Blogging as a form of Lead Generation for Businesses

A blog is one of the most underrated but probably one of the most potent tools to organically increase your Search Engine ranking and set the basis for a business to create brand loyalty with customers by asserting its knowledge in an industry.

A blog is an online article around a topic of interest or a current event in an informational format to position yourself as an expert or to share information. Brands and individuals can now have an opportunity to reap the numerous benefits of sharing detailed information and even include photos to represent information without having to even spend time or money to create a blog website or get an article in the newspaper or in setting up a Blog Website. "Blogging for business is a content marketing tactic in which a company creates content related to its product or service to improve its online visibility" (Wix Blog, 2022).

People can literally create blogs on LinkedIn, Quora, Patreon, or even in the form of long-form content on Facebook. People also have the option of having it as a page on their Websites through Website builders like WordPress, Wix, Square Space, etc. As a matter of fact, "business blogging is so valuable that it is a top priority for 53% of marketers" (Wix Blog, 2022). So since everyone can create a blog, what are the benefits that businesses can gain from creating blogs?

1. Presenting your brand as an industry expert

Blogging also you to demonstrate your prowess in an industry or business. As Mail Chimp (n.d.) "Starting a blog for your brand allows you to show customers all of this and more as you share your insights, opinions, experience, and results." This source further explains that you can potentially sell more products and services to those persons because you've helped customers understand more about what they're buying and what they're likely to experience when they use the product."

The spin-off benefits of this are:

A. Create an emotional connection

Blogs help to create an emotional connection with customers by educating them on a product or service, especially in a way that not too many people or brands are. This helps customers to be able to justify their purchases when they have doubts and feel knowledgeable about a product or service.

B. Increase Buyer Confidence and reduce buyer dissonance:

Blogs can therefore improve their confidence and make them better identify with a business that consistently makes blogs and other content that they like because it makes them feel good about being affiliated with them. This leads to businesses who blog having great relationships with the customers that enjoy their content (even if they do not like or react to your content in any way - more on this later in the article).

2. Get more leads and close more sales

"Brands that blog generate 67% more leads." (Ivanna. V, 2022). Exposure.com (2018) further explains that "B2B companies that use blogs receive 67% more leads than those that don’t, and B2B marketers rated blog posts the most effective method of demand generation in the awareness or interest stage of the sales funnel." It is interesting to note that according to Exposure (2018) "on average, brands that publish 15 blog posts per month convert 1,200 new leads per month." This results in "60% of businesses who blog" acquiring "more customers" (Grow, 2023).

This is because, as Mail Chimp (n.d.) "Every individual who lands on your website to see what you have to offer represents a potential sale. However, some people want to learn more about your company and the product they're interested in or discover why you're selling the merchandise. A blog delivers the information they seek and encourages them to finalize their purchase." It helps to educate them about your product or service so that they will identify with your brand, be educated about your product or service, and reduce buyer dissonance when they make a purchase because they can always refer to it. After all, if the customers are prepared to read your blogs from start to finish they are more inclined to actually make a purchase.

"Brands that create 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 new leads per month", as explained by Upland Software, Inc. (n.d.). This source further explains that blogging is an excellent source of original content. Original content is a huge lead driver. Plus, it can be used in many ways to capture the minds of hungry customers as I will explain later on in this article.

However, blogging takes time to see a payoff. "Most corporate blogs don’t see a positive ROI until they’ve been blogging consistently for 6 to 12 months. That said, blogs gain potency as they grow which means that they have a longer lifespan than ads. In fact, 56% of marketers say that blogging is effective and 10% say that a blog has the biggest return on investment of all marketing strategies" (Wix Blog, September 16, 2022). So why it is not a quick fix, the results last longer, and like YouTube videos can continue to work long after they are launched.

3. Increase the Search Engine Optimization of your website

"Blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links" (Upland Software, Inc., n.d.). Upland Software, Inc. (n.d.) further highlights that "The more frequently a business blogs, the more “findable” the site becomes for specific topics and queries. Publishing quality posts means you’re providing content worth linking to and sharing, which signals value to search engines and helps you rank higher. And by keeping SEO in mind, you’re helping search engines categorize and index your content so they can serve it up to interested users."

