By: Katie Parvin | @KatieJ318 Why blog? This question is becoming more prevalent in businesses today, and a lot of businesses have no idea why they need to be blogging. Today, I want to share a few basic reasons why you should blog within your company.

Show What You Know. Blogging is a great way for your business to demonstrate subject matter authority and show extensive knowledge about a particular topic or industry. In business, you have to have an exceptional reputation in your field—blogging is a great way to do that. As an extension, blogging will reinforce your brand. Also, if you know a lot about a particular topic, why not share it with everyone? You don't have to give away your busiensses secrets, but it's nice to give a sampling of what you know and how your product/service can help others.

Improve SEO. Blogging adds more key-word-rich content to your website. This improves your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and helps you climb the ranks on Google and other search engines. Okay, great, but what does this mean? It means that people who are searching for a solution to their problem will find YOUR blog, and suddenly your business is known to the exact audience you need to be in front of. The trick here is to keep your blog content relevant to your target audience and your business.

Gain Traffic. Blogging also helps increase traffic to your website. In addition to improved SEO, one of the most effective way to do this is by linking your blog to your other social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). Be sure to post links to your blog content frequently so your followers on other networks will know it is there. Also, make it possible for readers to easily share your blog. If they love your content, they will share with their own networks. This will bring traffic not only to your blog, but to the rest of your site as well.

Blogging helps your business gain a positive reputation in your specific industry and shows you know what you're talking about. If you write a blog consistently and do your research, you will definitely increase leads and improve your reputation as an authority in your industry.

Does your business blog? Why or why not?