Three reasons business blogging works

The value of blogging for B2B companies was underlined this week by this piece. While the author demonstrates that almost nine in every ten B2B organizations uses content marketing, what I want to know is whether these content marketing efforts are achieving their business objectives?

We will be covering ‘How to write an effective blog’ next month, so follow us on Twitter to stay tuned for that, but first up here are three key benefits of B2B blogging – when done properly.

Thought Leadership.

Blogs can be critical tools for executives to establish themselves as authority figures – a key distinction must be made in the voice and tone, however.

By highlighting expertise and individual anecdotes, the author’s profile is elevated. Using a company blog for executive thought leadership is an area of opportunity for any company to engage its target audience, while retaining control over the narrative and messaging. The content that is written should be thought-provoking and encourage a reaction from those that read it.

Practice what you preach.

Stating that your company is best-in-class is empty without proof. Building thought leadership with original content is one way to lend immediate authority to your brand.

Original Content.

The necessity of creating original content can be overlooked by companies that normally share industry news or company announcements via social media or the company’s website. While sharing industry or company news is expected and encouraged, providing original insight on the issues that affect the company’s audience should prove even more appealing to consumers.

Original content developed as part of a thought leadership campaign should offer an opinion or advice in an area the company focuses on, while emphasizing the expertise of the author.

It can be created around recent news stories and industry hot topics. Alternatively, it can be a piece focused on an unaddressed pain point in the company’s space. By creating content, a company can solidify its stance on industry topics and events, while positioning itself as an influencer.

Having an active blog is more than just a tool to keep pace with the competition. Blogs provide a platform to position a company’s brand as an industry leader, drive website traffic, increase SEO and connect with customers, partners and other relevant audiences. They provide a forum for executives at a company to share perspectives and, with the proper distribution channels, build brand awareness. B2Bs, B2Cs, and all others on the e-commerce matrix that are not currently creating original content should do themselves a favor and start blogging.  

Read more pieces on content marketing here.