It is no longer a question of whether or not businesses should be participating in social media – it’s just a question of how they can use the new online communities to help them get the word out. This is where the confusion comes in. Social media is where the customers are – and you have to be there.
So why shouldn’t you just abandon your blog in favor of social media networks?
According to a study released by HubSpot small businesses who blog have an average of 97% more inbound links, 434% more indexed pages and 55% more visitors. Those are very important numbers, from an internet marketing perspective.
Even with today’s overflow of social media networks, blogging remains the most powerful social media marketing tool a business can have. However, with the massive focus on Twitter, Facebook and other social media networks, companies have been neglecting their own blogging platform.
It’s no surprise. Successful blogging is hard work demanding resources companies may not have. It’s much easier to setup an account on Twitter and “socialize”. Yet, blogging can make a dramatic difference in your overall internet marketing campaign.
SEO
A blogs is your best marketing tool when it comes to delivering organic search traffic. The flow of fresh content constantly attracts deep links (links to internal pages, which are very valuable) aside from bringing in return visitors.
Additionally, blogs offer great freedom in terms of ability to add new content with a slight variation in focus in order to target more keywords.
With plenty of incoming links and a variety of keywords, a blog will rank well in the organic search results for a breadth of search terms. This is something you can not achieve with a Twitter or Facebook account. Don’t get me wrong. With Google’s real time search there is a possibility of your tweet of Fan Page update appearing on the first page of the search results, but the chances are slim. A blog, however, gives you an overwhelming advantage in the SEO world.
Credibility
Blogging allows your business to position itself as an expert in a particular field. It helps you grow your reputation. By constantly sharing thoughts, insight, and information you show your own expertise on a particular subject… expertise that is then associated with your blog and Web site.
Sure, you can and should build credibility across many channels, not just through your blog. However, running a blog centralizes your work, streamlines the brand building efforts and let’s you control your own marketing messages.
Growth
With so much focus on social networks, it’s been easier for companies to shift focus away from their blog. Remember, however, that what’s hot today may be gone tomorrow. You don’t have any control over those external networks. Their services could stop being free, you could get banned for some reason, users could shift focus and move on to another platform.. just a few but real possibilities.
Your blog, on the other hand, offers you a unique space you have full control over. Your blog grows in value over time as each post incrementally adds value to your site as a whole. The content you create and post to your blog acts to build your site and your authority.
Focus on using the channels you have most control over instead of chasing the next trend.
In Conclusion
The less time you spend building content and authority for your site, the more you make yourself dependent on tools that may one day fall away.
While social networks should play a role in your overall marketing efforts, your blog should be the cornerstone of your small business social activity. And with the abundance of blogging platforms out there (WordPress being the most popular) there is no excuse for your business not to blog.
Johnny
While social media is great and should be a part of your networking and marketing, I find that you really get to know others in your industry much better through their blogs. Instead of mingling through a feeds, visiting others on their own turf and leaving comments establishes a true rapport. Plus, it’s a good way to generate traffic back to your own blog.
Joanna Ciolek
I completely agree! All the hyperactivity on social networks (Twitter as best example) is making it difficult to focus and stand out. Blogging offers you a unique voice on your own real estate. Build your platform, bring people in, offer them something interesting and they’ll come back for more. I mean how much attention are you really getting if you are one of say 2843 people someone is following?
Joanna Ciolek
Since people are “shy” to comment here, I thought I’d share the comments I received through LinkedIn – some interesting, and varying, points of view: http://www.linkedin.com/newsArticle?viewDiscussion=&articleID=130673028&gid=92232
Michaël FRIPPIAT
Very interesting article.Thank you for it.
From my point of view, people and companies are focusing much too energy on maintaining several social related websites.
I recently read a thread saying that if you don’t really see why you should create a dedicated Facebook, Twitter,… web page then the risk of seeing visitors become confused will certainly raises.
Andy @ FirstFound
Fantastic article, and very good advice. Blogs dovetail brilliantly with social networking sites too, so it works well as a hub. Rather than having a bewildering array of SN pages, direct them back to your blog, and people won’t be confused.
SubmitYOURArticle.com
True, blogs were search engine-friendly by default. Though blogs take time to maintain for it to become popular, the rewards of it is really worth the hard work. That’s why I definitely agree that blogs is perhaps the easiest and best social media tool for small businesses.
Joanna Ciolek
Good points everyone – thanks for adding to the conversation!!! Focusing on building an entity you have full control over makes complete sense. It takes a lot of resource though and some take that lightly. That’s why we have so many abandoned blogs out there.
Skylight Repairs
Not sure how I’ve missed this post but you are making a great point here. We’ve noticed a significant improvement in rankings since we’ve started blogging regularly. So far, our blog as proved to be a great investment.
Dale Morris
Another great article here! I’ve come to depend upon your blog for invaluable info on growing my biz. And it’s all free. As a designer for some years now I have watched trends come and watched them go. Blogs have been around now for about12 years if I’m not mistaken and they just keep getting better and better.
Thanks for this site!
Joanna Ciolek (@BOCOcreative) (@BOCOcreative)
From the vaults:: 3 Reasons Why a Blog… http://joannaciolek.com/wordpress/blog-is-the-best-social-media-tool-for-small-businesses/ #design
Ed Thompson
Blogging surely requires commitment but it’s a great way to increase traffic to your site, giving it an exposure it would have otherwise missed out on. it’s really a must for today’s small businesses.
NB Small Business ti
Blogging is the key to any social media strategy. We’ve used social media to drive traffic to our blog successfully for a while now. Do you see any up and coming trends that us as business owner and bloggers should be aware of?
Gaylord Dugue
Very insightful. Will definitely share this article on my Twitter account. Looking forward to your future posts.
bao ve
Very interesting article.Thank you for it. i will share your blog with my viewer
cong ty bao ve
True, Blog’s helful for me beacause i’m SEO, I like post, thanks you
bao ve
Very insightful. Will definitely share this article on my Twitter account. Looking forward to your future posts…………
cua luoi chong muoi
it’s really a must for today’s small businesses.
Jenni
I think one day, other Social media platform like Facebook, Twitter will die, while my own site still there. This’s why Blog is the Best Social Media Tool for me.
Matt McCullar
Great post! After posting a blog on my freelancing website, I started noticing more clients coming to my website for my services. Due to this, I made a point to blog at least 3 times a week. ‘Lo and behold, I started getting more clients than I’d ever had!
manila seo
Indeed blogging is the main key ingredient for your online success. And blogging nowadays has many forms. You can do guest posting, curation posts etc.
j.ramirez
I agree that online blogging or any social media site is essential for the building up of businesses, especially when it comes to getting your name heard. I had problems at first building up traffic and didn’t really know how to direct more traffic to my blog. I came across majon.net, and I learned a lot of tools that showed me how to optimize my results. What makes blogs so different from any social media platform is that it is unique; it shows your own thought, feelings, and your style. I gained confidence from online blogging and majon.net that my business would be successful. I agree with you that blogging is much more personal, allowing you to establish your brand in the manner you want it to be.
Jennifer"quiz software"
I definitely agree! blogging is so so big help, letting you and your business see around the Globe
Ryan
Wow, those numbers in the first paragraph are eye catching. Thanks for this info! Really helpful for sure.
Joanna Ciolek
Yes, blogging indeed offers a great advantage for businesses today. Virtually all of my clients request one when we set out to build their website. I think any business neglecting to include even a simple blog misses out.
DS Window Cleaning
Nice article – I like your arguments and must say I completely agree!