It seems to be universal… the one commodity that all businesses run short on is time. Between juggling online orders, managing physical locations and keeping up with your accounting, corners tend to get cut. Unfortunately, one of the greatest marketing tools that your business has at its disposal is often the first corner to get rounded. It’s just too time consuming. It takes too much effort for too little payout. Does anyone even really read it?
It does take time and effort but, believe me: potential customers read your blog. Savvy shoppers will use your company’s blog to learn a number of things about you: your philosophy, your understanding of the business, your promotional efforts. All of this, however, pales in comparison to the one thing that your blog tells every customer…
Your blog tells potential customers that your company is active and operational
Have you ever walked into a store only to be immediately turned off by dated displays, barren shelves or inattentive sales associates? Have you turned around and left a shop because it seemed to be teetering on the edge of financial viability? People, in general, want to buy from places that they know will be around. They want to shop with confidence knowing that, if there are any issues, they can come back for service.
An empty blog, or a blog that never receives updates, is just like a dated, empty store. It sends a message to your clients, whether that message is true or not, that your business isn’t participating. It gives them the impression that your business isn’t worth updating. Let me tell you, your blog — just like your business — is worth updating because…
Your blog shapes your customers’ perceptions of your business
Beyond increasing your your website’s SEO ranking by giving search engines more content to crawl, shoppers find blogs interesting. As a way to learn more about your business and get a glimpse into its culture, blogs give your company a platform. With a blog, you aren’t locked into strict product descriptions or bland company biographies. You have a stage and an audience. You have the freedom to really sell yourself.
And that’s what it boils down to: whereas every other page of your website is about selling products, your blog is about selling yourself. It’s about giving your visitors the opportunity to know you. People want to trust the business that they’re buying from. They want to feel comfortable investing in your company and they want to know that you plan to be around for a long time. Your blog can accomplish all of this with thoughtful, consistent updates.
At Imagine Monkey, we think that updating your blog is so important that we offer it as one of our core services. We know that it can be difficult to find the time required to sit down, research and write out a high-quality post. That’s why we’ve got staff dedicated solely to meeting your blogging needs… because we know that your customers expect the best and, as a result, we promise to give you our best.
