Imagine a world without writing. How does it look? There would be no globalization since there are no advances in technology. There would be no technology since there are no inventions. There’s no innovation, no recordkeeping or any of what we know as recorded history. Everything is passed by mouth, which wouldn’t be that bad if memory was better and there’s no adulteration from one person to the next.
Writing isn’t a new form of communication. Although it only began in Sumer in 3500–3000 BCE, it has since served more than its intended purpose of recording and communication for trade. Overtime, and in every civilization after the Sumerians, writing became the medium to chronicling history, enhancing education, laying down laws, and vividly entertaining, among others.
Of course, businesses—trades in general—also benefit from writing. One new style of writing that became relevant after the advent of the Internet is blog writing. Before, apart from professional writers, only a few select had the means to publish content through hard copies (manuscripts, books, journals, etc.). Now, everyone has their own space in the digital world, free to jot down whatever and express through words what they feel, know, or experienced. It was dubbed a web log—known today as “blog.” Eventually, what started as a noun soon became a verb: blog, blogging, blogged, and so on.
Soon, companies joined in the blogging sphere. Business entities without a dedicated blog site remain far and few in between, not to mention in relative anonymity. So why should you join the long list of blogging business entities? Because of the inherent benefits that come with owning, maintaining, updating, and being awesome with it. The last, especially, is when your blog is full of entertaining and informative posts. What benefits are those, you ask? Check this infographic from SlideGenius to know why it would be good to start publishing original content on your website.
With all that said, is it fair to say that company blogging could be a better substitute for social media? While the tasks and intents for both are different, they are still unique means for audience communication and reaching out to the public. Blog post lengths aside, the efforts to keep both running simultaneously coincide. Having a blog and maintaining different social media accounts can work to your advantage, especially when cross-promoting.
By using keywords, linking through and to your blog provides you with more marketing opportunities. When keywords are present, you maximize your blogging and SEO efforts. Apart from making your posts—and your website, by extension—easily searchable on Google, you’re also providing an avenue to interlink your different posts and pages in a single entry in your portfolio. Getting that Google PageRank will fare well in the long run.
Starting a company blog isn’t as hard as it sounds; it’s much like starting a personal one. Once you have your own space in the Internet, you can then start the research, the writing, and the editing. After all, you can’t just post willy-nilly. It’s about the quality more so than the quantity. But why not both? If you can have great posts once or twice a week, then you’re all set.
Resources:
Chris, Alex. “How to Write SEO Friendly Content.” Reliablesoft.net. n.d. www.reliablesoft.net/how-to-write-seo-friendly-content
De Clerk, J-P. “Dozens of Reasons Why Corporate Blogs Matter.” i-SCOOP. n.d. www.i-scoop.eu/content-marketing/corporate-blogging-business-blogging/dozens-reasons-corporate-blogs-matter
Mark, Joshua J. “Writing.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. April 28, 2011. www.ancient.eu/writing