Do You Need a Business Blog? Here’s What You Should Know

These days, it seems like all companies are online and have a blog, a social media presence, or both. Marketers would tell you to invest in one since an optimized blog is beneficial to most businesses. 

First, having a blog helps smaller companies display their authoritativeness without spending too much on marketing. It can also be a channel for customers to connect with brands. However, blogging is not the best strategy for all brands. If you're wondering whether building a blog is right for your business, here are things you should keep in mind.

When Shouldn't You Blog in Marketing?

There are certain instances when blogging isn't the best option for your business. You don't want to invest so much time and effort building a blog if it turns out to be the wrong strategy—here are examples where blogging is unnecessary.

You Have a Better Way of Attracting Customers

Blogs are not the only way to gain new leads. For example, if you are a small-town service provider, you are likely to get a recommendation from someone in your neighborhood instead of a client you found online. If your paid search brings in $12,000 while your blog nets $6,000 every month, it's natural to prioritize paid search. If people love engaging with you on social media, tailor your strategies to include search marketing. Blogging is not the only way to get in front of your audience—assess your audience and what they respond to before building one.

You Have Trade Secrets or Confidential Business

If you cannot talk about what you do, a blog isn't the way to build better traffic. For example, if you're a consultant for government-owned enterprises, most things you work on will be off-limits. If you want to make a  blog, you could probably focus on the administrative aspects of being a government consultant instead of the actual work you do. The same is true for CPAs, lawyers, and doctors—blogging about the profession, not your clients, is the way to go.

If you're in a highly technical field, you have to plan your posts well, treading the line between creating engaging content and avoiding lawsuits. One company that's good at this is Deloitte. They create evergreen content, case studies, and podcasts that matter to their clients without putting them in the spotlight.

You're the Market Leader

Giants like Amazon, Apple, and Johnson & Johnson don't need to blog because they're already household names. So many consumers buy their products already, and blogging won't move the needle on their profits. Large companies like these mostly rely on brand advertising online, and perhaps some UX and SEO. They don't need to introduce their products or offerings to people the way smaller businesses do.

Your Site Focuses on Timeliness

News outlets like the BBC or The New York Times don't need a blog because they are built entirely around messages. Blogs are there to help craft your brand, and a company that deals with the news or trends will find it redundant to maintain a separate place for brand building. It doesn't work for engagement either since most news outlets have comments sections on their articles and very active social media pages. Brand strategy for news and media sources is different from other types of companies.

You Have a Thriving Business Offline

Finally, if your entire business is offline, you can forego building a brand at all. For example, if you are a highly successful craftsman selling luxury goods, you won't need to be online. Chances are, you already have a network of satisfied and recurring customers who won't buy products from anywhere else. If you succeed at selling offline and aren't particularly concerned with the speed at which your market expands, you could opt for traditional instead of digital marketing.

When should you blog in marketing?

Now that we've covered situations where blogging is impractical, here is a quick look at reasons why you might want to include a blog in your marketing strategy. If any of these are attractive to you (even if you have a thriving business offline or have trade secrets), consider starting a blog for your company.

Audience Expansion is a Priority for You

If you want to reach more people, then you should produce more content. If what you're creating is incredible, you'll inevitably find readers. Some of these people will be customers, and their first point of contact will be your blog, which will be great for your company. Keep producing excellent output, and you'll gain a lot of new prospects for your business.

You Want to Get to Know Your Audience

Another reason for you to create a blog is if you want to get to know your audience. A blog is a great place to humanize your brand and connect with your customers more meaningfully. You can also use your blog to answer FAQs and share innovations or new ventures that you're pursuing. These things make you more trustworthy, and customers are more likely to respond to you if they trust you. Engaging with them directly—through your blog or social page's comments section—will also foster goodwill.

You Can Contribute to Industry Discussions

If you have something new to share about your industry, you can help others grow by sharing your thoughts about recent news, developments in your niche, or other issues relevant to your industry. Building a blog around your commentary positions you as an authority in your field. It also makes you the go-to person in your business for this type of content.

Conclusion

Blogging isn't something you do just because it's part of everyone else's digital strategy. A blog is a significant investment and can take a lot of work. It's also not for everyone—the situations we described above are examples of when you should and shouldn't blog. If you want to expand your market, though, or get to know your audience more, you will benefit from having a search-optimized website.

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