This is a guest post by Larry Reed, a technical writer with Designrush – a new B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies.

Why You Need to Start a Blog

With the overwhelming popularity of social media and the spread of video in content marketing, it’s easy to get the impression that blogging is no longer the powerful marketing strategy it used to be. Not only that, but many solopreneurs and small business owners think that their business is too small to run a blog, as if this strategy is reserved only for the industry leaders and companies with extensive resources.

But the truth couldn’t be further from that. As we head into 2019, blogging remains one of the most effective and cheapest digital marketing tools out there, especially for small businesses. Here’s why.

Drive traffic to your site

Without a blog section on your website, your reach is significantly limited. But with a section dedicated to posting informative articles, useful guides, ideas, or even just entertaining stuff, you’ll be able to reach a vast audience that’s searching for related information. It’s also a great way to direct your target audience from social media to your website.

If your blog is engaging and provides value to the audience, not only will you drive traffic to your website, but you’ll be able to widen your reach through social media shares, reduce bounce rates, and even secure loyal subscribers.

Give your brand a voice

Social media marketing is a great tool for building brand awareness and establishing a relationship with your audience – but it’s not nearly enough on its own. Your blog, on the other hand, is a separate platform where all eyes are set on you and you can cover topics in depth. The stage is yours to showcase your personality, truly provide value for your audience without limitations in expression, and essentially turn followers into customers. It’s your space to differentiate yourself from your competition and build a strong brand image.

That’s why blogging and social media marketing go hand in hand. You need social to promote your blog, but without blog content to promote, your social media presence would also be much less engaging.

Drive conversions

Because it gives you the opportunity to express yourself convincingly and establish a trusting relationship with your audience, your blog can be a powerful tool for generating leads and driving conversions. When you pair content marketing with a sound email marketing strategy, a consistent brand image and posts that provide value can turn subscribers into customers.

Your website could be primarily a blog (especially if you’re an author, for example) with the content front and center and calls to action for purchasing your products or service. Be careful, however, because all your efforts will go to waste if the site looks spammy and offers a frustrating user experience. Don’t leave it to amateurs. You can use online directories to look for professional help with UX and filter-search web agencies according to your budget. Don’t rush the launch and make sure all the details of the design sit well with your brand image.

Blogging is vital to SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of any business’ long-term marketing campaign. Research has shown that 75% of Internet users don’t scroll past the first page of search results, and making it to this coveted spot means more visibility for your brand and more traffic for your website. As SEO has greatly evolved over the years, it has become virtually impossible to boost your website’s search engine rankings without blogging. It’s a longstanding commitment, but you’ll go a long way by regularly posting well-optimized content with focus keywords and generating backlinks through guest blogging.

Build authority

Your venture can never be too small for a blog. Blog-writing is not about your business, but rather about industry expertise and knowledge. In fact, your blog may even come long before your business and give you a solid foundation for starting your venture. As a small business, it’s the perfect medium to show your expertise matches up to the big guys and that you have the potential to be an industry leader. In order to help audiences build confidence in your brand and establish an enviable reputation, use your blog to showcase your knowledge regarding your industry or certain niche areas.

Expand your professional network

When you establish authority as an industry expert, it’s not only your followers and potential customers you’re bringing closer, but also other small businesses and influential people within your niche. Once you dive into it, you’ll find that blogging brings many opportunities to connect with relevant industry personas – through social media, guest blogging, or even in the blog comments section, where open dialogue and reader input help cultivate a real niche community. You’ll have the credibility to build your network, reach out to influential personas, and potentially even establish partnerships.

All in all, blogging drives results, and it’s not going away anytime soon as one of the top digital marketing strategies. In fact, its importance is only growing as marketers fight for their voices to be heard in the vast digital space and search engine algorithms get increasingly sophisticated. Make blogging a top priority goal for your marketing strategy in the year ahead, but be prepared – it’s a commitment.

For an updated take on the trends shaping web development in 2021, check out this post!

Featured Image: Unsplash