A key component to virtually any digital marketing campaign is maintaining a company blog. Follow these simple steps and launch your company into an exciting new realm. And while this article defines 5 great reasons to get blogging, the merits go far beyond the following.

Reason #1: Deeper Company Insight
Your .com (.net or .org) website is what I like to call the suit-and-tie face of your organization. It should come across as the most professional and well-polished of you web properties. On the other hand, a blog presents an opportunity to provide deeper insight into the products, personnel and inner-workings of your organization. This is your chance to let your hair down, if not just a little bit. Providing deeper insight for your clients and prospects is a means of humanizing an otherwise faceless corporate entity. Consumers are overwhelmed with advertisements, email and brand messages…and frankly, I’m sick of the noise myself.  Developing a relationship with your audience is a great way to stand out amongst the competition.

Reason #2: Social Media and Automatic Message Syndication
When it boils down to it, marketing is all about hitting a large audience with a targeted message to create awareness. Most blogging software has an RSS feed that allows you to syndicate blog posts directly to your various social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. So every time you post on your blog, presto…your post automatically shows up across your network with a link back to your blog. Incidentally, your social media strategy should always focus on conversion. Great, you have 4,000 fans…but now what do you do with them? Turn that funnel upside down and drive those fans back to a point of conversion. And hopefully your blog suits that purpose! Check out Hootsuite.com. This is one of the services we use to syndicate an RSS feed across multiple social networks.

Reason #3: Search Engine Optimization
Static content = lousy search placement. Google (and all search engines) want to see that your content is regularly updated. If the content changes frequently, the site becomes a breathing organism that feeds the never-ending consumer demand for information. Likewise, look at every new page of your website/blog as a doorway into your business. The more doors you put out there, the more traffic you’ll drive. Content is king, true. But I would revise that statement slightly by saying the RIGHT content is king. Focus on developing blog posts based on specific keyword phrases your audience will find appealing. We use WordPress blogs exclusively because of their search-friendly structure and add-on capabilities. We’re particularly fond of the All-In-One SEO Pack plugin because it allows us to create a unique and focused page title, description and keyword tags.

Reason #4: Demonstrate Subject Matter Expertise
The need to demonstrate expertise in your area of business is equally important to personalizing the consumers experience with your brand. When each new blog post adds value, the consumer has a reason to come back for more. The is your opportunity to build credibility beyond that of your competition and demonstrate that you have the best interest of the consumer in mind.

Reason #5: Feedback and User Generated Content
Another feature of most blogging software is the ability for visitors to comment on your posts. Typically you have the option to turn comments off, or moderate them for appropriateness before making comments live. Other sites that value ALL opinions leave commenting open to all guests. Whichever works best for you, user feedback offers all kinds of insight into consumer attitudes and beliefs. Use this information to tailor your products/services and address the needs of your audience more effectively. User generated content is exactly what it sounds like; content that you don’t have to spend any time creating! And all of this content is indexed with the search engines. UGC has it’s pros and cons, but manage it effectively and you’ll benefit in the long run.

Ok, so what have I missed? How has blogging effected your business?