In my last article, I discussed why fresh content is critical for your website. Fresh content boosts search engine optimization making it easier for your prospective clients to find you and the products and services you sell. One of the easiest ways to ensure your website always has fresh content is to blog. Here’s a look at why you should be blogging:

Blogging Allows You to Demonstrate Your Expertise

Writing a blog allows you to communicate with your clients and prospects in a way that traditional marketing materials do not. A blog is a place where you have the freedom to dive deep into a specific topic. Whereas many brochures provide an overview of your products services, a blog provides a platform for providing greater detail thus demonstrating your expertise in your market and building trust among your prospective clients.

Blogging Drives People to Your Website

Google refers visitors your website based on the relevance of your site’s content compared to what people are searching for. Write your blog with the goal of providing helpful and useful content to your site’s visitors. Conduct keyword research to know what prospective customers are looking for. Ask yourself, what problems are my target buyers trying to solve? What questions do they have about my industry? Then write as if you were addressing them directly.  When your content is aligned with demonstrated need, Google will reward you by promoting your content within its top page results. In a world where 75% of users never scroll past the first page of Google search results, this is critical to the success of your website.

Blogging Feeds Your Social Marketing Efforts

Share a link to every post you write on your social media channels.  Encourage your social media audience to share those posts with others thus increasing the reach of the blog and your visibility among additional prospects.

Getting Started

The hardest part about blogging is getting started.  If you don’t consider yourself a writer, you may find the thought of writing a blog to be overwhelming.  Don’t let that stop you. Set aside an hour, grab a pen and notebook, and begin by writing a list of questions that you and your staff members are frequently asked by your customers and prospects. Ask your sales team what questions or objections they commonly receive during their sales process. Write down a list of things you wish your prospects knew about your industry or business processes. Each question is a potential blog topic.

When you write, avoid the temptation to talk about your products. Instead, focus your efforts on describing how your business helps your clients be the hero of their story. In the words of Simon Sinek, “People don’t care what you do, they care why you do it.”  Why are you in business? How do you help other people and businesses succeed? What tips can you offer that provide value to your target audience? This is the type of content you should be producing on your blog.