
The addition of the Arlington Chamber Blog is an essential component in the execution of the Chamber's Strategic Plan. The blog will increase member communication, allow members and non-members to engage each other’s services, and increase business opportunities for Chamber members by positioning their organizations as experts in their industry. Part of the Chamber’s blogging strategy is to allow Chamber members the opportunity to guest blog about topic areas in which they can help to educate and provide value to the readers.
But why should you provide content to the Chamber Blog?
Content marketing is here to stay and has changed the marketing industry entirely over the last five years. A recent report from Fleishman-Hillard found that 89 percent of consumers use Google or other search engines to make purchasing decisions for both products and professional services. This number really shouldn’t surprise you if you consider the way people look for information of any type (they Google it!).
If your organization hasn’t embraced content marketing yet it is likely that it is missing out on numerous leads and unrealized revenue. In fact, an article recently posted by Kevin McKeown states that:
- Firms getting 40-60% of their leads online grow faster than those generating no online lead
- The greater the proportion of leads generated online, the greater the firm’s profitability
- The #1 technique among the fastest growing and most profitable firms was blogging
The Chamber is no different in this regard in that we want to enhance our communication of the value of membership, create a forum where our members can share their expertise, and ultimately foster collaborative business relationships with our members. We hope that you will use the blog to help educate as well as promote your brand. This will undoubtedly benefit us all!