You’ve probably noticed that a lot of businesses are blogging. But is blogging necessary when your start-up is in the financial technology industry?
The short answer is yes. Even though writing and content creation may seem far outside your area of expertise, they can be extremely beneficial for your new business. I’ll first go through some ways that blogging can help you run a successful FinTech start-up, and then discuss how you can get started blogging.
Here are the main reasons you should start a blog:
- Improving your SEO
Blogging will increase the likelihood that your website will appear in search engine results, because search engines give preference to websites that regularly post new content. Blog posts also provide more opportunities to use key words on your website.
Additionally, blog posts will likely increase the number of people who come to your website from a Google search. People using search engines might not necessarily be looking to buy products or services; they may just be looking for the answers to questions. Writing blog posts with helpful, informative content will attract those types of web users.
- Increase your social media potential
Just as with people who use search engines, social media users are not necessarily looking to make purchases. They are unlikely to engage with a social media post from a company, unless that post shares useful, interesting information. In this way, blogging will increase the amount of interactions and followers you get on social media.
- Proving you’re an innovative thinker
Blogging gives you the opportunity to explain your ideas and convince people that your start-up is the solution to whatever problem you are focusing on in the financial industry. Blogging also allows you to prove that you have knowledge and expertise in this industry, and that you are someone whom consumers can trust for advice. This leads into the next two benefits of blogging…
- Attracting funding sources
Blogging is a great way to attract investors or get crowd funding. Many investors will actively look at blogs to find innovative start-ups, and smaller contributors could be directed to a crowd funding page via a blog post. A good blog will also make your business look polished and demonstrate that you are willing to go the extra mile when it comes to online marketing.
- Find business partners
Just as blogging can help you attract investors, it can also help you find business partners. That partner might be an individual who wants to help build your company, or another business who proposes a partnership where you mutually benefit from each other’s services. Either way, blogging can bring you opportunities for expansion.
Now that you know the benefits of blogging, let’s go over the basics of starting a blog. Check out Scribblrs to learn how to create a blog in only three steps. If you already have your own website for your start-up, step one is basically already done. All you have to do is install a content management system (I recommend WordPress) and start blogging.
Here are some important tips for running a successful blog:
- Stay organized
Take the time to plan what posts you are going to write about and when you are going to publish your blog posts. Without good organization, you won’t publish blog posts regularly, which defeats the point of having a blog.
- Focus on quality
Remember when I talked about ranking on search engines and getting social media engagement? You won’t be able to do either of those things unless you write quality blog posts. A blog post can’t just be fluff with some key words thrown in. In order to be effective, your blog has to offer content that people really want to read.
- Hire help if you need it
Given that you’re in the financial technology industry, writing might not be your specialty. And that’s perfectly okay. You can always hire a freelancer to write your blog articles for you. This method can take the stress out of blogging and ensure that you produce good quality content.
Blogging is an extremely effective business strategy for almost any start-up, but remember that it will only be effective if you do it well. Be sure to put the proper time and resources into your blog to make it excellent. If you run an outstanding blog, you’ll definitely put yourself ahead of the competition.
