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When done correctly, blogging can help increase exposure to your target audience and validate your business as an expert in your industry. Did you know that 47% of buyers viewed 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep? Don’t you want the content they’re viewing to be on your site, not your competitors?

Here are 5 ways blogging can be beneficial for increasing your business exposure.

1. Use blogging to improve your search engine results ranking

Regular blogging can contribute to your SEO (search engine optimization). Blogging once a week adds four fresh pieces of content to your website per month which can help your website rank higher in search results.

When deciding which topics to write about on your blog, make sure to use keywords that are related to your business. Therefore, when people click on your blog to read a post, you know that they are interested in topics related to your industry.  

For example, if you own a gym, write about common topics related to fitness, such as simple home workouts, healthy recipes, fashion tips when wearing sporty clothes, and weight loss-related subjects.

The goal is that when someone is searching Google for a topic related to your industry, your blog will show up in the search results. While it’s great to place in the top 10 search results, ranking top 3 will help boost traffic to your site and increase your exposure. Even if the user has never heard of your business before, they are likely to click on your post since it relates to what they were searching for.

Once you’ve gotten the user to your website, you can get creative on how you can sell your business and/or try to capture their information (we’ll talk more about this in point #4).

2. A regularly updated blog with relevant content interests readers and keeps them coming back

Apart from including the right keywords and writing about relevant topics on a regular basis, the heart of blogging is the content of your posts. Make sure that your blog posts are interesting and valuable for your readers. Remember, don’t use the hard sell all the time. While you can occasionally talk about your brand, the trick to keeping readers is to provide them with valuable information that doesn’t mention your product but directly highlights the importance of it.

For example, if you are selling travel insurance, you can talk about “places to check out during the long weekends of 2017” or “unique festivals to see once in your lifetime.” While the articles don’t necessarily talk about your product, they highlight the message that to be able to have a worry-free travel experience and see the places you’ve listed, they might want to purchase travel insurance.

Having interesting and informative content will not only increase the time spent on your page, it will also help with the next point -- sharing on social media.

3. Sharing content on social media increases reach and drives traffic back to your website

Share your blog posts on your social media accounts to drive traffic to your website. If your post is interesting, some of your followers might share the post with their friends and followers.

You also want to make sure to avoid rookie blogging mistakes such as not including social share buttons on your blog posts. While sharing your own posts on social media is great, visitors that organically share your content will have a larger impact on increasing exposure for your business.

You can also opt to pay to promote your content, enabling your post to reach a wider and more targeted audience. While this can be a costly option, paid ads are the best way to increase traffic to your site quickly.

4. Use lead generation forms to help you get more subscribers

Great content is a way to get potential customers to your website. Once they’re on your website, you should develop a relationship with them.

Encourage readers to interact with your brand on the website, such as asking them to leave comments and share your content. You can also use popups to encourage them to join your mailing list, get product demos or download free materials such as e-books and articles.

You can also use your blog to share updates about your business, such as upcoming promotions, new products, or consumer events - these are great and effective ways to engage potential customers.

5. Blogging helps establish your expertise and credibility

Blogging is a great way to share important industry-related information and updates. Being able to produce expert and insightful content for your readers establishes your credibility and thought leadership abilities, building trust among your regular readers in the long run.

For example, if you are a marketing agency, consider writing an article about setting up Facebook ads, as this is highly relevant to your business and expertise. Constantly writing similar posts will establish you as an expert and will get readers to trust you over time. This will increase the chances that they’ll return to your blog on a regular basis to read topics that they may find useful.

Plus, regularly sharing blog posts humanizes your business as it helps put a face behind your brand. Blogging makes consumers “familiar” with your brand instead of simply being “aware” of it.

Bottom Line

While starting a blog can greatly contribute to more exposure for your business, be prepared for the commitment to produce interesting content over a sustained period of time.

That being said, having a blog on your business website provides many opportunities for gaining more exposure for your business. Put in the hard work, and you should see great results soon!