This is a question we get asked often, so here are our pure, unadulterated thoughts on this subject. For starters, the word “blog” conjures up different images for different people — do you think of a blog as a 15-year-old girl gossiping about her classmates and boyfriend online; or as a way for a business to communicate with stakeholders, create authority, build trust, and in turn increase the company coffers?
To make this an easy question for you to answer, let’s split it down the middle and discuss the pros and cons of having a company blog.
The Pros: Reasons why a blog would benefit your company
1. Links and traffic
It is no secret that having the right kind of links pointing to your website is a good thing. If you put out some great content on your blog, others will be more inclined to link to your site and recommend you and your services. Blog posts will also help increase the traffic to your site if they are promoted effectively.
2. Effective communication medium
Taking an example of an accounting firm — a blog could be a great way to inform your clients about new tax advantages, recently closed loopholes, to broadcast a fee structure change, or announce new services and staff members.
3. Authority status
Regular blog posts that keep your customers informed about the industry will help raise your profile in their eyes. You’ll build trust and they’ll be more likely to use your services if they can see you’re an expert in your field.
4. Re-humanising companies
The days of knowing your grocer and banker on a first name basis are gone – and a lot of people miss that — nobody likes to feel like a ‘customer reference number’ when they’re buying something. Using a blog to show that your company is full of normal, hardworking people who like to have a bit of fun re-humanises your business and, in turn, helps pull in more customers.
The Cons: What are the negatives of having a company blog?
1. Cost or time
The actual cost of setting up a blog on your website is nominal; however, you will either have to spend your time writing regular posts or organise to contract this work out.
2. Creating interesting, new, related content
A blog needs to have regularly refreshed content that entertains or informs your customers. Many industries — such as law, accounting, real estate, retail, trades, online businesses, restaurants, hotels, and airlines — want to be in contact with their customers, so they will always have new deals and information to share.
So, the question to ask is not “Do we need a company blog”, but instead, questions like these:
- How many customers can the company gain through a blog?
- Can we increase our average “spend per customer” by giving them more information and options?
- Do we want to be seen as an authority in our industry?
- Do we want our blog posts to be all over the internet, so we can gain more traffic and a bigger market share?
- Are the above benefits worth the cost of a lunch-or-two a week?
Plus, having fresh, new content on your website puts you on Google’s good side.
Bambrick is one of the foremost digital marketing companies in Brisbane, with a strong focus on SEO, Google AdWords, Social Media Marketing and Website Design. Having helped over 500 local and interstate businesses achieve their digital marketing goals, we know just how important it is to keep your website content fresh and up-to-date — we believe that the best way to achieve this is with a regularly updated blog page. If you’re ready to place your business in front of more ready-to-buy customers by enhancing your online visibility, talk to us about setting up a blog page today!