How Important is a Blog to your Business?

I have been writing the Very Best Balloon Blog for eight years. To date, I have written 395 blogposts and have had over 1,900,000 page views. Some of my blogposts are more popular or relevant than others, but my aim is always to write about topics that I know will help  or inspire someone.

So why is blogging important to your business? 

One of the most effective ways for a small business to build their brand while also providing relevant content to their target audience is through regular blogging.

Blogging provides the opportunity for you to connect with your existing and potential customers in a special, more conversational way.

Adding a blog to your website keeps you relevant in the minds of users. It is an inexpensive way to drive traffic to your site.

What should you blog about?

I would imagine this is why so many people don't write a blog, as pinning a topic down that you believe to be a read-worthy topic is not always simple. I can find inspiration from a multitude of venues: be it a question posted on a balloon related Facebook group, or when I have something exciting and new that I want to share! But to be honest, I struggle with finding appealing topics as well. However, with a little thought, I can usually find something appealing to write about.

I've have had a little peek at some of the balloon related blogs that have been posted, and have seen a fantastic variety of topics that would definitely be inspiring and informative to customers. Here are a few that I would like to share with you:

Balloon decor created by The Balloon Crew

The Balloon Crew, Sydney, Australia (AKA Chris Adamo's balloon company) recently posted about "Cool Colour Combinations". I love how they share some of their favourite and trend worthy colour schemes. They talk about "Custom Colour Blending" and all the ways they can create any colour you desire. They even showcase some fabulous examples of decor that they've created using customs colours.

Another one of The Balloon Crew's blogposts talks about Confetti Balloons, cleverly entitled "Balloons and Confetti go together like cheese and fine wine!" 








Nifty Balloons, LA, USA - AKA Shana Brenion, covered a topic which is especially important to all balloon balloon companies: Balloons and the Environment. Many have covered this topic recently, and for a good reason! There has never been a more important time in our industry than now to educate and inform customers and fellow balloon artists of best balloon practices in regards to the environment. This blog is extremely informative, as it covers the differences between latex and foil balloons. Shana's closing statement is especially fantastic:

"Balloons are no more harmful to the environment than food waste or paper trash. You still have to remember to pick up after yourself when you’re done – but hopefully you were planning on doing that anyway! Pop all the balloons you aren’t taking with you, don’t randomly release balloons, and remember to pick up after yourself – the environment will thank you!"

Here are a few more ideas that you could use to create a great blog:

• Current balloon trend's - customers will be excited to see what's hot in the balloon and party market!
• Educational events that you have recently attended - share your excitement and enthusiasm to learn, expand your knowledge and skills and grow your business.
• DIY Decor - Teach your customers how to make simple party decor - there will always be DIY'ers, so make it easy for them to buy everything from you!
• Give your customers a behind the scene opportunity - you at work, even a short video of an installation.
• Introduce them to your team and explain their roles within the company - maybe give credit to the person who makes the best cup of tea!
• Introduce new product ranges available, like the trendy Mr. & Mrs. Balloons or the NEW Qualatex Script balloons. 

Blogs are important for SEO 

No matter what type of website you have, if you want it to be accessible, you need it to show up in the search engine. And that can be difficult.

One of the best things you can do to improve your chances of ranking high in the search engines is to start a blog.

How often do we update and add new content to our websites? Probably not as often as we should! All of the major search engines love fresh, relevant content, and blogging is one of the most straightforward and inexpensive methods for a business to create this. Every time you blog, you boost your ranking which will generate more traffic.

A blog will also help to keep people on your website longer!

Blogging helps you to connect with your customers

When you're in a store, how often do you get asked "how can I help you"? And how many times the response is "I'm just looking". A lot of interactions with customers can be like that. Making a meaningful connection can be difficult sometimes, and no one likes to feel that they are being pushed to purchase something. Luckily, one of the easiest ways to connect can be through a blog that you have posted. A specific blog may even tell them everything they need to know about a new product, or actually guide users to that product directly. 

Having an active comment section, will allow visitors' to the blog to respond to your posts, and you will be able to respond directly to their comments, which is huge in building trust and relationships.

How long should a blogpost be?

I have read varying reports on what is the ideal length of a blogpost - some say they should be short and never more than 600 words, others say that the optimum blogpost should be 1,600 words. Personally, I would say see what works for you and adjust as you go! You will be able to see which posts get the best reaction from the number of times it is viewed.

"I don't have time to write a blog"

Blogging can seem like an overwhelming task if you are strapped for time. Let's face it, how do we ever find time for our social media activities? I agree, writing a blog does take time. Try to allocate a few hours once a week to work on a blog post, and use some of your blogpost content for your other social media posts, like Facebook or Instagram. Don't look upon it as being a chore, view it as a very important part of your businesses growth and a significant way to connect to existing and new customers.


I hope that this blogpost inspires you to start your own blog! There are many great free blogging platforms; I recommend that you do a little research and find one that will work for you. I use Blogger - which is a Google based platform and find it really easy to use.

Happy Ballooning and happy Blogging too!


Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler