Mike Andrew Consulting

Blogging for Business

By mike, Oct 22 in blog with 0 comments

So why should business blog? now there is a great question, and if you are a business owner and you haven’t yet considered adding a blog to your internet marketing strategy then you should and fast. Why? what is it about blogging that is so important that I would make a statement like that. First of all, one of the reasons you should add a blog is it provides a personal form of communication with your audience, or in your case as a business owner, your customer. It allows you to create the “expert” factor in your marketing and you can run it on your web site or alongside on a separate domain name, plus you’ll benefit from the increase in traffic or searches that you’ll receive. If that wasn’t enough to get you running out and starting up a blog, Google and search engines in general love blogs, this is because they provide frequently updated and valuable content, and for that reason they get indexed faster than a standard web site and will, as long as you publish good quality content, end up ranking on the first page of Google.

I wrote my first article on blogging for business and the importance of adding a blog as a corporate communication tool over 12 months ago, and I’m surprised that the penny hasn’t dropped yet with small business owners.

Blogging is an extension of your business web site and allows you to add a personal touch to your web marketing, blogging also allows you a platform to discuss customer service issues or any issue that you believe relevant to your market. If you start to think where your customers get their information from today, you’d realise the value of a number one ranking on search engines. Think about the Gen X&Y’s, how many of them go to the Yellow Pages to check out business or services? research says none of them do, they “Google” it, so you need to make sure your business web site ranks highly. Blogs allow you to keep the formal and conversational side of your business separate,this is done by running your blog alongside your formal web site. Your blog can be updated daily with information,products or promotions whilst linking to your main web site.

So what are the benefits to a business blog strategy?

Simple low cost PR – Blogs allow to put information on line quickly.
Establish your Expertise – Blogs help Position yourself and your company as the experts in your field and can raise your visibility within your target market.
Customer service & relationships – Blogs are your human face and your voice to the public. Blogs allow you to join customer discussions, respond to concerns, provide tips and insights or receive feedback about your services or products.
Build your online community – Blogs allow you to build a community around your business or product as well as providing an outlet for discussions about you and your business
Promotional tool – Because blogs can be updated frequently and are indexed very quickly by search engines, you can use them to create promotions around your brand or service and create a buzz for your products.
Higher search rankings – Search engines love blogs and your company can benefit from higher search rankings

Blogging is not hard, and it has real benefits for your business once you get your blog established. The most important things to remember with a blog once you start, are be consistent with your posting and provide good quality original content.

Are there any businesses that can’t benefit from a blog? No not to my point of view, so what are you waiting for, get started.

If you’d like to find out how easy it is to learn to blog, then why not inquire about our Learn to Blog courses, we’ll take you through the process from start to finish and even set you up with a blog once you’ve finished the course. To find out more information on our learn to blog courses, either contact me on mobile 0413 529 329 or you can email us here for more information on the courses available

About the author

Mike Andrew has been working with the Internet and small business for over 12 years. Mike has been a keynote speaker at conventions and seminars and conducted social media training sessions all over the world. Mike has an extensive media background having worked in electronic media for over 30 years. Mike specialises in social media and Internet marketing strategy, SEO techniques and search engine marketing campaigns. His articles appear on numerous blogs around the web as well as national magazines.