Inception 2 begins now…another blog about blogging! In the previous discussion regarding blogging, much backing was given to convey the utility of such a form of digital media. Increased SEO for visitor visibility, link building, keyword recognition, were just some of the examples. This is great, it is all super contributory to the success of a brand. But let’s step back beyond just improving the visibility of a brand, as the prior blog conveyed how to achieve this, and think, instead, of how we can improve the status of a brand by what its blogs offer buyer, other businesses, and the sellers themselves based on the application of these great blogging tools.
Buyer
Buyers treat their brand loyalty just like they do friends in the real world. Not much is required of this relationship, all they ask is to be treated well and expect trustworthiness. That in mind, the implication here is that you want to achieve the satisfaction of these criteria from your clients, especially online. While there is no way to trump the impact that close friends and relatives have on buyer perceptions, the next best thing in terms of trustworthiness is the blogger. The primarily free-lance nature of bloggers, that has almost become synonymous with the position, pushes a rather honest impression of these writers and the information they are outputting. Although one person or one small group of people could be writing on a topic in blog fashion with their own perspectives, or biases quite possibly, readers rest assured that the information they read has no ulterior motives or agendas pushed by overarching powers, such as magazine and newspaper publications. Consumers prefer this origin of information over major publications 57 percent to 43 percent (Affili). The trust that your blog builds in your customer base is sure to satisfy those customers greatly and improve your business overall.
Next to trust, one thing that people genuinely crave out of their business relationships is…well…the relationship part. They wish to see brands applying new methods of personal customer outreach. Blogging is still a fairly recent update to e-commerce integration, is very simplistic in its creation and consumption, and most importantly, gives a terrific personal edge to one’s digital business strategy. As a writer, one puts their voice and thoughts into each blog. As a reader, and thus a potential or recurring buyer, one enjoys the new perspective they receive as they receive it. To provide fresh, new, custom content to visitors on a frequent basis displays a sense of personal desire to connect with those visitors, and this is duly noted. Over three-quarters or consumers, 78 percent, believe that brands with such content are expressing efforts to connect and building good relationships (Dix & Eaton). In conjunction with proving trustworthiness to customers, showing a desire to push the industry forward and speaking out regarding the industry via blogging will form a definite customer adherence to your brand.
Other Brands or Businesses
Think that consumers are the only ones giving your brand and your blog the look-over? Other businesses are taking a peek at you too. What could other businesses get out of reading your blog? Even more, what could YOU get out of other businesses reading your blog? As a business owner, your desire is to be a leading figure in your industry. You do this by not only conducting your general business, making sales, producing more of your same products, or sharing with businesses the same, stale information. Filling the role of ‘thought leader’ in your industry is what you ultimately aim to do, where other companies of the same market look to you as a guiding light. Your brand can and will accomplish that through blogging. Marketing Inside Group depicts five ways in which you can do this:
– Conducting and sharing market research
– Being personable through entertaining and delighting
– Engaging product development team to give insights into products
– Encourage customer participation in creating content
– Remove any separation between you, customers, and other entities
Although these criteria can be fulfilled in other walks of your business strategy by means of different marketing and advertising campaigns, blogging is the go-to for all things ‘thought leadership’. By no other means are you able to, so efficiently and easily, apply any and all of these elements than by blogging.
Your ‘thought leadership’ ultimately translates to you being viewed as a qualifying person of referral, someone who knows it all with regards to the industry. In supplementation of what you actually do yourself, you will actually do your brand a lot of good by discussing what other companies do for the industry. Many other companies may blog in a fashion that only brings to light what their company does. In talking beyond your own accomplishments, you are viewed with more credibility as you are not self-oriented, but instead, speaking out on the overall betterment of the industry. Along with being credible, you will also come across to your readers and customers as perceptive, good in judgement, and of similar esteem to the do-good brands of which you speak, based on your recognition of their achievements. All of this points to an innate desire to improve the bounds of your industry, which will subsequently, so itself into your brand particularly.
Seller
Alright, so now let’s talk about the seller in this mix. What we have seen as perks of blogging among the buyers or other companies reading a blog have been things regarding trusted authority in an industry and the the ability to connect a brand with surrounding people or organizations. The same can be said for the seller in control of the blog, but with slight variations. Being a trusted authority takes knowledge, creativity, and adaptability, and these can all be achieved through the compilation of your blog portfolio, or a method that many are calling brainwriting, a scientifically noted way or idea generation through brainstorm writing, such as blogging. It comes in a multi-fold way. In seeking out information to complement your blog points or arguments, you are actively pursuing the advancement of your understanding for topics related to your field. You see what has been done, what numbers have been crunched, what has been successful and what has not. From there, you take these ideas and compose creative thoughts regarding them and convey that message in a written portrayal, including personal takes on the information as opposed to taking a non-personal approach. The end result that you will reach is one where you are able to adapt to what you intake, and develop new blog ideas, content ideas, or new product and service ideas unlike you have ever been able to before.
All the while, you are lastly upholding one of the most important parts of business, contact and relations with customers. Having a blog, you are able to really pour out your thoughts, your wants, your intentions, and more with your customers and readers. Hand in hand with the trust that these individuals and organizations crave from the brands they follow, is transparency. Although being a leader in development of new products will build trust in one regard, emphasizing transparency by openly speaking to your audience on a frequent basis will solidify loyalty from your customers, and that is the most important takeaway concerning the significance of blogging for your brand!
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you are not blogging for your business, you need to start now! Participating in the use of this strong e-commerce tool, your brand can gain further recognition, as mentioned in our previous blog on blogs, as well as propel yourself as an authority in the field and a company with whom anyone would want to personally conduct their business dealings. This simple, and fun, measure will go a long way for your business. To learn more about implementing a platform for creating and publishing blogs for your brand, contact Rave Retailer today!