Social media is great tool for businesses today, but it can be short lived when it comes to growing your traffic and customers. You might start off with a great initial reaction from a social media post, but soon your traffic will die down when that post gets buried in the never ending feed of your potential customers. Once it is gone, it is not likely to get seen again, especially in upcoming weeks or months. There is a way to get traffic to older content year round. The best way to get constant traffic is through search engine optimization (SEO). However, just having a storefront on your website doesn’t leave much room for all of the keywords you need to use to attract the organic traffic. This is one of many reasons why every business needs an accompanying blog.
While strong SEO is definitely one of the best reasons for having a blog for your business, it is not the only one. Blogs are a great way to connect, explain, and inspire potential customers to action. There are actually a few good reasons why you should build a blog today, so here are some ways to get the most out of your blog:
Give More Detail
A blog allows your business more room to explain and demonstrate a product or service that you sell. A post could feature a single product or feature of a product and go into specific detail. Explain why this product or service can serve them. This is a great space to really sell your business to your audience. If you are selling a physical product, you can always include more pictures.
Testimonials and Customer Reviews
This space is also a great way to post testimonials and reviews you have received from customers. To do this, you could start reaching out to satisfied customers from the past, and see if they would be willing to write a post on your product or service. People are more likely to buy into your brand if they can see that others have enjoyed your business. Potential customers will also be more willing to trust your brand if you have more sources saying your business is great.
How To Posts
If you are selling a product, you can write a post about how to use it for maximum effectiveness, or some benefits you get from this specific product or service. Go into detail, and add some pictures. Illustrate why your product or service is unique and a good value for them. Even do a demonstration of how well your product works if that is applicable to your business. Once again, this is another great opportunity to sell your business to potential customers out there.
Tell a Story
Potential customers also want to connect with you. A blog is a place where you can tell your readers a story or a personal experience. You may want to talk about why you founded this business in the first place. Or why you feel that your business makes the world a better place. In a world of constant information, people like feeling connection, and when they feel close to your business or cause they are more trusting. Whatever the case might be, take the time to write something that your readers can connect with.
Help Others
If your business is in a position to help others succeed, you should do so. Meaning that in your blog write about how others could succeed in your field. For example, maybe you are a photographer, so you could then write a post about some great photography tips. If you provide a service, having a blog can be even more crucial to your business. After all, this is a great space for you to prove your authority in the subject that you work in. Give some great information to your readers, share some of your past work if possible.
Integrate SEO
Of course SEO is one of the most important reasons why your business should have a blog. Search engine optimization is the best way to grow your traffic organically and year round. It is one of the only ways to continue to bring new people back to old posts that might not appear on social media anymore.
Some ways to use search engine optimization and get the most out of it on your blog are taking actions such as:
- Defining a keyword or phrase that is relevant for that particular post and use it multiple times throughout the paragraphs.
- Using the specified keywords or phrases in any headings.
- Creating a captivating title that will entice readers, and uses the keyword as well.
- Having alternative text to all pictures on the page, preferably using the keywords.
- Having title tags and meta descriptions for all posts.
- Including links where relevant – to your own pages as well as others’ websites.
Of course, the most important part to many of the steps above is finding a relevant keyword or phrase to use in your content. If you are having trouble, you might find this post helpful in defining the best ones for your business.
Creating a blog in addition to a storefront or main business website is a great way to increase your search engine optimization, as well as engage with your audience. The organic traffic gained from search engines will give your business more eyes on your page, but you need the captivating posts to keep their interest peaked. Once they get to your website, you need that extra space to explain, demonstrate, and sell your product or service to the customer. Make them trust you and your brand. Give them helpful information that will not only persuade them, but which they can then share with their friends. Blogs are shareable content, and if you make your case interesting enough, it could get passed around, giving you even more potential customers.
