Content marketing has become one of the digital era’s most effective techniques. Blogging, as one of its main protagonists, has taken a leading role in helping businesses market their product and services without being too salesy. According to DemandMetric, 70% of people would rather learn about a company through articles rather than advertisements. Moreover, businesses that blog get 55% more website visitors than businesses that don’t.
Running a blog is of immense importance for startup businesses, which often struggle to build their customer base and position their brand in the market. Yet, startup founders time and again think of blogging as a luxury that needs to be put-off until a certain stage is reached when they can afford more time and resources to produce high-quality content. But then arises the question: how do you reach that point if you don’t leverage some of the marketing techniques that have the power to help you reach your target audience in a way that is budget-friendly and offers value?
Below are 7 key reasons why your startup business needs a blog.
Drive long-term results in a budget-friendly way
Allocating budgets for marketing purposes is one of the most challenging tasks in the world of startups, especially if your startup is still at an early stage. While by that point you are probably aware that your product will not sell itself no matter how great it is, and the lack of resources often impedes you from doing what is necessary. Luckily, blogging is not just one of the least expensive means of marketing but it is also one of the most effective strategies that bring a lot of benefits including long-term results. A highly-engaging and well-optimised blog used in conjunction with social media and other free promotional platforms will bring you tons of traffic for a long time to come and thus significantly boost your growth with zero paid on advertising.
Boost your SEO and attract organic traffic
Since search engines are among the leading drivers of organic traffic to your website, blogging should undoubtedly play an important role in your startup marketing strategy. Updating your blog with relevant and SEO-friendly content on a regular basis and driving links back to your articles will notably enhance your SEO and will increase your chances of ranking high on Google and other search engines. Furthermore, by understanding what your audience searches for on the Internet, you can create targeted content that will improve your search rank and eventually will bring you a large number of potential customers.
Strengthen your brand as a leading voice in the sector
One of the major benefits of starting a blog is that you can establish yourself as an influential and trusted voice in your niche through the content that you create. Customers trust leaders and would rather buy from you if you share in-depth knowledge and tips that will help them solve their problems. To become a powerful leader you should tell a compelling brand story, stick to your brand voice, and consistently communicate your brand’s values. But that’s not all. To gain and maintain an authority you also need to create high-quality, engaging and value-based content that will educate your readers and will answer all their questions.
Inform and educate your audience
Your blog articles can serve as a principal tool for informing your audience about any updates that your business may have, as well as educate them on how your products/services can solve their challenges and help them grow. Blogging is a perfect way to showcase what you offer and present your solutions to your current and potential customers in a way that is comprehensive and captivating. Moreover, you can virtually use your blog for all kinds of announcements; anything from posting news about awards and funding rounds to writing about new feature launches and ambassador programmes.
Understand your audience and get feedback
Making quick adjustments, improving user experience, pivoting, and more. These common buzzwords in the startup landscape are surely there for a reason. For a startup to thrive through the stages of its life cycle, it has to establish great relationships with its customers and build its various strategies based on their feedback. Blogging, again, offers a great opportunity to understand your audience and get the feedback you want. It’s also possible to set up surveys or polls inside your articles to invite answers to questions relating to customer needs, preferences on your services/products, or just generate discussion in general. And, while the comment section is often a great way to hear back from readers, you can also share your write-ups on forums, social media groups and other relevant communities and ask for opinions and ideas that will help you define your next moves.
Establish visibility and attract investors
If you are a startup founder looking to raise funding, it is essential to develop a long-term strategy and start warming up your investors well ahead of time. While direct outreach is always an option, having a successful blog increases the chances of your business getting discovered. Investors are actively looking out for outstanding business stories with great potential to lead the market so by producing valuable content for your blog you will be one step further in sparking their interest.
Build email subscriber base
Email marketing is a crucial part of each marketing strategy regardless of what industry or stage you are in. Building an impressive email list can often feel like a mission impossible, especially if you are a startup business starting from scratch. Hence, you need to consider a good strategy that will help you cultivate your email subscriber base. Blogging quality content will help you attract subscribers whom you can further entice by establishing closer relationships through effective email marketing campaigns.
