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A blog can be your best friend. It works 24/7 and helps you build a loyal customer base. A well-thought-out blog can also generate sales, help your sales team follow up on leads and validate you as an industry expert. Some business owners put their blog on the back burner and consider it something they will get to when they have more time. Now is the time to make your blog strategy a priority so it can start working for you. Here are more reasons why.
Lead Generation
One of the most important jobs of a blog is to generate leads to your website. Relevant content, that actually provides your readers or viewers, if you vlog (video blog) will not only get new customer leads to your website it will help you nurture existing relationships and turn them into loyal, repeat customers. Blogs provide you with many valuable opportunities to create new relationships with prospects. You can also use a blog to share business updates, promote product launches, announce promotional events and to gain valuable feedback from readers. As soon as someone visits your website, use your blog to keep them engaged. Include a call to action (CTA) to sign up for emails, leave comments, download an eBooks, watch a webinar, or share on social media. This engagement will help you maintain a constant line of communication with your customers.
Improve Your Search Engine Rankings
Every time you post a new blog, the opportunity to appear on search engines increases. Search engine optimization (SEO) is important so when someone searches for your product you will appear closer to the top of a search engine's list. Google, Yahoo and You Tube use algorithms and other computerized techniques to search for keywords that apply to different industries. Keywords are words that are commonly used in your industry. Every blog you write should include commonly used keywords. Writing a well-thought-out blog and continuing to add fresh content is also helpful for the search engines to find you. It is wise to research what keywords your competitors are using so you can use them in your content, too. There are online tools (like Google's Keyword Planner) that will help you designate keywords.
Assist Your Sales Team
Your blog is an effective tool to assist your sales team in generating new customers and nurturing existing ones. When you have a robust library of content, a sales professional can send prospects links to different blog topics to either begin or continue a conversation. Blog content helps customers decide if they want to do business with you. If prospects find answers to the questions they have about your products in a blog post they will trust your company because you helped them. In addition, a blog is a beneficial tool to keep existing customers engaged. A thoughtfully written blog allows you to be viewed as a credible resource, trend setter, and industry leader. It will also you to build a trusted readership who will continually read your blog and look to you for the most current information.
Generates Long-Term Results
A blog entry will keep working for you long after it is posted. After the initial post is read and shared on social media and other online sources, it will continue to attract interest through search engines. For months and even years in the future, your blog will serve as a powerful online tool to generate traffic and funnel leads to your website. Research indicates that more than 70 percent of sales leads are generated from older blog posts. A blog strategy, then, can generate return for years into the future and is never a one-and-done asset. Bottom line, a well-thought-out content plan, with blogging as its focal point, is an investment of time, energy and resources that pays your business dividends for years to come.
