Why You Should Start Business Blogging in the New Year

Business blogging is not a thing of the past; it’s a thing of the present and the future. There are millions of blogs and blog posts across the Internet, and it’s not an option to start one--it’s a requirement.

There have been numerous algorithm changes to Google search which are prompting business owners, entrepreneurs, startup founders, and CEOs to start blogs to rank for longtail search results. Even social media sites like LinkedIn are providing opportunities to develop content to reach millions of people.

I will start by explaining what business blogging means and then give some reasons why one of your next moves as a small business owner should be to start your own business blog.

What is a business blog or corporate blog?

Simply stated, a business blog or even a corporate blog focuses on a unique industry and a unique target audience. This audience includes startup founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business owners; within this group there are two subsets: (1) Business-to-business bloggers (B2B), and (2) Entrepreneurs, business owners, or professionals that are trying to reach their target audience--Business-to-Consumer (B2C).

Here are some examples of business blogs:

• An industry-specific blog such as a real estate agent or broker who writes a blog for aspiring real estate agents, focusing on the business part of being a real estate agent and industry-specific trends and statistics.
• A startup founder who chronicles his day-to-day grind and lessons he’s learned as he grows his business.
• A Instagram (or other social media platform) guru that provides tips, tricks, and information on how business owners can leverage the platform. This can be true for any other expertise, not just social media (e.g., franchising, business coaching, HR).
• A business school that has successful business owners or founders that speak to classes. The school may also conduct reports and analysis, and publish findings online.
• An expert that has a new business idea or model that they want to test to get market feedback.
• A small business owner who blogs on his website to connect with his target audience.

How is a business blog different?

Some still view blogging as a something that people do to talk about what they had for lunch, or what Kim Kardashian or Justin Bieber wore last night to dinner, but that simply isn’t the case. And while it can be those things, the beauty of blogging is that you can make it into what you want it to be. It’s important to focus on the opportunity the technology provides to reach your audience--not just on how people are currently using it.

Business blogging offers a huge opportunity for business owners to brand themselves or their businesses as leaders or experts in a specific industry; it's also a way to provide quality content to their target audience. For a local plumber, it might be providing helpful household hints for stay-at-home moms who are more likely to call a plumber instead of doing the job themselves. For a community newspaper, it might be providing a list of events in the area.

There are many benefits, but the biggest thing about business blogging is to understand that it has one of the two focuses that I explained above. It’s either providing content to entrepreneurs, startups, and business owners, or it's being used by a business owner to target their B2C market.

What are the benefits of business blogging?

1. It drives traffic to your website. As a business owner or entrepreneur, you might be looking for traffic for numerous reasons. It’s very important to be clear about what the goal is for your blog so that when you blog, you can leverage that traffic to reach your goal. A goal might be branding (point #2), lead generation, “list building” (email or social media), or selling your products or services.
2. It helps to build your brand. As an expert or professional, your goal might be to simply brand yourself as an expert in a specific field. One of the best ways to use your blog is to educate and inform your target audience. If you provide a tip or tool that someone in your target audience finds useful, you will instantly become an expert in their eyes. For local business owners, if you simply provide relevant information for your target audience (even if it’s not directly related to the services that you provide) you will be seen as a go-to person for all topics. For example, a web developer might provide general business information; if they can provide relevant information for the B2B industry, they will be seen as an expert. This foundation of trust might lead to someone becoming a future client.
3. It has long-term benefits. I’m a strong believer that blogging is a long-term marketing strategy. While you can advertise your blog post using Facebook Ads or Google AdWords, you still are providing “free” information. Your initial goal might be to increase your email list or to get more people to like your Facebook page. Think long term when it comes to your blog. Think of what you can provide for free or the value you can give.
4. It is a good way to test out ideas. In one of my new favorite books, The New Rules of Marketing & PR, author David Meerman Scott discusses how he used his blog to test out ideas and different ways of thinking; using forms of new media opened up the opportunity for him to even create his book. In a similar way, you can use your blog to test out the popularity of a new product or service, or even think through how you might develop your minimum viable product or MVP.
5. It provides a greater opportunity to be found online. At the beginning of this post, I touched on how Google and search engines are making it easier to find longtail searches. As search becomes more sophisticated, individuals are not just searching for plumbers in their local towns, they are searching for plumbers that work with churches, or Facebook specialists that work with nonprofits. Using your blog to establish yourself as not only an expert, but as an expert in a specific niche, is a huge opportunity. If you are doing search engine optimization (SEO) on your website, and you are publishing blog posts that target those longtail inquiries that your target market is typing into the search engine, you have a great opportunity to be found.
6. It’s “free.” Blogging by itself doesn’t cost. There can be ancillary costs such as hosting or hiring a person or agency to handle your blogging; however, the only cost you really have is your time. If there’s a way to set yourself apart from your “competitors,” why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of it?

How can I start a business blog?

Blogging is easier than it has ever been. With platforms such as WordPress, LinkedIn, Medium, Blogger, there’s no excuse for not starting your business blog. Begin by brainstorming topics and phrases that your customers might be searching on Google. Type them into a search engine and see what results come up. You'll need to write something just as good or better in order to rank. By "good," we mean useful (specific information written by an industry insider), clear, easy, and interesting to read.

Finally, many people reading this might already have a blog. It’s very important to remember that even if you aren’t starting from scratch, you can restart your blog and integrate other forms of media like your podcast or your YouTube videos. You can even re-share the posts you create across LinkedIn or on Medium to reach an even wider audience.