Did you know that nearly 40% of U.S. companies use blogs for marketing purposes? A blog provides the ideal content marketing platform, perfect for storytelling, compatible with visual content, and powered by a long life cycle. But, the value doesn't stop there. We've identified 27 strategic uses for a business blog. It might be the most powerful tool in your marketing toolbox.

1. 27 Powerful Uses for Business Blog
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2. The Value of a Business Blog
Did you know that nearly 40% of U.S. companies use
blogs for marketing purposes?

3. The Value of a Business Blog
Did you know that nearly 40% of U.S. companies use
blogs for marketing purposes?
Blogging is a form of content marketing used to establish a
connection with the audience. There is no other form of
marketing that allows you to share such depth of valuable
information with your audience, and engage them in
meaningful two-way conversation.

4. A business blog offers value far
beyond marketing…

5. Owned Media
Looking for content that attracts
media attention?
A business blog is a media source that
your business creates and owns. Your
business maintains control over the most
important blog asset: the content.
Best Practice: Focus on content. A wellstructured blog, with newsworthy content
tailored to the audience, can gain media
attention.

6. Industry Influence
Does your audience know you’re an
expert in your field?
A focus on relevant, high quality content,
over time can help establish a business as
an industry influencer.
Best Practice: Focus a percentage of
content on industry trends, best practices,
case studies, and other data most
important to the industry.
Influence

7. Information Accuracy
Is the right information reaching your
audience?
Without strategic use of content, the only
information online about your business is
what others are saying. A business blog
ensures accurate information is available to
stakeholders and the target audience.
Best Practice: Develop content that supports
business objectives and the business brand.
A true brand reflection

8. Compelling Statistic:
81%
of U.S. online consumers trust
information and advice from
blogs.
Source: BlogHer

9. Humanize the Brand
Do your customers know how great
your business is?
A business blog creates a personality for
the business and reflects the company
culture. It is a tool for creating an optimal
customer experience.
Best Practice: Use conversational dialogue
to build a deeper, more personal
experience for the audience.

10. Brand Loyalty
Do you want your customers to trust
you?
A business blog is a valuable tool for
establishing customer trust and building
brand loyalty.
Best Practice: Share information important
to the target audience. Ensure the business
operates as the brand being portrayed on
digital channels.

11. Community Involvement
Is your company working to make
your community better?
A company’s community involvement is
important to consumers. Blog content is a
medium for sharing stories of contribution
and support.
Best Practice: Use the company influence
and audience-reach to make a difference
in the communities served.

12. Team Building
Would you like a new way to engage
employees?
When developing content that focuses on
the company brand, culture, or products,
the blog brings together employee teams.
Best Practice: Use a cross-functional team
of employee subject-matter-experts to
create content.

13. New Employee Orientation
Want to recruit the right people?
A detailed company blog hosts
extensive information about the
company and is an effective tool for
employee training and new hire
orientation.
Best Practice: Share about multiple
company departments with the blog
content strategy.

14. Compelling Statistic:
59%
of U.S. full-time
employees need a tool
to help them understand
the company brand
and direction.
Source: Gallup

15. Organization Alignment
Does your company cross-train
employees?
Using employee teams to build blog content
preserves organizational expertise and
knowledge, and gives employees the
opportunity to learn about other areas of
the company.
Best Practice: Use the company blog as a
cross-training tool.

16. Community Forum
Is your business a community
where customers gather?
Today’s audience craves community.
Blogs serve as an interactive, engaging
community forum tying the business to
the audience.
Best Practice: Incorporate the power of a
social community into the business blog.

17. Customer Communications
Need a better way to reach customers?
Business blogs bring customers to the
business, and can be used as a vehicle for
strengthening customer relations.
Best Practice: Use the business blog as an
extension of customer service and sales.

18. Social Media Content
Looking for creative content for your
social media channels?
Business blogs provide creative, engaging
content for use on other company social
media channels.
Best Practice: Integrate relevant blog
content with social media channels to drive
the audience to action.

19. Compelling Statistic:
61%
of U.S. online
consumers have made a
purchase based on
recommendations
from a blog.
Source: BlogHer

20. Portfolio Display
Need a way to build your brand?
Use the company blog to showcase
company products, clients, services, and
awards as part of community relations and
awareness.
Best Practice: Maintain content integrity
and quality by keeping self-promotion to a
limit.

21. Customer Testimonial Channel
Does your audience know how great
your work is?
Customer testimonials are a powerful
marketing tool. Use the company blog to
share client success stories and customer
testimonials.
Best Practice: Integrate use of graphic
design and imaging, with proper sourcing
and backlinks.

