This is a guest post from Farhan Niazi, an IT professional with expertise in the fields of Web and Database Development. Niazi is the founder of SMB Tech Guide and is currently serving Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology, Pakistan as the Deputy Director of Information Technology.
Small and medium-sized businesses are clearly developing a new born fascination with the idea of business blogging. Blogging itself is a concept commonly known to us as a personal online journal, as something that teenagers and political pundits do. However, blogging is becoming more and more of a business tool, and an invaluable one at that.
Business blogs are not very different from the regular ones that we are all well aware of. The technology is the same, and the style of writing may be similar. The difference, however, lies in the fact that the subject matter of business blogs tends to be more focused and targeted to a predetermined specific niche/market area. Effective businesses, in fact, ensure that their blogs are created with a two-way consideration, with both an audience perspective, as well as the business focus. This is ultimately what will get the audience’s attention and give the business confidence and an affirmative guarantee that the readers are likely to share it and recommend the blog to others. Think of the business blog as a way to connect, instead of as a way to advertise.
Why are business blogs gradually becoming the new ‘it’ marketing tool amongst businesses? The answer is pretty simple: a well defined, informative and easy-to-read blog acts as the perfect marketing and communications tool for a business by very reaching out to all kinds of buyer personas and potential customers. There is no restriction to the visibility of blogs, so businesses can reach out to their target demographic while possibly getting the attention of new potential customers when engaging content is shared on social media, emailed to collaegues, and commented on to create conversation.
The marketing purpose of a business blog can vary. It could be used to:
- build brand awareness
- position the business as a thought leader in the industry
- inform customers of the information they need to move through the buying process
- build a relationship with readers and potential customers
- generate leads and customers
- all or some of the above
Regardless of what the purpose is, if used effectively, business blogging guarantees a better relationship with customers as well as better results from the effort. Business blogging is an easy idea to adopt since there is no complicated software that is required. However, it isn't easy to implement, as it takes consistency and commitment to build a business blog from scratch and to publish enough engaging content to get attention and to build a following.
Moreover, it is essential for a business to have online presence. Blogging is a great way to start that online presence, and to improve one’s website so it can be found on search engines. With the rapidly evolving technological era, the importance of effective communication is only greater than ever before. Business blogging is just one such way of properly and effectively employing valuable communication.
If you're already engaged in business blogging, then consider this list of 101 business blog ideas! That's enough ideas for one full year of blogging!
