Should Businesses Even Bother Blogging?

It's a hotly debated topic on whether or not B2B has any relevance in social media. We could discuss how business should or should not use certain tools all day. Throwing in everything from Twitter to Facebook to Flickr to LinkedIn, one of the most valuable pieces of social real estate that a business could have is a blog. Why a blog? Why bother?

For many B2B companies, their biggest online lead generator is their home website. Many digital strategies are (and more often than not should) be efforts to ultimately drive people back to their home site. When an individual is scanning through that business's site, they are seeking out whether or not that company will fit their current needs. Are they a company that has all the expertise/capabilities that we require? In essence, the website is used to allow those to - in an indirect way - get to know the company better.

This is where the blog comes in. What better way to introduce your company than through brief periodic updates written by people from the inside. A blog accomplishes two main objectives:

- Shows off expertise in your field

- Displays a human side to the company

Using commentary on news and events in your particular industry, you are not only making claims to be an expert in your industry...you're showing it! Written commentary will help distinguish your business from just another one making potentially hollow claims. Giving some free advice or insights into the industry will help build trust with those potential leads and increase your credibility.

Then there's the human element of blogging. The blog also gives a company the opportunity to show off that they aren't just a building of computers and copiers. It's an organization with people doing real work. Articles that involve other things that feature individuals in the company, company picnics or dinners along side with business-related insights show that interested party that you're not only smart but your human too.

For Hinda Incentives (the company I work for) I do a combination of these things. The majority of the content on our company blog (updated a minimum of twice a week) are insights into the incentives industry, how to better motivate a company's workforce and what's coming in the future for the industry. In addition, I also blog about trade shows, awards, and company dinners to show off our human side too. After all, we're more than just a business...we're people too!

A website is the first impression of a lot of businesses to many buyers. A blog is one way to further enhance that impression, showing passion and credibility for your field.

Are you making a good first impression?