Why blogging is good for you

Tell a business owner or marketing manager that they should write a blog and you’ll see one of the fastest disappearing acts ever. The web is littered with blogs that were started enthusiastically. With “industry guru” visions dancing in the author’s head. Only to be abandoned a short while later for lack of time, ideas and results.  Let’s get into why blogging is good for you.

But worthwhile pursuits are rarely easy. Making a blog one of the regular functions of your business is more than worth your while. In fact, unless you have buckets of cash laying around, your blog can be the most powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal.

A Few of Blogging’s Benefits

With more time and space, we could attempt to discuss all of blogging’s advantages. But here’s a few to give you an idea of how good a blog is for the health of your business:

• Content: In 1996, when Bill Gates said “content is king” few people understood what he meant. If it was king then, it is the “Supreme Galactic Emperor of All Cyberspace” now. Led by Google. Search engines continue to refine how they rank websites and every time they do, content gets more emphasis.

With Google’s recent update to its Panda algorithm. Good content is more important than ever for getting higher search engine rankings. Gone are the days of writing copy with certain percentages of keywords and distributing it with the sole purpose of getting links to your site. Google now looks for good, original, engaging and shareable content and rewards it with better rankings.
With all the changes, the written word is still the purest form of content on the web. And your blog is the best way for you to generate pure content that is related to your business and its message.

• Engagement: Blogging is not just writing. It’s researching, commenting, developing information channels and distributing your message. It’s your opportunity to contribute to the massive conversation that is the web. When you blog, you become far more in touch and engaged with your industry. Customers, competitors, suppliers, investors, and with whomever else, you choose to connect. Then with any other medium that doesn’t cost $100,000 for 30 seconds.
• Reputation & Branding: The branding buzz continues to grow in business circles with shouts of “that’s not in line with our branding” coming from brainstorming sessions everywhere. But, in a way, branding is a simple concept. Your company’s brand is everything you do as a business: who you employ, where you’re located, who you buy from, the décor of your office. Your brand is also your reputation. Good reputation, good brand; bad reputation, bad brand.

Your blog is the fastest, most effective way to keep your audiences up-to-date. On who you are, what you do and why. It is one of the best ways to make sure people have the information they need to understand the value your brand represents, which is what sets you apart from your competition.

Start blogging. It’s good for you.

If you have any questions about starting your blog or keeping it going, post them in the comments section.  I’ll be happy to answer them.