The Advantages and Disadvantages Of Business Blogging
Many leading businesses these days maintain a regularly updating blog along with their main website. But is it really worth it? What are the benefits (and problems) in blogging for your business? Let’s find out.
The Advantages Of Business Blogging
It increases the discoverability of your brand
It is no secret that getting your brand noticed on the internet is becoming increasingly difficult, thanks to the sheer number of competitors in the virtual space. Simply putting up a website listing your services is not enough.
Business blogging is the most effective way of getting your brand out there. By publishing blogs dealing with the pressing topics in the field of your business, you put out your name to be discovered indirectly.
For example, suppose your company sells shoes. No one will search for your brand specifically unless they already know of it. What they will search for are things like ‘what are the best shoes for hiking?’ or ‘how do I take care of my leather shoes?’.
But what if in addition to your website, you also had a blog with posts on these two topics? People would come to your blog and will end up discovering your brand as well.
It helps establish your authority in your field
Quick question: who are you likely to buy your next mobile from – a reputed brand like Apple or a no-name company that sprouted out of nowhere?
While it may seem unfair, the truth is that the world of business is not kind to newcomers. To be able to sell anything, your brand needs to be seen as an authority in your field. And that is where business blogging comes in.
By blogging regularly about the topics that are relevant to your niche, you slowly start building the trustworthiness of your brand. When people on the hunt for solutions discover your blog and find it useful, their respect for your brand goes up a notch.
Soon, your blog builds a reputation for your business, by showing that you know what you are doing, and are serious about it. This passive reputation brings in far more quality leads than any gained by randomly emailing hundred people daily.
The Disadvantages Of Business Blogging
It can be time-consuming
For anyone who thinks that writing a business blog is a piece of cake, let me tell you how mistaken you are. Unlike blogging as a hobby, you cannot afford to be casual in business blogging.
Remember, as a business your blog reflects on your company as a whole. As such, it is not just what you write, but how frequently you write it, that decides how favorably people view your brand.
Occasionally putting out a personalized blog or two can actually be detrimental to your image. Instead, you need to be consistent, besides maintaining a steady level of quality as well. Many entrepreneurs find that blogging ends up turning into a day job of its own.
Although, you don’t have to do everything yourself, do you?
It can be difficult to monetize it
Let’s face it; unlike a personal blog, your business blog isn’t going to awe readers any time soon. The topics you can take up in a business blog are severely limited, besides orbiting around one narrow niche only.
As a result, you will find that it is quite a challenge for your blog itself to start churning out an income for your business. Sure, some of the bigwigs do it, but you are unlikely to crack it in a day. That said, if you are looking for your blog to replace your business, instead of marketing for it, you are going about it wrong.