If this is your first time learning about the concept of inbound marketing, it may be difficult for you to imagine how publishing an article on your website could help bring customers into your local business.
If you own a record store, for example, why would you give people tips on how to download music for their IPods? You don't even sell IPods!
What about an assisted living center? If you give people home-care tips to solve their problems, won't you be blogging yourself out of new clients?
Actually, the opposite is true! In both cases, and many others, effective business blogging will lead local clients from your website right to your business. Here are five ways:
Educating Your Prospective Customers
Blogging can get you customers, mainly, by allowing you to be seen as a trusted resource in your target markets. Essentially, a blog is a way for you to provide answers for your readers. If you are unsure of where to start, take your frequently asked questions (FAQs) and transform them into educational blog posts. Once a reader identifies you as a resource, they are more likely to consider you when they are considering buying the product or service you provide. This also benefits your sales team because they won't have to stumble through answering the FAQs.
Prospective Customers Will See & Think Of You Often
The more content you post on your business blog and on your social media accounts, the more people will see and think of you during any given day. However, what you are posting is crucial. For example, sales promotions and ads can feel intrusive and can give a negative impression of your business, even if it is on a subconscious level. On the other hand, if you consistently send helpful and interesting content that people can appreciate and enjoy, that positive association will stay for a long time.
Creates Opportunities For Sharing
With each blog post, you create an opportunity for your audience to share your post with others. Any amount of engagement is beneficial for you; whether they link to your blog post, tweet it to their followers, or email it to others, it is free marketing and it further validates you as a credible business.
Blogging Boosts Your SEO
When a prospective reader types a question into Google, the search engine looks for articles with similar keywords; therefore, if you have written a post which shares the same topic and uses several of the same keywords mentioned, there is a chance that Google will notice this and your article will be shown as a result.
By following this process, you are essentially expanding your demographic and improving your search engine optimization without having to spend any money. This is another good tactic, include links within your blog, either to your own posts, or to other blogs, in order to benefit your SEO. Linking to other relevant online sources is definitely a good strategy.
It Can Help You Fill Your Sales Funnel
Finally, blogging can help you get customers by assisting your company with filling the top of the sales funnel. It is important to include a call-to-action (CTA) in every blog post. Here’s the idea: use your blog posts to promote content, then convert those blog readers to leads; get them in the funnel. There is a lot to learn about a prospective customer based on which content they are reading on your blog. Take that data and tailor your communication and move the prospect down the funnel to a sale.
Final Thoughts
You have an important choice. You can carry on with the status quo and accept the results, or change the destination for your company. While many businesses will opt to stay within their comfort zone, the disrupters have an opportunity to beat the odds with new marketing methods aimed at stimulating buyers with messages that matter to them. There are lots of obstacles to overcome in building a content creation ecosystem, but it can be done, and we are here to help!