22. Consumer Education
Are there important things about your
industry your audience needs to know?
The blog platform educates consumers better
than any other form of advertising.
Best Practice: Build blog content to be relevant,
sufficiently and accurately sourced, and
designed to provide the information consumers
need.

23. Search Engine Optimization
Does your website appear at the top of
search results?
Today, 90% of consumers use the internet
when searching for local business options.
Blogs provide content that pushes a business
to the top of search results.
Best Practice: Use strategic use of industry
keywords, backlinks, and inbound links to
support SEO.

24. Strategic Sales Tool
Does your sales team need a
proven sales tool?
An established blog asset can serve as a
product information library for the sales
team, available on-demand, and off-site.
Best Practice: Integrate product
information into the blog content strategy,
supporting the sales team.

25. Compelling Statistic:
126%
Small businesses that blog see
126% more lead growth than
small businesses that do not blog.
Source: ThinkCreative

26. Loss Aversion Tool
Want to show prospective clients what they
are missing?
A business blog offers the most space for
communicating the value of the company, and
demonstrating to customers the loss of not
doing business with the company.
Best Practice: Share valid, truthful, relevant
information about the company as part of the
blog content strategy.

27. Customer Acquisition
Is your website generating leads?
Blogs support the sales inbound marketing
efforts better than any other form of marketing.
They are the perfect tool for lead generation and
list-building.
Best Practice: Offer opt-in opportunities using
high-quality content, such as downloads,
whitepapers, and eBooks.

28. Increases Web Traffic
Is your website attracting the right
audience?
Blog promotions and the community-nature of
the blog platform, drives the right visitors to the
website for conversion, increases visitor traffic
and repeat visits.
Best Practice: Develop a strategic link-building
strategy to support the blog content strategy
and business goals.

29. Compelling Statistic:
97%
Companies that blog
have 97% more
inbound links.
Source: Hubspot

30. Drives Opt-ins and List-building
Interested in a proven way to grow your
email list?
Blogs are perfect for storytelling. Creative use of
content gives visitors the incentive to return and
engage with the company.
Best Practice: Limit opt-in requirements. Make
the subscription process easy and then work to
earn trust, and gain more information.

31. Resource Center for Customers
Want to be a valuable resource for
your customers?
Use the blog channel as a center for
frequently asked questions (FAQ). Blog
content has a long shelf life and can be
categorized by information type.
Best Practice: Provide detailed information,
well-defined answers and links to resources
for most commonly asked questions.
Photo credit: planetofsuccess.com

32. Resource Center for Industry & Media
Is your company a resource for news
stories?
High quality content, and contributions from
subject-matter-experts and influencers, over
time will establish the company as an industry
resource.
Best Practice: Focus on high-quality content
with contributions from reliable, reputable
sources.

33. Compelling Statistic:
37%
of B2C marketers are using
blogs as a part of their
content marketing strategy.
Source: 2013 B2B Content
Marketing Benchmarks

34. Resource Center for Employees
Would you like to improve customer service
for clients?
Product driven-blog content can serve as a
valuable, on-demand resource for the customer
service team.
Best Practice: Integrate product information with
the blog content strategy, supporting the
customer service team.

35. Analytics: Target Audience Data
Do you know how people are finding
your website?
The blog analytics programs capture data
about the company’s target audience,
inbound traffic referral sources, and sales
conversion.
Best Practice: Integrate a sound analytics
program for blog evaluation.

36. Analytics: Consumer Behavioral Data
Want to know what is most important to
your target audience?
The blog analytics programs capture consumer
behavioral data and website performance. The
blog is an excellent tool for tracking this
important information.
Best Practice: Use data to modify landing
pages, sales strategies, and website content.

37. Analytics: Lowers Website Bounce Rate
Is your website converting visitors into
clients?
Blog postings can be constructed to drive
consumer behavior and increase overall website
engagement.
Best Practice: Design blog postings using topicrelevant content, such as inbound and outbound
links, and related posts.

38. Ready to harness the power of a business blog?
GET THE GUIDE
You’re just one click away from:
 Secrets from the Internet’s top business blogs
 How our authors became contributors for some of the industry’s
largest blogs
 How to grow your business, non-profit, or sole proprietorship
using an integrated business blog
 How to structure your blog posts for maximum effectiveness
 How to create and use a blog editorial calendar, includes a free
template
 Proven strategies for promoting a business blog and growing
readership
 Secrets for search engine optimization, link building, and lead
generation
 How to convert your blog readers into clients

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