Blahty blahty blah blah, business benefits of blogging, blahty blah, cliche, cliche, cliche – sounds familiar?
Have you read one, or two, or eleven articles already this year discussing the business benefits of blogging? Of course you have. They’re everywhere. These articles often include lists of blogging best practices that make blogging feel stiff. Like a corporation. It’s all about guidelines, and layers of approval, it’s about protecting your brand, rather than humanizing it.
In turn, the business benefits of blogging become minimal; the process leans towards the ‘business-as-usual’ mindset while boxing the writer in.
The true business benefits of blogging come from encouraging business owners and employees to share their stories and show their expertise. Storytelling sells. When you create a personal connection with your audience just by being human, your words and enthusiasm become your greatest marketing tool.
SEO and all that come into play too, but the story comes first.
Today I’ll show the real essence of business benefits for blogging by stepping away from the common aspects of businesses that siphon the joy and intrigue out. I don’t mean to make it sound like all the businesses blogging are doing it wrong, because that’s certainly not true, but blogging is about a personal connection and businesses don’t always realize that.
The real business benefits of blogging
1. You’re getting naked and telling your story. Today is an interesting time. People want more stories. They want to buy from people they know, hence the #shoplocal movement, and they want to be part of what they invest their money in. The stories you tell about your business and your products convert into worldwide sales when you have an online store or generate your leads online. A blog is a necessary marketing component of any business that makes sales or leads online.
2. You’re selling personality. People want to buy from people they like, trust, or respect. This is increasingly important in a world where there’s a lot of competition, and a lot of mistrust from corrupt businesses. If you can connect with people through your words, then you have a better chance of building a legitimate audience around your business. When people start addressing you by your first name in comments and in social media, you’re doing a good job.
3. Media becomes a cornerstone of communication. The best part about business blogging is that you can use more than your words. You can add images, audio, and video content. Not only does this include different forms of information for better understanding of the content, this also means your audience will be exposed to information in the ways they prefer. Visual learners can be exposed to images and video content; auditory learners can listen to sound clips; and those who prefer to read have the option of reading the words you have to share. Blogs provide a lot of options for the communication process.
[Tweet “Storytelling sells. That’s the first thing you need to know about business blogging.”]4. You’re sharing, and sharing is caring. When have you ever heard that in business? Probably never. Business-as-usual isn’t about sharing, in fact, it’s typically about the opposite. But as a blogger, you have the ability to share the work of others, share the articles written by others in your field, and even share comprehensive information with your audience through e-books, reports, or full-length videos.
5. You’re transcending a medium. It’s funny, marketing is a concept used in business while blogging has such a broader range. But the two have a close relationship. Every blog post, no matter how charming, humanizing and full of stories, is also an advertorial. Even if you’re not directly marketing products or services at the time, the information aligns directly with your expertise and this translates into the whether or not an audience will want to spend money with you. Hopefully they will!
Oh and did I mention — the greatest business benefit of blogging, is increasing revenue. When people love you, they want to throw money at you. Make people love you. Don’t hire out your articles to a content farm in order to nail a couple keywords. Write it yourself, or let us interview you and ghostblog the pants off your stories like we do for other CEOs.
Of course, there are many more business benefits of blogging, but are you up for the challenge?
Your first mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find your voice and honor it. Don’t try to be a faceless suit when you blog – nobody wants to read that. Once you find your voice, stay true to it because it’s the most powerful tool you have.
