7 brilliant benefits of blogging - for businesses of all sizes

Did you know that according to a study by Web Host Review, '77% of internet users read blogs on a regular basis'*? That's a huge audience ready and willing to read your content. 

So whether you run a small, medium or large business, creating a blog is an essential tool for growth.

Here we deep-dive into 7 of the best reasons why blogging is a business non-negotiable for all companies, whatever your size.

1. A Blog Helps to Position You As An Expert

You know you’re an expert in what you do. But does anybody else?

Probably not.

Blogging is your opportunity to show your audience how much you know about your subject as well as how you can help them too.

Providing your knowledge and expertise in well-written blogs with actionable tips and advice that teach your customers something, or help them solve a problem, will not only raise the profile of your business, it will also set you apart from the competition. 

2. Blogs Help Build Relationships

Business is all about people. And people are all about connection, which means they buy from other people. Not from corporate companies. 

Blogging helps this process by enabling you to connect with your customers through stories, information, examples and anecdotes. 

Your blog enables you to show ‘you’, the person behind the business and your customers will love getting to know you this way. 

Relationships are a two-way street too. Through comments and likes you get to see more of what your customers like and want, which will inform what you do next, your next product / service choice or whether you need to do a video explaining something in detail. 

You can also ask your customers for help or ideas, which again, keeps them talking to you and helps them see how valuable their input is to you.

3. Blogs Help Build Trust in Your Brand

People value honesty and openness and in your own blog you get to be exactly that. 

Telling your customers about what you do in your own words and from your point of view helps to create a connection and builds trust. 

4. Blogs Drive More Traffic to Your Website

Blogs drive more traffic to your website. They really do. The stats speak for themselves. Online advertising company WordStream make this very clear: 

Companies who blog get:

· 97% more links to their websites 

· 55% more website visitors 

Who doesn’t want some of that?

5. People Like & Trust The Written Word

In a world where video content is going through the roof, it can be easy to think that’s where you need to go, and maybe you do, as well. 

But not every customer likes video content and if given the choice to watch a video for 6 minutes or read something for 6 minutes I know which one I'd choose. 

The fact is, people like and trust the written word. When people have to write stuff down and they know it’s permanent they suddenly get all hung up on accuracy and relevance. And that’s a good thing. Being accurate and relevant inspires confidence and trust and that helps build relationships. 

Yes, there are plenty of people, like me, who prefer to read something, sometimes fully and in detail and other times quickly skimming through to get the gist, and then taking time to focus properly on the bits that are important to them. 

Still not convinced? Keep reading…

6. Long blogs get more engagement with your brand

A blog can be any length from 300 to 5,000 words, depending on what you have to say. There is no strict rule. You can decide. 

In our culture where we devour content daily and seemingly want all the information we can get in 5 seconds flat, you might be surprised to find that research has shown people are very happy to spend time – even as much as seven minutes – reading something if it’s a quality piece of content they can either learn from or are entertained by. 

Here’s a few more stats for you: 

- Longer blog posts of more than 1,000 words are better received by readers and ‘get 56% more social media shares’ (SEO expert, Brian Dean, Backlinko).

- Engagement time also increases right the way up to 4,000 words (Chartbeat). The sweet spot is 2,250 – 2,500 words (ukwebhostreview). 

Just think about it, the longer the blog the more of your amazing knowledge you can get across and the more valuable the blog is to the reader. No waffle and fluff, just useful, actionable information your readers will love. 

Also, the more in-depth your post, the more likely you will rank highly in search engine queries (Marketing Insider Group). 

OK, so this blog is only just longer than 1,200 words, so it’s not quite hitting the sweet spot, but it says everything I want to say, so there’s no need to keep going. You can make that choice. It’s your blog.

 7. A Blog Gives You Loads of Content For Social Media

From the long-form blog you can then take shorter sections or snippets to be used on social media – where people can gobble it up as quickly as they like.

Typically, one long-form blog of around 1,500-2,000 words could get you around eight to ten social media posts or more if you repurpose some of it.

Each post then drives people to your website to read the full blog and then, of course, browse a bit while they’re there. Good eh!

Imagine that, ready-made social media content, so you don’t have to lie awake at night wondering what the hell you’re going to post tomorrow.

So, what now?

OK, so hopefully we’ve established how brilliant blogs are for business. So, what next? 

Writing blogs isn’t up everybody's street and let’s face it, you have more important things to do within your business, right? 

Working with a professional writer who understands your business can really help you in this department, helping to speak to your customers and drive your business forward with very little of your input. And the process is so easy. 

Many writers will also work with you to create a full content strategy as well as writing the actual blogs, so you really don’t need to do much to get started, as they will lead it all. 

Let your writer help you so you can get on with running your business. It really is that easy. 

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Yep, I need some blogging in my life,” drop me a line and let’s talk. I’d love to help you.