With the aid of the Internet, it’s easier than ever to reach a larger audience, whether for business or personal reasons. A blog is just one of the tools leveraged on the Internet. But what is a blog and how can a blog benefit your business? The term Blog is a derivative of the words Web Log and it’s literally that… a log on the web. A blog can be best described as a diary-style website maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary or information that its author wants to share with site visitors. There are countless advantages to blogging and I wanted to share 4 of the benefits with you.

B:  Brand Recognition – Marketing is important but more important is having a brand people recognize. Brand recognition is established based on how you interact with your community, contacts, customers, vendors and anyone with whom you come in contact or have an impression. A blog aids in communicating with your audience, thus better establishing a recognizable brand.

L:  Link to YOU – I’ve always reinforced that people buy from people. Maintaining a blog gives people some insight into you, the person behind the company. The topics you share and the personality you reveal in your writings add a personal touch and builds trust with your audience.

O: Optimization - As in search engine optimization or SEO. Maintaining a blog increases traffic from search engines, keeping you in front of your target market. It can also improve your ranking with the major search engines, allowing you to reach a wider base.

G: Guru Factor – Depending on the topics you write about, your blog can establish you as a subject matter expert or authority in your field. For this reason, it is recommended your blog entries be on topics related to the audience you want to attract. Since I have a networking and referral group organization, my audience most likely appreciates entries about related business growth topics.

Aside from paying for your domain and hosting and taking the time to do it, blogging is free. While it can be a great tool for business, blogging is not right for everyone. To be effective, it requires a small commitment of regular entries, such as once weekly or twice monthly, and on relevant topics your followers expect. Is blogging right for you? I encourage you to consider your overall marketing strategy to determine if blogging can assist you with brand recognition, connecting with you audience, increasing web traffic and establishing yourself as a subject matter expert.