There had been a lot of articles outlining the advantages of running a blog already, so why write another one? In today’s internet marketplace, where thousands and thousands of websites compete for potential customers online, we can’t stress enough the importance of blogging in making a difference towards achieving ANY goals you set for your website. This could be from attracting new clients/selling more products, developing or maintaining good relationships with your customers, gaining exposure and credibility, introducing a new service or product… the list goes on.
I love blogs. I enjoy reading, looking and hearing people’s work on the daily in areas I’m most interested in: art, design, photography, football (the world game), and music. And I have no doubt that millions of people are continually following their favourite blogs for sources of news and information every day. Statistics say that and its growing by the minute.
In 2009, Technorati released ‘The State of Blogosphere’, a study in the growth and trends of blogging. It has yielded some interesting stats on blogging in general, some of which are mentioned below:
- More than 133,000,000 blogs have been indexed by Technorati since 2002
- Two-thirds of bloggers are male (Lift your game, ladies!)
- 56% say that their blog has helped their company establish a positioning as a thought leader within the industry
- 51% of Corporate Bloggers – 58 respondents – report receiving a salary for blogging
- 58% say that they are better-known in their industry because of their blog
- 77% of Internet users read blogs
You can draw your own conclusions from these stats, but there is no denying the popularity of blogs and the effectiveness of it as a marketing tool.
Here are just a few ways a blog could help your business:
Create awareness and lift the profile of your brand or business
Once already set up, it is an inexpensive and fast way to spread the word, as opposed to your traditional media like radio, magazines and newspapers. By writing informative and engaging blogs, you are not only letting everyone know that you are an authority in your industry, but you are generating some advertising for your company.
Maintain a good relationship with your clients
A blog is a great way to communicate with your customers. The comments section allows visitors to ‘speak up’ and as a result, learn more about your business by asking questions and interacting with you or with other customers. This will also help you know your customers better.
Drive traffic to your website
Writing regular informative blog entries in time creates a following and people are willing to share links in their blogs or articles when they find a good source of information. These links are very important from an SEO standpoint. The more links that appear from external websites to yours can effectively boost your search ranking. Just the fact that you are writing new content regularly through your blog articles will help alert the search engines.
These are just some obvious advantages of blogging but there are others. Look around and do some research on your competitors. If they are not doing it already, stay ahead of the game and start blogging!