the gaps that exist in internet shopping. I try to create blog posts that will explain and demonstrate my products more fully, providing different photos or more complete information than was given in the catalog listings. Also, after doing more research on success with using Pinterest, I started to change how I create my blog post photos, and I am now specifically trying to create blog posts that people may be more likely to pin on Pinterest.
Thanks to Jennifer Schmidt, The Cat Ball, LLC
#8 – Content Marketing
I use our blog for content marketing. As consultants, we sell our experience and information. I chose a topic that is relevant for the business and industry we target. A write a blog based on this topic in a problem/solution format. This will accomplish one of two things. For those with this situation top of mind, they will have the confidence that we are experts on the topic based on the information delivered in the blog. They will call to engage our firm to help them solve the problem. For those that may not have even thought about the topic, it give them enough information to determine if this is a problem for them. If determined that it is, this will give them to confidence to engage our services to help them solve the issue for them. This also give us an opportunity to show case other events that we may be having such as webinars and speaking engagements.
Thanks to Roy Barker, Moore Diversified Services
#9 – Search Engine Optimization
One of the main reasons why TopFire Media uses blogs for business is for search engine optimization purposes. Blogging has to be one of the most effective ways to increase search engine optimization. We consistently update our website with blogs, creating new content. This ultimately keeps Google interested and brings new traffic to our website. Incorporating videos and photos in our blogs are additional tactics we use to effectively increase our visibility on Google.
Thanks to Matthew Jonas, TopFire Media
#10 – Educate, Entertain and Inform
How do I use my blog for business? I blog to educate/entertain/inform my audience about key business topics. Like my books, I want to share with those seeking knowledge or clarification. When we rebuilt our website recently I began the blog with a rotating weekly topic schedule in mind: strategy, finance, process, general business. These are what we consult on & my passions. Each post relates to either a topic that recently came up in a client engagement or one I am currently teaching.
Thanks to Daniel Feiman, Build It Backwards
#11 – Attract Potential Customers
I use my blog to attract potential customers to my consulting business and to consolidate my position in the market as an expert. I've started blogging almost by mistake some 3 years ago about a technology called WebRTC. At that time, there was no one there speaking about that technology, so soon enough, I was one of the loudest voices around. This gave me the boost I needed to start with and allowed me to make WebRTC consulting a full time job. I write 2-3 times a week on my blog, which brings people to the site. From them, I learn more about the topic and also find consulting work or sell reports. Without the blog, all of what I do would be almost impossible to achieve.
Thanks to Tsahi Levent-Levi, BlogGeek.me
#12 – Great Ranking
Our blog has been very essential to the growth of Sociallybuzz. For the first 3 years of business, I wrote 1 to 2 article every month for 3 years. We now try to do 1 article every month. Because of our consistency and relevancy of the articles we write for our blog, we gain great ranking in Google under our specified keywords, such as “social media services for restaurants, social media services for nightclubs and social media services for franchises.” We always focus on giving tips, how-tos and things that will help our industry do better.
Thanks to Andre Kay, Sociallybuzz, Inc.
#13 – Expertise and Knowledge
Our blog is another form of information on and marketing for our firm. It shows what we are passionate about, as well as our areas of expertise and knowledge. It gives clients, potential clients and blog followers’ insights into our business model and how we view and do business. It reinforces what we stand for as a company. It offers a space for us to educate readers as well as share our opinions.
Thanks to Dawn Reshen-Doty, Benay Enterprises, Inc
#14 – Your Own Publisher
Blogging is such a great tool for promoting your business. I know first-hand that blogs are brilliant at demonstrating your expertise online, controlling your message and building your reputation. I have had countless media interviews, new business meetings and speaking opportunities as a result of my blogs. Not only are you your own publisher and control what goes out, you have the freedom to write about the topics you want. I think the power of a blog is that when you are blogging, you can publish anything you think is interesting and relevant, especially as traditional media can be so selective with topics. If you write about your professional knowledge, you can establish yourself as a thought leader and build your reputation, and when your customers see you as a reputable source on a particular topic they will be more likely to chose your business over others. Because of this, blogging is now a huge part of my social media strategy which I’ve wholly embraced, and if benefits my business and myself.
Thanks to Catriona Pollard, CP Communications
#15 – Center of My Strategy
I started out as a consultant 2 years ago. I helped startups to create winning Marketing Strategies. During the early days, finding clients was hard. No one knew me. After a while, I started looking at the industry and realized that I wasn't doing what I was advising to everyone: Blogging. I immediately started out and saw the leads flowing in. People started to hear about me. 2 years forward, my business is thriving and I help many clients every day. Blogging is at the center of my strategy. If you have something to say, it should be at the center of your strategy too.
Thanks to Pierre Lechelle
#16 – Promote our Beliefs
Our blog is an invaluable tool for our company to promote our beliefs, how to use products and more information on ingredients and issues facing not only our current clients…but our future clients too. I utilize key word research to analyze the market for blogging ideas that pertain to our industry and our products. The beauty and spa industry lends itself well to blogging, but so much is written that is not factual. I want readers to see our posts and know that we don't have “ghost writers”; it's me, imparting my 20 something years of knowledge and training. One of our highest ranking blogs is on alkaline water and acne. If I can help one person have better skin or understand how their body works or figure out how to apply winged eyeliner, then our blog has been successful.
Thanks to Nancy Reagan, Bella Reina Spa
#17 – Connect
As an entrepreneur and small business owner, I operate a blog as part of my business websites to allow my readers and potential customers to better connect with me personally. Throughout the years I have learned that people are more likely to form a connection with you and trust you if they feel that a real person is behind the website. My blog provides a way for me to offer insights into my personal character and humor as well as add value to my readers by giving them content that they can use in their personal and professional lives for free, no strings attached. I try and stay relevant with the content on my blog, be authentically myself and never push sales on the blog. Having a blog has paid off in the way that I am able to connect with my audience on a much deeper level than if I just had a basic business website.
Thanks to Heather Stoffle