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I am not an early adopter of blogging.
There, I said it. In fact, a few years back, I was fairly hostile about the idea. Who cares what somebody says in his or her blog? It amounts to a lot of blah-blah-blah-ging, I would snidely guffaw at any opportunity. This t-shirt posted to the left made its way to a few colleagues as a way to illustrate the point.
I stand corrected.
In business-to-business marketing, blogging has emerged as a powerful tool.
Yet many businesses don’t fully comprehend the critical importance of a blog.
Key Considerations
Should YOU start a blog for your business, Mr. or Ms. Business Owner? You should if you answer “yes” to the following questions:
--- Do you sell a product or a service?
--- Are you an expert in your field? Do you possess insight, tips, and knowledge about your field you wish to showcase to prospects and the larger community?
---- Do your prospects use the Internet? (According to experts, 80% of b-to-b prospects’ questions are answered before interacting with sales. That means prospects are hungry for online content about you, your brand, your product or service. They are LOOKING for content to learn more about what you offer, before they even connect with you!)
So Why Blog?
After one full year and over 40 posts for my own B2B blog post, and dozens of blog posts created on behalf of clients, here are five reasons business-to-business orgs should blog.
1) Reinforces Thought Leadership. A blog illustrate your expertise and leadership in your field. Short, concise content providing tips, lessons learned and other insight serves as an excellent way to build your brand.
2) Communicates Value Proposition. By sharing your expertise in your blog about timely issues related to your business, those related to your industry gain true value. You’re essentially “giving away” your expertise. This works to build trust and good will. A blog entices folks to seek your service/product, or engage with you to further the dialogue.
3) Fuels Social Media Programs. A blog fuels social media like Twitter and LinkedIn, since content from a blog post makes a great Tweet or update on LinkedIn. Your followers and connections will perceive you as an active expert, engaging in dialogue about relevant issues.
4) Enables Engagement. A blog lets you connect with clients, prospects, industry thought leaders, colleagues, media, partners and others in your community. It has been an educational process for me – I’m always surprised when a colleague or associate mentions a B2B Blog post they’ve read. This same experience has taken place with my clients. While posts might receive a lot of comments, Google Analytics data shows that web and blog traffic increases any time new content is posted.
5) Expands Business Development. A blog helps expand business development efforts. As an example, from an SEO perspective alone, blogging is a smart way to go. You want people to find you up high on a search result. Google puts a priority on finding new and updated content. Sites with more frequent updates get more priority. Blogging with a regular cadence means there is fresh content on your site. If a blog post has a call to action (download a paper, sign up for a webinar), this fuels business develop and lead nurturing even more.
Can’t get enough B2B Blog posts about blogging? See related post: 5 Lessons Learned from Blogging) --- And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for Tweets about Tweeting!
