Should My Business Start a Blog? That Depends.

Perhaps even more popular than open-concept offices and flexible PTO plans, company blogs are a growing trend in today’s business landscape. After all, tools like WordPress promise blog setup in less than five minutes. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that?

But despite the apparent ease of creating posts on your business’s website, deciding whether your company actually should have a blog section requires some serious thought.

We love a good blog here at TDR, but we also understand that consistent, long-form content isn’t the right strategy for every client.

Read on for help deciding if a blog is the right move for your business.

First — 4 ways blogging can boost your company’s online presence

There is a reason so many people recommend writing blogs — quality content can give your company’s website a boost in the eyes of both visitors and search engine algorithms, eventually improving your business’s bottom line.

Here’s how.

1. A blog can position your business as a source of authority on a particular topic

Consumers are more likely to purchase products or services from someone they believe is an expert, and blogs are a great way to develop that expert status. A thoughtful content strategy can help you use your blog to answer common questions and explain the benefits of your product without sounding like you’re just “selling” to people.

As our society becomes more and more skeptical of obvious advertising attempts, content marketing is one of the best strategies your business can adopt.

2. A blog can boost your organic SEO to rank higher on Google’s results pages

Google doesn’t rank entire websites — it ranks individual web pages. This means that every blog post you write is an opportunity to launch yourself to the top of the search engine results page by clearly answering users’ questions. Here, people will find your website because they’re looking for specific information, but maybe, just maybe, they’ll stay to learn more about what your company can offer.

What’s more? One important technical SEO factor is something called link equity, which is created by links between pieces of content that are related to each other. Every time a web page links back to your content, it shows Google that your post is a source of authority. Creating a clear blog strategy with interconnected topics gives you multiple built-in opportunities to build “link juice” on your site and get in front of more searchers’ eyes.

3. A blog can generate qualified business leads

Someone who gets value from reading a blog on your website is more likely to make a purchase than someone whose only experience with your company is being directly served a paid advertisement. In this way, quality blog writing can have a big effect on your bottom line over time.

The secret is to provide value to potential customers by answering their questions without being too overtly promotional — and enjoy the new relationships and trust that come from being a respected source of authority in your industry.

4. A blog can provide content for you to share on your social media channels

In 2019, your business should be on social media, but not every industry lends itself well to generating leads through Facebook. In this situation, social media becomes a necessary evil — interested customers or clients will expect you to have an up-to-date page when they scope it out, but you might not be able to reach many new customers or clients on those platforms.

That’s where blog content can be a huge asset. Fill your social media content calendar with two to four posts a month, and boom. Your work is done, and with minimal extra effort.

That’s all well and good… but is blogging right for you?

That depends on a few criteria. Blogging well is a lot of work, and writing quality content that your website’s users are actually interested in reading requires a fair amount of skill.

Good candidates for blog sections are businesses who:

• Feel they are ready and able to position themselves as a source of authority or “thought leader” in their industry
• Have regular company news that they want to share online with a wide audience
• Want to improve their website’s search engine optimization to generate new traffic and business leads
• Have the knowledge and time to invest in developing a quality content marketing strategy

Candidates who might not be ready for a blog are businesses who:

• Don’t yet have a defined brand voice and strategy to align their content efforts
• Have an outdated website in need of a redesign before getting more visitor traffic
• Struggle to add original insights to ongoing industry conversations
• Aren’t sure if anyone on their team has the available resources to invest in keyword research and writing

Not ready for a blog yet? That’s okay. Blogging might not be in the cards for your business right now, but it’s something you can work toward as your company continues to grow!

If you still want to reap some blog benefits in the meantime, consider sharing relevant blogs and articles from other sources with your audience and adding your own two cents on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. You can connect with your customers by starting a conversation even if you didn’t write the piece yourself — take advantage of all of the great content already out there, and you might even start to build relationships with other voices in your industry.

Blogs are a great opportunity for many businesses, but good content will never be a commodity. It’s tough to conduct audience research, select relevant blog topics, and execute each piece to align with target market insights and your brand’s existing voice. If you have the resources, blogging just might be your business’s next great move… but if it’s not today’s next step, you should keep the value of content marketing in mind moving forward.