“How can a blog improve my B2B sales?” This question has been asked over and over again and really I think it’s because no one has been able to really show the “ROI” that business owners are looking for. I believe like Social Media, business owners look at blogs as a tool for people to use personally. Most business owners should view Blogs as a business tool, rather than a personal tool dressed up as a business tool.
Put your business goggles on and let’s see why a Blog is a valuable business tool (focusing on B2B sales):
1. Replaces Your Website’s Press Section – Your company blog can be structured as an alternative to your company press section on your website. A blog doesn’t necessarily have to be about your personal activities. It can be about your business activities. I mean at the end of the day, the person reading your company blog is trying to learn more about you and your company professionally and probably not what you just ate for lunch.
2. Becomes Your Speaking Platform – In traditional marketing and pr, the strategy for any company is to be an expert in your field. Having a corporate blog helps you achieve the “expert role” without having to book speaking gigs across the US. Can’t write, then video tape yourself. Don’t like the way you look on camera, then voice record yourself.
3. First Step To Social Media Participation – I believe that having a blog is the easier way to see return on your efforts. Reason why is we all have this notion of when you create a facebook page, the expectation is to have 100’s of fans “liking” your page in a short time period. The reality is that not everyone one is interesting and nothing can deflate you more than seeing 0 fans like your page. With a blog, it really doesn’t matter. Sure comments are great, but what’s better are link backs. Link backs help ensure your worth/creditability. If someone likes a particular article your company wrote, then they are going to share it amongst the people they know. For every website that posts your link, you get you closer to the higher PR (page rank) value your website needs.
ROI (Return-on-Investment)?
Here’s a case study of one our clients that added a blog to their corporate website and these are the results (per client’s request, their name has been kept confidential):
Before Blog
Demographic: Upper Small to Medium sized companies
Specific Contact: CTO, CFO, or Office Manager
Sales Activities: 1-2 Phone Calls per year | 5 email inquires per year
Online Exposure:
Google : Page 6 on competitive keywords
Yahoo : Page 10 on competitive keywords
MSN/Bing: Page 2 on competitive keywords
Page Rank: 2
After Blog
Demographic: Upper Small to Medium Sized Companies
Specific Contact: CTO, CFO, or Office Manager
Sales Activities: 1-4 Calls per Month | 20 + email inquiries per year
Online Exposure: Google: Page 1, Yahoo: Page 1, and MSN/Bing: Page 1
Page Rank : 4