The case for blogging

Another homework assignment for my marketing kit is writing a case statement - an explanation of a problem that my business knows how to solve, and what it looks like. Here's the first draft.

We blog so you don't have to
Solving the time problem for businesses too busy to blog

Blogs seem to be the new black – everyone's wearing one. Entrepreneurs get a lot of pressure to blog, without any real explanation of the value of the activity. Even business owners who understand why having a blog is important often neglect writing new blog posts, because it takes a fair amount of time, and more than a little skill, to blog well.

Why blogs are actually valuable for businesses
The most common – and arguably the most useless – explanation for why a blog is important is, “Google loves new content.” By itself it doesn't mean a whole lot, and technically it's not even really true, but it's not exactly false, either. Confused? Fear not!

Saying that we should regularly update our blogs because Google loves new content is putting the cart before the horse. Google doesn't actually have a preference either way, but the engineers behind the search engine invest considerable time into making it give us the results that we want to see. Particularly in the United States, there is a high perceived value for things and information for new things.

• The latest model of car, even if it only has small cosmetic changes
• The newest updates on a breaking news story, no matter how minor the change
• The freshest styles in clothes and music

We have taken our desire for newness to the web, and Google, its largest search engine, has responded by making new results show up quickly in searches. So yes, Google may love new content, but always remember that this is only because people like new content – people that could be clients of your business.

So what does this mean to the small business owner? In a world where most people who reach for the Yellow Pages rather than a computer to find a local business are over 75 years old, it's increasingly important to have an online presence. The internet has made it easier to get answers to life's questions, so today's shopper does a lot more research before making a buying decision. This tendency to place value on the newest information makes it easier to give your target customer what he or she wants, in the way he or she likes to read it online.

A regularly-updated blog keeps the search engines returning to your site, which in turn brings the people to your site. Those people want information, and a blog is the perfect place to educate these virtual window-shoppers, keeping your site in mind when they're ready to make a purchasing decision. That's what makes a blog valuable: it keeps interested people thinking about your business.

Scheduling blog posting: sometimes timing isn't everything
There are more people convinced that blogs are valuable than there are blogs which get updated regularly. Why?

• Time
• Writer's block
• Procrastination
• More important matters
• Key employee left
• This quarter's sales quota

The fact of the matter is that not everybody enjoys writing, no matter how important it is, and finding the time to change that habit can itself be challenging. Businesses large and small outsource important jobs which they don't do well, and writing should be no exception. Using keyword-centered strategies we can develop a series of posts that highlight your business strengths, educate your target clients, and keep your website fresh in Google results.