There are many misconceptions when it comes to blogging. Some people think that it’s a dead form of marketing or that it can’t help your business grow, while others give up after one or two posts fail to go viral.
The fact is, blogging is still a very common type of content marketing, second only to video content. Many brands you know and love use blogging in their everyday marketing efforts.
Besides being common, blogs have a lot of benefits that other forms of content marketing can’t duplicate. Here are 5 reasons why blogging is still a great way to create content, and tips for how to create your own blog.
Provide Value
Blogs are a great way to showcase your expertise to your customers. Writing about the services or products you offer shows that you really know what you’re doing.
This establishes credibility and therefore is important for your business to grow. When customers trust you, that’s how you earn their business.
Whether it’s providing insight about recent industry news and trends, or offering advice that your ideal customer would appreciate, any knowledge shared can do wonders for your business. The main reason that people read blogs is to gather information and research.
Often, just writing a blog post answering your customers’ questions is a great way to provide valuable content that they will really care about.
The Social Media CEO is a great example of a blog that is purely informational. The blog focuses on how-to’s, industry news, and providing resources for readers.
Because of the value provided to customers, they are seen as an expert in their field, enabling The Social Media CEO to sell various products and courses.
Try writing a short blog post about something you are an expert in. What may seem obvious to you may not be to your readers.
If they come across your post and learn something that they never knew and that is helpful to them, they will view you as the authority on the subject. This increases the likelihood that they will come to you for more answers in the future.
Drive Sales
A blog can serve as an essential piece of your sales funnel. Within a single blog post, you can include several links, which can encourage readers to take action, leading them to the sites you want them to visit, such as your own website. From there they can learn about your services or products, which in turn increases sales.
Another way to drive sales from a blog post is by using calls to action. Use phrases such as “click here to learn more,” “buy now,” or “book our services” to increase your sales.
Sometimes telling people exactly what you want them to do can have a tremendous impact on your turnover rate. People like knowing exactly what you want from them, and this is a clear and simple way to answer their “now what?” after consuming your content.
One company that is exceptionally good at using its blog as a sales funnel is Home Depot. Their blog “DIY Projects and Ideas” really lives up to their motto of “helping doers get more done.” They have tutorials that teach people how to do all sorts of projects.
Customers can see what materials they need to complete their projects and then use a link to go directly to Home Depot’s website to order exactly what they need.
Setting up a clear and simple sales funnel using a blog can help make your next step clear. Try to put yourself in the audience’s shoes, and figure out where your content is telling them to go next. Once you make a smooth process for customers, they will appreciate it, and your sales will increase.
Speak to a Target Audience
Building a community and really getting to know your customers is key to any business’ success. Blogs are essentially a way to get face time with your audience. The better you know them, the better you can meet their needs.
Sometimes, this can be difficult if you try to talk to too large an audience. Narrowing down your target audience and speaking to a niche group of people is one way to make sure that your content is exactly what they are looking for.
One blog that niched down and is now excelling is Recover Athletics. They write exclusively about injury and injury prevention among runners, rather than focusing on all sports or all running topics.
They know exactly what readers want to see and meet their expectations rather than straying away from their main topic. People who visit their blog know exactly what they’ll be able to read, and which of their needs will be met.
Experimentation is easy, and a great way to start. Try writing about different topics within your industry. Then you can analyze the views and engagement that each blog post has received, and discover what your ideal customer is really interested in.
This then allows you to gear your marketing efforts and business as a whole to products and services that will appeal to your audience’s needs.
Reach New Customers
If you want to get discovered online, blogs are the way to go. When people search for a topic in your industry, if you’ve written a blog about it, you’re much more likely to pop up in their search results. It’s one of the best ways to use search engine optimization to your advantage.
New customers mean more opportunities to grow your business. This is arguably the biggest perk that blogs can offer you.
Making sure that your business is unique and stands out from your competitors is helpful so that when you get discovered, you give potential customers a reason to stick around.
Hubspot is a company that has great SEO. When searching for almost anything involving digital marketing they are among the first few results, and they use hot keywords to keep it that way.
Their blog also covers so many different topics, that they are useful to a variety of potential viewers.
Since blogs use so many words, try to incorporate keywords into your content. The more keyword-rich your post is, the more it will fit into the algorithm as exactly what your potential customers are searching for. Keywords also help make your blog more scannable, as people can look for the exact thing they want to know more about.
Strengthen Your Brand
While many aspects go into creating a strong brand presence, blogging establishes a brand voice like few other content forms can. By blogging and speaking directly to your audience, you are literally creating a voice and personality for the brand.
Deciding whether the blog will be funny and casual, professional and exclusive, or inspiring and strong can guide you in creating a blog that emphasizes that identity to your customers.
A voice is important because it is how you build a relationship and reputation with your audience. It can also help your company stand out and be unique from competitors.
While voice is relevant in any content marketing, it is more present than ever in your writing, exactly why blog posts are essential. It’s more about how you say things than what exactly you say.
Tiffany and Co. is an expert at portraying their brand’s voice in their blogs. Their What’s New blog shows that their brand is elegant. Their stories are classy and professional, which helps to deepen the association of the brand with expensive, yet simple, jewelry.
Everything that they write exudes this theme, and because of this, their branding is stronger than ever. A blog can help you develop your voice as you practice writing. Keep your buyer persona in mind, and speak to that person as you would in real life.
This will help guide you in keeping to that brand voice. Writing down the dos and don’ts can help you keep your voice consistent as you write your blog.
Blogging Opens Doors
These are just a few of the reasons that blogging is essential for any business to use in their marketing strategy. Blogging has evolved over the years, and the importance of blogging only continues to grow. A blog doesn’t have to look like a book or an article anymore.
You can create something unique to you and your company, using the aspects laid out in traditional blogging. Keep an eye out for the different ways that big brands use blogging, and implement them into your own content marketing.
Trying out these tips will help you expand your business once you get a hang of them. The thing to remember is that it will take practice and experimentation, and the results won’t be instant, but they will be worth it.
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