4. Increase your website ranking

"Research has shown that businesses [that] blog more than 10 times a month get 5 times as much inbound traffic as those who don’t blog at all. If you are publishing quality content [that] is highly relevant to your industry, you will encourage other relevant industry websites to link back to your blog. Because most of the visitors to these relevant sites will be interested in the industry, it’s much more likely that the people who follow these links to your site will be interested in your product or service." (Grow, n.d.)

Upland Software, Inc. also highlights that "blogs drive traffic for your company without spending a lot of money. If you can leverage the knowledge of the people within your business and create content from those resources, you are generating marketable content without spending big marketing dollars."

Blogging also creates fabulous opportunities to get backlinks for your website. Backlinks also help your website ranking to improve which website cites your blog. "Providing clear, useful information on a blog turns it into a reliable resource that others actually want to link back to from their websites. While inbound links aren’t always the biggest goal for a corporate blog, it does help increase web traffic organically—and it’s free! It also shows that potential customers think a brand is “link-worthy” and that they appreciate your position as a thought leader" (Wix Blog, September 16, 2022).

5. Target specific clients

"B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those that do not blog" as Upland Software, Inc. explains. "You are losing potential leads to any competition that does blog, and passing over significant opportunities to demonstrate expertise. Use your corporate blog to attract the right buyers to your brand, provide better information than your competitors, and convert visitors into leads."

This is because the customers that take the time to read your blog are more likely to make a purchase since they already were curious enough to consume the content. Moreover, "Brands that create 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 new leads per month" (Upland Software, Inc. (n.d.). If those prospective customers see that you consistently post content that answers specific questions that they may have, then they will eventually engage with your brand. Then eventually reach out to you when they wish to make a purchase because you have started to win them over.

6. Increasing Brand Recognition and Awareness

"A blog gives you almost unlimited space to deepen your brand identity" (Wix Blog, September 16, 2022). This is a result of the colors, titles, phrases, and photos used throughout your content. Blogging creates "the opportunity to give insight into your business and how it's run. This is a chance to talk about the day-to-day operations, how you source materials, introduce your employees, and highlight experiences you want your customers to know about. You can also talk about why you got into your particular line of business and your goals for its future" (Mail Chimp, n.d.).

This is why this source later explains that "one of the benefits of blogs for businesses is that you're putting a face to your business" and it "creates a sense of familiarity between your brand and your business." This in term makes your customers "feel good" when they conduct business with your brand.

7. Repurpose blogs for social media marketing

"Your blog posts will (ideally) contain information that will interest your target audience, so just reshape your content to fit the feed. For example, you could turn the most valuable morsels in your blog posts into social media graphics. On average, small businesses that blog have 79% more Twitter followers than those that don’t" (Wix Blog, September 16, 2022).

8. Partner with influencers or brands for guest blogging

As Mail Chimp (n.d.) explains, you can post your blog on an influencer's blog website if you both share content that is addressed to the same target audience. "Their followers are interested in what they have to say, and if the influencer or brand spokesperson posts on your blog, you'll gain the attention of an audience that may not have found or considered your products otherwise. Specific audiences respect the authority of an influencer or brand spokesperson and will put you into the same category of trustworthiness."

This will allow you to benefit from their credibility and the attention of their target audience. This will allow you to get an influx of new visitors to your blog website. This can also potentially lead to you selling more products and services to those new visitors as mentioned earlier.

9. Promote your brand for free

It is literally free to create a blog on your website or on LinkedIn or even on Quora.com. All you need is the time to do it, a platform to post it on, a reliable internet connection, and a device to type the blog. It builds credibility when you cite sources in your blogs and makes your content impactful. However, you will not be penalized if you do not include references in your blogs. You do not have to pay to cite an article as the source of your quote and it is actually encouraged to do so or else you will be seen as committing plagiarism.

