Majority of Local Businesses Still Place Importance on Blogging
Content marketing can often seem like an unapproachable strategy that only big businesses can benefit from. With so many advertising and marketing options currently available, why would a local business spend their limited resources on planning, creating and promoting content – especially when the ROI can be difficult to prove?
Well, if a new report from local SEO software provider BrightLocal is any indication, the majority of local businesses still consider operating a blog to be highly beneficial. If your local business has abandoned its blog, this survey may make you reconsider the benefits you’re missing out on.
68 Percent of Local Businesses Believe in Blogging
Out of the 519 local business owners and local SEO professionals surveyed, 68 percent reported that all local businesses should have a blog, with 24 percent going as far as to say a blog is “essential.”
An interesting data point is the 20 percent of respondents who are undecided about whether or not local businesses should have a blog. It’s possible that many local businesses owners chose “undecided” because they think that their blog has provided some benefit to their company but it’s been difficult to directly prove it. Alternatively, “undecided” respondents may believe that blogs can be very beneficial, just not for every business. Maybe these respondents haven’t had success with a blog but they know that it has the potential to be a valuable business strategy.
Whatever the reason, business owners who aren’t sure if a blog can provide good ROI likely only need to talk with a professional content marketing agency to see just how a focused, goal-oriented approach to blogging can end up being profitable. Many business owners don’t realize that the content posted on a blog can also end up being a foundational element in their other marketing and advertising plans, bolstering their social media, PPC, email marketing and other efforts considerably.
What Does Blogging Achieve Though?
The biggest question local business owners and SEO professionals have when it comes to running a company blog is simply, “why?” According to the report, most companies blog to establish authority, boost their SEO and improve their social media campaigns:
Of course, other benefits such as increasing customer engagement and winning new customers are arguably even more valuable than the SEO improvements a blog can provide.
What Types of Content Get Results?
When it comes to deciding on the types of content to post on a company blog, “how-to” guides consistently top the list as having the most value for readers and the highest probability of generating conversions:
A good content strategy consists of more than just one type of content, however. While “how-to” content can be a cornerstone of your strategy, local businesses are uniquely poised to benefit from blogging about news and events in their area, as well as company news and product reviews that pertain to their local audience.
At Content Customs, we believe that every local businesses can benefit from having a blog. Unfortunately, too many businesses end up sabotaging their efforts by thinking of their blog as an afterthought. Company blogs are too often setup for failure through lack of proper planning, infrequent posting, low-quality content and insufficient promotion. Feel free to contact us to see how our content creation and content marketing services can transform your stagnant blog into a valuable asset that generates exposure, leads and sales for your company.