When you’re stuck for a blog topic it’s always a good idea to scan through your list of frequently asked questions to see if there are any meaty subjects in there that people are crying out for you to tackle.

So, that’s exactly what I was doing the other day when I came across ‘What makes a great blog post?’ Perfect, I thought! Then I started thinking about how many of our clients actually have blogs. Hmm… not many! So I thought the best place to start might actually be ‘Why should I start a company blog?’

I absolutely love blogs. I love writing them, I love reading them, and it upsets me that so many sellers to schools aren’t sold on them. That's why I've hammered out a list of killer reasons why you should set up a company blog right now…

1. Google loves content

Type in popular search terms teachers might use when they’re googling for your services. Where do you rank in the results? If you’re not top then you desperately need to start a blog!

You see, Google rates results based upon the relevancy of content and the frequency with which it’s updated. Your website is great for the former, but not very good at all at the latter.

2. Position your company as a thought leader

Marketing to schools in 2015 is all about forming relationships with teachers and demonstrating that you have the expertise to solve their daily problems.

The best way to do this is to create fantastic content that gives teachers great value and positions you as the forward thinking thought leaders in your industry. Here’s a blog Ben wrote about the Inbound Marketing to Schools Revolution that I think serves as a cracking example of this.

3. Showcase your agility

In today’s marketing world, the best results will be achieved by companies that are prepared to get agile with their marketing.

These are the companies that are able to react quickly to topical breaking news stories and publish great content at a time when that subject is going to be right at the front of their audience’s minds.

The blog is my go-to tool when I need to get agile, so it's no surprised it's where I turned when I wanted to capitalise on the furore generated by the Scottish Independence debate.

4. Create a culture of learning in your business

At Sprint, every single member of the team is encouraged to write blogs. Not only because each member of the team has a particular area of expertise, but also because it helps with their development.

You write, you research, you learn: If you’ve ever written a blog you’ll know that it encourages you to seek out information that fills in any gaps in your knowledge. It’s a cracking way to organically grow your in-house knowledgebase.

5. It’s all about building relationships

Relationships are built on trust. Trust is built on understanding. For teachers to truly trust you, you have to find ways of breaking down barriers and letting them into your world.

A blog is an amazing way to give teachers a fun, lovable glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes in your business. We love giving our blog followers a sneaky peak into our world, for example here is a blog about how my mum can quadruple your sales! And here’s one that takes a look back at Sprint’s humble beginnings.

6. You can do some super-cool stuff

Blogs give you the opportunity to really let off some creative steam and do things that you might not be able to do with your email or postal marketing, which tend to be quite serious and straight-laced.

After all, with email and postal marketing you’ve probably got to get sign-off from about 5 people and you will be expected to demonstrate a return on investment. You've got a job to do and there are no points for personality!

With a blog on the other hand, personality is everything. It’s your chance to really express yourself, be a little more playful and dare I say experimental. For this reason, blogs are generally much more fun to write than emails. I had a blast writing the one called 5 Reasons Why We Should Be More Like The Humble Egg (see below).

We recently posted a series of blogs about the 5 Teacher Superhero's which i think is a really good example of the freedom a blog gives you to try something a bit different.

That's it for part 1. Next week, we'll continue this journey by taking a look at the different types of blog post, how to find inspiration for new posts, and how to plan your blogging schedule.

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