6 Reasons Your Company Should Have A Blog

By Jenna Hardie, Account Manager, Compass Integrated Communications

The mention of the word blog may conjure up visions of outdated strategies from more than a decade ago. But in today's crowded technology market, integrators and manufacturers who develop new content via a blog may find their message won't get lost in the crowd. Following are six reasons your company should use blogs to boost your content marketing efforts.

1. Connection. As an integration company or manufacturer, relationships are vital — whether with technology partners, consultants or end user customers. IT and security businesses are all about building strong relationships. The personalization that comes with contributing to a blog as a leader within your organization is a great way to nurture these bonds. Of course, as you begin a blog, it's important to stay within your company's guidelines on brand awareness and communications best practices.
2. Provides Fresh Content. Not many businesses can afford to have their website refreshed on a monthly basis, but a blog allows a company to provide fresh content to potential customers and visitors to drive additional brand visibility and traffic. Today's marketing initiatives are about providing new ways to reach potential customers and nurture existing relationships, so establishing a regular rapport with followers through blogs, infographics, ebooks or newsletters is a critical step in keeping the momentum rolling.
3. Establishes Thought Leadership. Within every organization there are many voices, each with their own wealth of experience and insight into why the work they do is so important to the overall vision and strategy of an organization. While many companies position senior leaders and managers as thought leaders, there are still many behind-the-scenes employees who can offer a varied perspective and unique insight into such topics as how the technology is developed, building client relationships, and the value a particular product brings to a specific vertical market. A blog gives these individuals a platform to share these revelations with a broader audience, further establishing an organization as a true leader in their field.
4. Humanizes Your Message. Let's face it: technology can be pretty cut and dry. But as integrators know, customers are not always operating in the same vein. The security and IT industries provide the tools and solutions businesses need to communicate effectively and protect their strongest and most important assets. Therefore, establishing an avenue to share stories about a company's behind-the-scenes operations or allowing readers to meet the people behind the development of the technology can be a real asset to a company's overall brand. 
5. Drives Traffic. With all this fresh content and new thought leaders excited to share their stories with the world — whether it's via social media, a newsletter or syndication of a blog — it all leads to the best possible outcome: driving traffic to the website. You want people to see a particular post, read it, and stay a while, browsing products, reading news articles or exploring the various vertical markets your organization serves. This is the goal of a blog, which leads to the fact an active blog ... 
6. Generates Business Leads. Alas, the Holy Grail of sales and marketing: leads. Why are we doing all of this work if we can't see a return? These leads are your return and can be gathered in a number of ways: by encouraging visitors to sign up for regular blog updates, gating interesting content such as a white paper, or offering a complimentary consultation or demos. All these tools can be used once a visitor is on an organization's website to generate business leads that will result in increased sales. 

A blog can be a tool for success within an organization, creating a way to reach more potential customers and nurture existing relationships by showing real value and thought leadership. Giving your organization a unique voice sets you apart from the competition by offering a glimpse of the innovative, caring, and evolving world your business and your brand possesses.