– Eric Bergman, Paid Media Specialist

Why Your Franchise Should Have a Blog

3,383, 759, 236, 1.5 – What do these numbers mean? 

As a franchisor, these are numbers you should already know. There are approximately 3,383 separate franchisors in the U.S. About 759,236 franchises opened in 2018. On average, 1-2 new franchises are opening every day. 

300, 14%, 250,000 – How about these numbers? 

There is an average of 300 new brands debuting each year. Out of all the businesses in the U.S., 14% are franchises, and half of all initial investments are under $250,000.

Added up, it means a lot of competition. That’s especially true when you’re trying to attract the right investors to buy into your franchise and grow your brand. How can you get noticed? How can you stand out? 

Why Blogging Is Important For Your Business

It all starts with your brand and getting your message out there. Blogging is essential for businesses. Blogging helps give your brand authority in the market, helps your website rank higher in the search engine results (SEO), and allows you to tell your brand story. 

Now you’re probably wondering, “Why is SEO so important?”. That’s an easy one to answer, because the better your SEO is, the higher you rank, the more people can see you, and the more leads you will receive. Think about it. When was the last time you went to the second or third page of the search results? More than 75% of all clicks go to the first page of search results. There’s already very steep competition in the world of franchisors. Without an excellent, reliable blog and on-point SEO, you are losing 75% of potential clients right off the top. WOW. 

How To Blog Effectively For Your Business

But why do blogging for your small business? Why is blogging important for your business? Why is blogging good for your business? Beyond the SEO benefits, B2B marketers who have current, relevant, and engaging blogs receive, on average, 67% more leads than B2B marketers who don’t blog. Before ever deciding to speak with you or a sales rep, 43% of all people view 3-5 pieces of content. Best of all – BLOGGING doesn’t cost you money, just the time to write the blog. Making sure you have relevant and engaging content will not be hard because this is your company, your vision, and your baby. Tell YOUR story. 

Do you wonder how to blog effectively for your business? When blogging for your small business, think of your clients or potential clients, and write for them. By putting yourself in their seats, you will be able to compose original, relevant, and engaging content. Plan ahead. People don’t typically want to read the ramblings of a person’s mind. Through advanced planning, you will be able to create strong brand messages, as well as stay consistent in your messaging across all of your blogs. Regular blogging allows you to tell different aspects of your brand story to your audience, convey benefits, and keep them active and engaged. 

Overall, people tend to get skim blogs. Make sure to utilize eye-catching graphs, videos, and photos whenever possible. These enhancements grab the reader’s attention and help break up the wording in the blog. Choose or make graphs, videos, and photos that people will want to look at closely, drawing them in from a quick skim to reading the words around the visuals. 

 K.I.S.S.

Lastly, remember the old “KISS” rule: Keep It Simple Stupid. You are an expert, the authority of your franchise, and industry. Your content should be easy to understand and straightforward. Follow the proper grammar rules and sentence structure. Make sure you use backgrounds, background colors, fonts, and font colors that are easy to read.  

So when you are wondering, “Why blogging is good for your business?” and “Why blogging is important for your business?”, just remember that your business is you, it is your baby, and it will help you succeed. Do you want to be just another business on the road, or do you want to dominate your industry? Do you want to be the goto authority, you want people to come to you for answers, not just another place they can go? Learning how to blog effectively for your business will help you dominate and control the industry for years to come.