As Mail Chimp (2023), "Blogging is a form of marketing where you get to talk about your business to your heart's content. You can use the blog to promote a particular product, tease about something new and exciting that's arriving soon, and announce an upcoming sale." You can do this whenever and as many times as you wish while using as many words as you wish.

10. Create opportunities for engagement with potential customers

"Social Media sites and blogs reach 8 out of 10 of all U.S. Internet users and account for 23% of all time spent online" (Upland Software, Inc., n.d.). People generally spend a lot of time online and it is now widely noticed that many purchasing decisions start online. As a matter of fact, it creates opportunities to learn more about interests that your customers may have by researching the responses to their questions and it helps you to build a connection with your customers by creating content that addresses said needs.

"According to 2018 data [collected] from the Content Marketing Institute, 79% of B2B companies and 70% of B2C companies have blogs" (Exposure.com, 2018). It is more than just having a website or Social Media Presence, it is now an expectation that an average business has either a Blog and a Social Media Presence or a Website with a blog and a Social Media Presence. Now no one is saying that your brand cannot exist without a blog. However, as Grow.com (n.d.) explains that people are now expecting that if you are an expert then you would be documenting answers to your clients' questions in long-form content, in a field mentioned earlier. One of the best ways to document it is to write blogs and or create video content around those responses.

As a matter of fact, why not create a blog and use visual content (like images or videos inside the blog) to get people to be redirected to your blog from Google? Not too many businesses or brands in general are doing this now so there is room for this. Blogs that use a wide variety of photos tend to do well. As Upland Software, Inc. (n.d) explains, "Articles with images get 94% more views."

11. Differentiate a business from its competition

"Interesting content is a top 3 reason people follow brands on social media" according to Upland Software, Inc. (n.d.). Content that showcases your passion and or in-depth knowledge about a specific piece of content will separate your brand from someone else's brand. Thus making you interesting and by extension, distinct from other brands.

As a matter of fact, you can start to see how much someone cares about others by how in-depth they go with their explanations and learn how they speak based on how they write. You can learn so much about a service like Real Estate from an agent that blogs about it so consistently that when you are ready to make a purchase they are the first person that you consider.

Now that we have said all this, are you ready to start using blogs as a part of your lead-generation strategy? Blogging is a great way to add value to your potential and existing customers while building a positive image for your brand. Brands have an opportunity to be their own PR Person and establish themselves as an expert all for free. The question now is. . . . will you start writing your blog today? Let me know if you need help with this by contacting me using the link/button provided on my page.

References

Exposure (2018). 13 Reasons Your Company Should Have a Blog. Exposure. Retrieved from: https://www.exposure.com/blog/13-reasons-your-company-should-have-a-blog/

Grow - The small business experts (n.d.). 6 Awesome Benefits of Blogging For Business. Wearegrow.com. Retrieved from: https://wearegrow.com/benefits-of-blogging-for-business/

Jones, E. (Feb. 7, 2023). 8 Benefits of Blogging for Businesses. Reboot.com. Retrieved from: https://www.rebootonline.com/blog/8-benefits-of-blogging-for-business/#:~:text=The%20benefits%20of%20blogging%20for,among%20many%20other%20benefits!).

Mail Chimp (n.d.).10 Benefits of Blogging for Business. Mail Chimp. Retrieved from: https://mailchimp.com/resources/benefits-of-blogging-for-business/

Ong, S. (January 27, 2023). 59 Blogging Statistics for 2023. Ahrefs.com. Retrieved from: https://ahrefs.com/blog/blogging-statistics/

Upland Software, Inc. (n.d.). 10 Stats on the Awesome Power of Corporate Blogging. Upland Software, Inc. Retrieved from: https://uplandsoftware.com/kapost/resources/blog/corporate-blogging-stats/

Wix Blog (Sept. 16, 2022). Why Blogging for Your Business Can Make a Huge Difference. Wix Blog. Retrieved from: https://www.wix.com/blog/2021/03/blogging-for-business/