By Tammy Mayrend, Internet Search Marketing Specialist
Take a look at some of these recent statistics on blogging:
- Blogging grew 68% in 2008
- 346 million people worldwide read blogs
- 77% of active web users read blogs
Most people realize that, when done properly, writing a blog can increase website traffic and enhance the web search results (or Search Engine Optimization) of their website. But, blogging can provide much more than that. Additional key benefits that you can expect as a result of blogging include:
Gaining Industry Trend Analysis — By carefully monitoring comments posted to your blog, and viewing the analytics on the readership of content, you can identify emerging trends and potential opportunities.
Highlighting Your Expertise and Gaining Web Exposure — Adding text, audio clips, or video content to your blog allows your company’s thought-leaders to demonstrate their expertise via a new platform, broadening their reach.
A Return to Relationship Marketing — Blogging helps build relationships by directly interfacing with customers without "selling" them.
Enabling New CRM Methods for Relationship Building — Information shared on blogs helps position B2Bs as trusted advisors, decreasing client confusion, and in turn increasing the purchasing rates of products and services. It can be utilized to help improve your customer communications, extend customer service and provide knowledge sharing.
Faster Sales Cycles Through Customer Education — Blogging provides you with opportunities to educate your prospects throughout the purchasing cycle, an outlet for knowledge sharing that can facilitate faster sales cycles, and a new way to respond to product questions and inquiries much more quickly.
Blogging may be a good, inexpensive addition to your existing marketing plan and customer satisfaction program. It’s also a good way to get your feet wet with social media and the process of building a community around your business. With a little time and planning, a blog can become an integral component of your communications tool set.
