Should your business have a blog?
For many people, the reflexive answer might be: 'Of course not, we're a serious business.' If that's your answer, it might be based on a faulty perception. Blogging has a bad reputation as a frivolous, needless luxury marketing piece. Instead of treating custom content development (and Inbound Marketing) as a serious strategy, it's dismissed as child's play. That perception is wrong and it's robbing your business of an incredible opportunity to generate leads and gain new customers.
Creating great original content is how people will find your business, how they'll understand your business, and how they'll form a preference. Content is marketing to your future customers how they want to be marketed to. It's consumer-minded and the businesses that do it well lead the pack. Blogging is serious and gives your marketing serious results.
Should your business have a blog? Absolutely.
Here are just some industries that would most definitely benefit from custom content development:
1. Real Estate
Contrary to wrongheaded beliefs, content development has some of its greatest potential in the most serious of industries. Consumers who are researching a product, service, or home online (everybody), will benefit tremendously from informative content. Real Estate is complicated. Creating original content can help sell properties and educate potential buyers on how the process works.
SEE ALSO: Use our Inbound Marketing checklist to see if you're ready for your first campaign
2. Construction
Heavy machinery is difficult to explain. It's expensive, it's technical, it has to perform job-specific tasks. By developing custom content, those machines can be explained, features elaborated upon, etc. By the time a buyer is ready to make a purchase, he or she will be more confident in their decision and take less convincing in the decision stage.
3. Legal Services
Who understands how the legal system works? *Sees no hands raised* That's a problem. For attorneys offering the public legal services, it would help immensely to have a platform to explain how to retain an attorney, detail what appearing in court is like, and answer FAQs. When the need arises for legal counsel, it is likely going to be the attorney who has proven his or herself helpful already that gets the call.
4. Healthcare
Healthcare can be intimidating. Educating patients or future patients can pay dividends. Content can go a long way toward making potential healthcare patients feel at ease about receiving treatment. It can also serve a public good - encouraging those who haven't sought treatment to seek it. Healthcare content can help shed light on important issues.
5. Insurance
Insurance is another complicated industry whose customers (and potential customers) would benefit from educational content. For insurance agencies who want to differentiate themselves, creating custom content is an excellent way to do so. Potential customers who feel informed, feel empowered, and are more likely to inquire about services.
6. Fitness
Consider how many fitness magazines exist and how popular they still are. For gyms, there's a huge opportunity to create original content that shows members and clients that their fitness center goes the extra mile to educate and help them. There's a nearly endless amount of topics to cover that potential members will be searching for.
7. Dining
The restaurant/dining industry has a great opportunity to show off menu additions, featured drinks, and special ingredients. Content can draw in new customers and ensure that regulars remain regulars. Food has become a status symbol. It has its own set of trends. Restaurants are neighborhood staples. Highlight all of these aspects with custom content.
8. Hospitality + Entertainment
For hotels, concert venues, arenas, and more, there is enormous potential for advertising, in depth, all of the reasons someone should visit. Giving potential customers an inside look into what they can expect from a particular venue is a powerful way to spread influence and generate positive commotion.
9. Jewelry
Those buying jewelry are most likely doing so for a big moment in their lives. Even if it's not a wedding, it's a significant gift or personal purchase. It's not a purchase that is made lightly. For jewelers, creating custom content is the perfect way to explain the intricacies of gems and precious metals, helping future customers make the best selection for them.
Those are just 9 industries that can benefit from custom content. Every industry can use Inbound Marketing to attract leads and turn them into customers. Yes, your business needs a blog.
