07 Feb Why Your Business Needs to Have a Blog

Are you maintaining a blog for your business? If not, you may be missing out on an incredibly effective form of lead generation…which means you may be missing out on a powerful way to grow your business. 
There was a point in time where blogging was simply a platform to voice one’s ideas and opinions for all to hear. Images of computer hackers hovering over the keyboards writing about government conspiracies often comes to mind when people hear the word “blogging.” But the truth is blogging has evolved into a legitimate art form; and several savvy business owners have turned it into a lucrative way to build their business.
So how can blogging help your business?
One: It offers a way to personally engage with your customers.
People buy from people. We like to support those we care about…those we know. And therein lies the beauty of blogging: it helps you connect with your customer base in an intimate way. It helps them understand that you are not just a name…you are a person. You are more than a brand. You are a human being with passion and emotion just like them. They will see you in a different light. They will trust you. Think about it…whose recommendation would you favor most: a stranger’s or a friend’s? The majority would trust their friend. Blogging can help you develop that trust and that relationship.
Two: It helps you establish yourself as the authority in your field.
So people buy from people…and more specifically people they trust. But they also buy from experts. Blogging can help you establish yourself as an expert in your field. By writing on a topic, educating the population, expressing opinions, and helping others, you can establish yourself as the go-to person when it comes to information in your niche. Think of Dr. Oz.
Dr. Oz has a rabid fan base. People buy supplements, try diets, go on fasts, because he recommends them. When he told everyone on national television that Acai was an amazing antioxidant with numerous health benefits, supplement stores had an extremely difficult time keeping Acai on the shelves.
When he told people that passionflower was a fantastic supplement that helps with stress reduction, weight loss, and sleeping, millions of viewers raced to their local health food store to purchase their passionflower tincture. Why? Because Dr. Oz has established himself as the authority in health…and he did so by constantly sharing information with others; at first through radio and now through television.
Blogging can be your platform and your way into being the authority that millions of people trust. Your rabid fan base is only a few key strokes away
Three: You’ll get deeper insights into your customer base.
Imagine actually communicating with your customers directly. Imagine being able to know what topics they enjoy reading. What information they like and share. Imagine being able to be a fly in the wall and listen to your customers communicate with one another, discussing what they want and need the most. That is exactly what the powerful analytics that are readily available on many blogging platforms can do for you. Using tools like Google Analytics will help you get to know your customer’s behaviors, tendencies, and desires helping you understand how to better help and serve them. And in the end, that’s really what it is all about…serving your customers.
Blogging may seem like a waste of time. After all, the immediate return on investment just isn’t there. But if you blog consistently, over time, you will enjoy a deeper and closer relationship with your customer base. And this deeper relationship will lead to your own fan base that is willing to buy anything you recommend. THAT is what blogging can do for your business. So let me ask again, why aren’t you blogging?