In this social media age, with so many channels available to share content on, do companies still need to have a blog to promote their content? I believe they do. There are so many benefits to having a business blog that not having one can actually take you out of the running in this competitive digital media world.

Here are 10 reasons why your small business should have a blog.

1. Better search rankings and visibility

If you want to build traffic to your website, there’s no better way to do it than via search engines. But for your SEO campaign to work, you need to give search engines and visitors a reason to visit your website again and again.

Publishing a blog regularly and consistently will, not only help build your visibility on Google, but also help you get ranked for keywords that people type into search engines when they search for your company, products or services. The more you publish, the more opportunities you’ll have to rank for those competitive keywords. To understand how to get better search rankings with your blog, read this article on SEO tips for blogs. 

2. A hub for your social media presence

When you post content on social media channels, like Facebook, and free sites like Tumblr, Blogger and Medium, you don’t actually own the channel you’re posting on, nor is it necessarily helping you drive traffic back to your website. When you post content on a blog hosted on your own website, you are creating a central point for your social media presence. You’re providing a permanent place for other bloggers to link to, and a way for visitors to share your blog links on their own social media channels. 

Also, the shelf-life of social media content is just three hours. After that, it will disappear from public view, unless you post it again and again. A blog post, on the other hand, can get indexed in Google and, if it gets a high ranking, can bring you traffic and visitors for years to come. 

A blog is the best way to create a hub for your social media presence.

3. A low-cost PR channel for your business

Because many journalists scour blogs and other internet sources for quotes to use in their articles, publishing your own blog offers them a ready-made source of material that they can use to quote you and your company.

You can post press releases, news updates and articles from various thought leaders in your company on your blog. It can become a low-cost PR channel to reach out to journalists, as well as other stakeholders in your business.

4. Build thought-leadership and branding

If you want to build thought-leadership in your industry, publishing a blog is, by far, the best way to do it. You can use your blog to host videos, podcasts, infographics, slideshare presentations, and just about any form of content that boosts your brand and authority on your topic of expertise.

Your blog can help you become a powerful influencer, get invited to speak at industry events, and get you quoted in the media as an authoritative and influential voice in your industry.

5. Boost reputation and credibility

In times of crisis, you can use your blog to respond to legitimate questions that the public has about your company and its activities. Your blog is your channel to help you tell your side of the story and ensure that it gets told the way you want it to be told.

Making your blog a medium for company communications will boost your company’s reputation, promote transparency and openness, and increase your credibility within your industry. 

6. Generate leads and build a list

Because you can add a subscription form to your blog, and let anyone subscribe to your updates, your blog can help you build a mailing list of prospects who are not just interested in what you have to say, but who might also go on to buy your products and services.

As one of the first points of contact in your sales funnel, your blog can help you capture leads and build a mailing list of interested prospects that you can reach out to again and again.

7. Answer customer queries

Do you get customers who keep asking the same questions over and over? You can answer their questions on your blog to help them understand your products or services better.

In fact, one of the best ways to set yourself apart from the competition is by using your blog to be completely transparent about your industry and the issues that customers face when using your products or services.

To use this content strategy, write down a long list of all the questions that your customers regularly ask you and then answer them, one by one, on your blog.

8. Promote your products and services

Your blog is also one of the best channels to promote new products and services to your target audience. You can use your blog to feature product demos or explainer videos, or publish case studies and testimonials showcasing how your product or service helped your customers. 

Once you have a large base of subscribers, all you have to do to boost sales is to publish a post on your blog and send it out to your subscribers.

9. Make announcements

Is your company going through a merger? Do you have new people joining at a high-level? Are you holding a contest or promotion on your website? You can use your blog to announce all these events to your readers and your list of subscribers.

10. Get feedback

Want to get feedback on a new product feature or a new service offering? Post about it on your blog and ask your readers to leave comments and suggestions. You might be surprised at how willing and helpful your community of readers can be when asked for feedback.

I hope these 10 benefits of having a blog have convinced you that blogging is one of the best tools you can have in your digital marketing arsenal. Now go, get started publishing that blog.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views, official policy or position of GlobalLinker.