A blog is an easy medium for business content marketing. You’re not blogging? We recommend you start fanning that flame and give your customers some sizzling content. Why? Well, here are several reasons:

• It establishes your business as an industry thought leader and expert.
• It drives consumers to your website. A major part of SEO is fresh content on your website, and a blog is an easy to way to generate new content.
• Consumers get to know what your business is about by checking out your content. People do business with those they know, like and trust. Your blog tells your audience more than just who you are; it tells them how you think.

All these factors feed into growth for your business. Regular content generation creates brand ambassadors and consistent leads, both which build your follower base and brand reputation, and give you a more stabilized lead generation cycle.

Need more convincing? This infographic from Ignite Spot provides a ton of blogging stats like small businesses that blog generate 126 percent more leads, and 61 percent of U.S. consumers have made a purchase based on a blog post.

Remember, your blog content should not be about you – sales pitches are not blog entries. Give your audience something worth reading and sharing by providing them with quality content. As blogging becomes more pervasive among businesses, quality content is the differentiator.

How do you go about creating quality content for your customers? Check out our six simple tips to give ‘em something to talk about!

1. Tell a great story. An easy way to do this is with a case study. Share a customer’s challenge, solution and the results while teaching your audience something new about your subject matter.
2. Create posts based on statistics or news in your industry. Cite the statistic, report and source, and include your perspective. Staying up on industry news not only helps your customers, but also helps you stay ahead of the curve by learning new aspects about your industry, giving you visibility and establishing your business as a thought leader.
3. Share tip lists. Case in point: you’re reading one right now! Lists create easy-to-digest, snack-size content for your audience and are especially beneficial for mobile users.
4. Answer a question. This is an easy opportunity to pass along industry knowledge to your audience. The format can be interactive if you decide to answer questions submitted by your customers. Additionally, pose questions for reader engagement.
5. Shake up your content. Use different forms of content to engage your audience, such as posting videos or sharing an infographic. For instance, use an infographic to convey data instead of burying numbers within a text article.
6. Make content shareable. Add buttons for readers to share your content via social media outlets and by email. Also, link to related posts within your existing blog.

So, there you have it – blog on! What other blogging tips would you add to this list?

Inga Rundquist

Inga Rundquist is a Public Relations Arsonist and Co-Owner at MindFire. When she’s not dreaming up ideas that will generate publicity, you can find her knee deep in the social media world, also known as the next PR frontier.