Businesses across the globe use blogs. And many use them poorly.

What happened? Did the siren song of blogging and big bucks lead them astray? Were they pulled in another direction?

Setting up a blog is easy. Maintaining a blog is challenging, even for the savviest digital producers.

But those companies that “feed” their blogs consistently see terrific benefits over the long haul: deeper customer engagement, higher site traffic, better brand loyalty and, of course, higher revenue.

The fancy term is “content marketing.” But what does blogging consistency look like?
For starters, it means new content published regularly. Whether the frequency is daily, several times a week, once a week or once a month, having a schedule of blog posts keeps the company on track and its audience coming back.

Consistency also means sticking to topics that are central to the business. Some companies difficulty sticking to their core business, darting from here to there in a desperate attempt to remain relevant or to prevent revenue erosion. That uncertainty can also be found in blogs that bounce from topic to topic, in hopes of finding something, anything, that will stick.

In short, it means showing up regularly, sharing good information and responding to questions in a timely fashion. Consistent blogging bears a striking resemblance to both passion for the work and reliable customer service.

Companies without a good marketing plan and a blogging schedule are more likely to blog erratically and abandon the effort all together.

Those who plan ahead and make a commitment to content marketing reap the rewards few others can.

Wade Kwon is a communications consultant and founder of the Birmingham Blogging Academy.