There is little question as to the value of blogging – it boosts search engine rankings and provides value to clients and leads alike. Many times leaders and executives are uncomfortable with the idea of blogging – maybe they aren’t good writers, they don’t have enough time, they think the story they have isn’t important, or worse, that no one will read it. Many times the arguments against blogging are grounded in insecurity.

The end result is that the business blog is relegated down the ladder, and can land into the hands of interns. This should concern many executives – that one of the most public and permanent means of communicating isn’t the voice of seasoned leaders. Where does this urgency to blog come from, and why the reluctance towards something so worthwhile?

Why Companies Think They Need To Blog

Do Something – Anything!

Many companies have a deep fear of missing out when it comes to trends and marketing. Hearing about blogs, seeing things shared via social media, and reading in industry publications can create a sense of urgency. Those reasons are good to motivate, but they shouldn’t be the sole reason. Having a reason to share thoughts and concepts on your blog is an important aspect.

Increase SEO

This is a noble goal and one that’s attainable, but only with a dedicated creation schedule. Creating original, useful, and in-depth content has been shown to improve rankings and garner traffic by improving readership, garnering more backlinks, and increasing shares via social media. Many companies will write for a few months, see little to no improvement, and abandon the effort. It takes longer than a few months to improve rankings. Increases in SEO are a benefit, but not the sole benefit of blogging.

Showcase Company News

Blogs are, at their heart, a means to communicate. It makes sense that companies would use them as a PR channel and deliver news of interest about their organization. However, your customers and clients want more than just your company news – they crave your insight into industry trends and thoughts that your company leaders have. They want to know that your company is keeping up and actively sharing ideas.

Why Leaders Need To Blog

Building Brand

To borrow from the old adage “People buy from people”, leaders who write on blogs establish themselves online and begin to shape their persona. Many people have never personally met Seth Godin or Gary Vaynerchuk, but subscribe to their blog because the thoughts and stories they share provide insight and reflection. That is a built-in audience with incredible reach that many in marketing would love to work with.

Thought Leadership

Yes, the term thought leadership is overused, but the idea has immutable value: sharing ideas and stories displays that a company isn’t sitting still. By staying abreast of changes and integrating new ideas, companies show cutting-edge value to both clients and prospects.

Seasoned Experience

Fads can come and go, and it takes someone with experience to see which fads have value and which are a distraction. Becoming a lens through which fads are filtered provides value and insight, as well a trusted source of information. Putting your veterans up to bat with topics makes them experts with clients and prospects.

Freshness

Search engines love fresh content – that’s why it’s considered a ranking signal. Clients and leads love learning about new topics and emerging trends from a voice they know. Plus, blogging about new and involved topics forces you to stay up to date yourself, which helps give your company a sharp edge.

Personality

Nothing can humanize a company like its leaders. Being more than just an anonymous photo on an About page helps show personality and interest – creating a voice and becoming an authority to readers. Having a genuine, relatable online persona is now more essential than ever.

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