Blogs connect customers with products and influence purchase decisions. Surprisingly, many businesses owners are leaving money on the table because they still don’t feel that blogs drive sales. Or they may believe that they don’t have enough content to keep buyers interested. Leave that thinking to your competitors, because blogging for business works. It’s an extremely cost-effective way to connect with your customers and prospects, regardless of your industry. Here’s why:
Consumers research everyday purchases as well as cars and televisions
Today’s consumers research products before they open their wallets, and not just major electronics or vehicles. A recent Price Waterhouse report stated that 73 percent of Americans conduct online research before purchasing toys, clothing, and health and beauty products. More than 80 percent of Americans research books and movies online. And B2B buyers almost always thoroughly research their purchase decisions. Chances are, your customers are online looking for information about your product.
Customers have questions. Your blog can answer them.
Consumers crave detailed information. When it comes to researching purchasing decisions, Nielsen reports that consumers are five times more dependent on digital content than they were five years ago. Your blog is an opportunity to explain your product to information-hungry consumers. It should answer all of their questions and demonstrate how your product fits into their lives. There’s no limit to what information you can share. And once your content is created, it continues to work for you.
The most trusted content comes from experts and other third-party sources.
Your blog needs to include the benefits and features of your products. That’s a given. But to really drive sales, you should include content from subject matter experts and independent authors. The same Nielsen study found that 85 percent of consumers regularly seek out trusted content such as third-party articles and reviews.
The idea of starting a blog may feel overwhelming. You need writers, designers and web experts to do it well. Working with Media Relations makes the process easier. Depending on your needs, we can write effective content, optimize it for easy discoverability, promote it, as well as partner with trusted experts to create added value. To help you determine how blogging fits into your marketing plan, we also offer a free consultation.
