Having a blog is fantastic. It’s a great way to connect with your customers, give them something that is added value and show potential clients what you can do. But could you be doing more with it? Being at the forefront of the competition in business means thinking outside of the box and doing something different, so why not make the most of the internet? Here are 5 reasons why you should expand your blog with multimedia.

1)     Attention spans – at last glance attention spans were short and getting shorter. It’s estimated that you’ve got around 1.2 seconds to grab your audience’s attention before they click away. That’s got to be a pretty snappy opening line! Research has shown that video and audio captures people much more effectively and is likely to hold their attention for longer than a blog or even a Facebook post.

2)     Youtube is the second biggest search engine, like ever – making sure your website is getting to the top of Google pages is something everyone spends a lot of time on. A great way to boost your SEO is to get involved with the second biggest search engine, Youtube. Get a channel, shoot some videos and start sharing your content.

3)     Podcast and let your customers go mobile – mobile is set to overtake fixed internet access by next year according to some, and with a large increase in devices like the iPad, iPhone and Android technology most people are getting their information on the go. Podcasting is a really great way to reach your customers on the move, and as more people access the web through mobile podcasting is becoming ever more popular. It is a really great way to give your customers added value and to share your expertise.

4)     Engagement – it’s all very well having a ton of great content on your blog, but is anyone reading it? And if they are, are they talking about it? Multimedia, whether it’s video or audio, or just images will engage people’s attention and once you’ve accomplished that you’re more likely to get a conversation going.

5)     Getting hooked up – when people are talking about your content they are probably sharing it as well, spreading your brand awareness far and wide. Using multimedia as well means that you’ll be linked up to sites like Youtube, iTunes and Flickr, creating other channels for people to find you and interact with you. Essentially using multimedia will help you to cast your net wider and reach more people.

That’s five great reasons to go out there and creative with your content and get your customers engaged and involved.