How Does Blogging Benefit Your Business?

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When the Internet first gained ground, websites were the main way a business could interact with customers online. Today we have several forms of social media that encourage open, community generated exchanges. One of these forms is called a blog. Blogging allows you to set up a website that is updated on a regular basis, which encourages a more active readership. The more web viewers that check out, return and spend time reading your blog, the better your blog’s site will rank in search results. Here are steps you can take to ensure your blog is benefiting your business.

Using a Blog for a Business

As you set up a blog, which you can do for free using many cookie-cutter blog services, you need to have a set goal. In order for a blog to work for a business, you must be able to measure the results. For instance, perhaps your goal for blogging is to share news related to your latest products. To measure the success of your blogging efforts, you would want to know how many readers are returning to your blog more than once. You also want to know how many of those readers are looking at your products and possibly purchasing these. By setting measurable goals with numerical values, such as the number of visits or the length of time spent on your blog, you can determine if your time spent on your blog is worth it for your business’s needs.

Social Engagement

Whereas SEO, or search engine optimization, once was the key to gaining better page rankings, social engagement is becoming more important. Social engagement goes along with social media sites, such as blogs and Facebook, where social interaction between viewers promotes ideas, products and services. In order for your business to best benefit from a blog, you want to provide plenty of avenues for social engagement. Add a forum and encourage its activity, and respond to all of those comments posted to your blog no matter if they are positive or negative. You should also encourage interaction between your blog and others in your network, as a way to gain exposure for your business to a greater audience.