What would it mean to your business if you could generate 100 million unique website visitors each month? According to eBizMBA Rank, Huffington Post’s blogs have accomplished just that. With numbers like that, does the popular online news and feature site sit back and rest on its laurels? Hardly. Huffington Post continues to post new blog content in more than 50 topic areas all day, every day.

Not many businesses can garner the success and traffic of the Huffington Post. However, blogging is an important communications vehicle for any business, large or small. Blogging is about sharing information, thought leadership, comments, reflections and other ideas to develop a recognized marketplace presence. It also creates the attention you need to sustain and grow your business.

Yesterday and Today

In the past, advertisers repeated the same ad again and again whether it was on the radio, on television or in the print media. They still do, of course, but now there is another marketing medium to consider. Social media incorporates websites, applications and other forms of online and electronic communication where users can share content.

Blogging is one component of social media that enables companies to have a more up-to-the-minute presence. It also delivers more content and remains relevant in the marketplace. It is part of an overall strategic campaign that includes LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and many other smaller channels. All of these work synergistically to produce content that supports the marketing plan and branding initiatives.

Like traditional advertising and direct mail, a company blog and the complementary social networks should direct readers to your website for more contact and purchasing information. That’s because consumers, whether business-to-business or business-to-consumer, need current, consistent information that answers the question, “what will this product, this service, and this company do for me?”

A Company Blog Translates into Sales

Hubspot, an inbound marketing software company, claims that B2B marketers using blogs receive 67 percent more leads than those that do not. This is largely because companies that blog consistently with relevant content get found online more than companies that do not. Hubspot also asserts that businesses that use a company blog receive 97 percent more links to their websites. The importance of these statistics increases based on Hubspot’s prediction that “within five years, customers will manage 85 percent of their relationships without talking to a human.”

It’s not rocket science: a company blog creates a global presence. This, in turn, facilitates and supports the sales process by ensuring that your best prospects and customers find you quickly. Plus, they will recognize you as a valuable resource and business partner.