While the end goal of a business blog is to help your company be successful, there are several different paths to take, and a successful blog will do much more than drive people directly down your sales pipeline. A business blog can also be a platform for you to use the success from your business as a tool to market, create awareness for, or push other agendas. Here are a few ways to do that, as well as a few things to be cautious of.
Your business blog can be a tool to create additional revenue streams or collaborate. If your business is already successful, your customers and their loyalty are one of the assets that you have at your disposal. A business blog can be a tool for letting your customers know your opinion on a different product or service. Sometimes this can be in the form of an advertisement, where you are paid to promote a product that may be of interest to your customers, but which does not compete with you. For example, a gym might work together with a local restaurant, or a hotel with a convention center. However, you have to be careful. If you endorse a service or a product that is subpar, your customers may become frustrated or angry at you. If you value your customer’s loyalty and word of mouth positivity, don’t abuse their trust for a quick buck. When done correctly, this type of advertisement can actually create positive feelings about you for any benefit they get from the service.
A business blog can also serve as a platform for different types of messages. If you strongly believe in core values that your business espouses, it can be productive to focus on these values instead of your products directly. For example, a company that caters to an audience that skews young and female might focus on messages of empowerment or womanhood. This allows you to create a community around your brand. When done correctly, you associate your brand with these ideals, and you also help to spread them. And spreading the ideals associated with your business only increases your number of potential customers. In this way, you can take a business you are passionate about and blend it with other topics. However, this again is an area where you must be cautious. Understanding your users, and being able to assess the way your own beliefs will be perceived is critical. I would recommend when doing this that you find someone outside of your immediate circle who is able to keep you grounded.
