Blogging is not a new strategy. In fact, it’s one of the earliest forms of social media still very much alive today. So if you’re thinking about creating quality content for your business, then check out the benefits of blogging for marketing here with the help from our marketing company in Dudley.
Having a web presence is pretty much a non-negotiable for businesses these days. If you can’t be found online then you’re doing yourself a huge disservice. However, even better than just solely creating a website, is creating valuable content to share with your audience —blogging.
If you’re reading this, then you’re already interested in the benefits of blogging for marketing and deciding whether or not it’s worth investing your time.
Is blogging worth the effort?
Absolutely.
According to a survey by Hubspot, 88% of B2B companies are already incorporating blogs into their content marketing strategy, and 43% of them believe their blog is their most important content.
Consumer Validation
Not only do businesses support blogging as a marketing tactic, but consumers buy into too. In fact, marketers who view blogging as a priority, are 13 times as likely to generate positive ROI than their competitors.
Furthermore, blogs are an incredibly cost-efficient marketing strategy, possibly even free if you don’t count your time. Therefore, adding a blog to your website for minimal effort and maybe a small outlay is almost a no brainer, especially as it’s such a valuable digital marketing tool.
Discover more about the benefits of blogging below.
The Benefits of Blogging
Blog marketing is so effective because it increases your product or service online visibility. Not only do you gain exposure within your channel, you also gain exposure cross-functionally with other marketing channels too. Even more importantly, it helps build a relationship with your audience and offers a channel of engagement.
Blogging Within Its Own Channel
By simply having a regular blog on your website, you’re increasing your brand presence, advertisement opportunities and your brand credibility.
Drives Traffic
One of the biggest benefits of blogging as a marketing strategy is that it helps drive traffic to your website.
- The Value of SEO: Websites only have so many pages, many of which the content is static. Such as, contact information and details about the company, there’s a limited amount of new content. Therefore without the social media component not much would change. That’s why blogs are so beneficial.
Each blog is an opportunity to incorporate SEO keywords, to help drive organic traffic to your website. The more quality content you create around your particular niche, the higher you will appear in the search results. Even more than that, it signals to the Google algorithms that your site is active and should remain a contender on the results page.
The further down the results you are, the less likely people are to find you – especially if you don’t appear on the first page. It’s important to remember that search engines are responsible for driving nearly all web traffic, so it should be at the forefront of any marketing strategy.
Additionally, consistent new blog content gives users cause to return to your website regularly. Subsequently leading to more opportunity for conversion. Especially if you’re driving quality traffic, as traffic equals leads and leads equals conversion. So, the amount of time and effort you invest in your blog will heavily influence the results.
Product Exposure
A blog is the perfect opportunity to advertise your products or services and give more detailed information about what you offer. That being said, it shouldn’t be used to sell, it should be an avenue to communicate your worth and add value to your customers.
Having just that little bit more information can be all it takes to make them take action. Therefore, the more engaging and thorough you can make the content, the better. If your information is what helps the consumer make a decision, they are likely to buy from you over a competitor.
Here are few tips to get you started:
- Include Links – Be sure to include links back to your product or service to make the process as easy as possible for the customer. In addition, you can include links to other blog posts and pages that might be of interest to the reader. As a result, they’ll remain on your site longer, which ultimately increases your chances of conversion.
- Carefully choose keywords – carefully select relevant keywords and use them throughout the blog post. However, don’t force them, Google is smart and knows if you’re just keyword stuffing. Instead, craft clear, compelling content for optimal SEO performance.
- Promote – Use your blog as a platform to promote new products, company information, highlights, digital portfolio. Ultimately, anything your readers will find useful, entertaining or valuable.
Long-Term Benefits of Blogging
Blogging has many benefits, especially in the long-term, if you are consistent with delivering quality content on a regular basis. As aforementioned, new blog content can generate new interest. However, its benefits don’t end there.
While you might pull in the most views and leads in the time period right after the post is published, it will continue to be in the search results. What this means is it will be ranked in search engines allowing future potential prospects to see the post and land back on your website.
So, they’re very much a long term investment. Posts that continue to provide value are called compounding posts. Timeless content, otherwise known as evergreen content, is more likely to become compounding. In fact, a single compounding post can generate six times more traffic than six time-relevant blog posts.
Take Hubspot for example, 1 in 10 of their posts result in compounding blog articles. That’s an amazing feat, meaning around 70% of their monthly website traffic is generated from old content. Moreover, nearly 90% of their monthly leads are from older posts, from months or even years ago. This article is a great example of that, as they continue to benefit from links we have included here (also known as backlinks).
By creating well thought out, thorough content you can build a solid platform on which you can leverage for years to come.
The Cross-Functional Benefits of Blogging
The great thing about online content is that it isn’t bound to the platform it is published on. If you create great content, people will want to share it, which means more eyes and more traffic. The benefits of blogging can multiply with a simple click of a button. Nowadays, with everyone attached to their smart device it’s quicker and easier than ever to share, like, comment or follow content. The ability for readers to share, instantly makes your potential reach limitless.
Especially as people today use so many different social media platforms, such as:
- TikTok
Even without social media, it’s possible to share via email or even text. All are opportunities for increased brand exposure. With unlimited potential, blogs can really step up your marketing game.
And of course, it means you have great content to share on your own social media accounts too.
Networking
A blog is a great way to build a blog network or community. For a small investment, you can even look to influencers within your niche to reach a wider audience. Influencers already have an established fan base for you to tap into, more than that, they are generally very loyal. As a result, an influencer has the potential to push prospects your way.
There are different ways of utilising influencers to help promote your business but, they will usually promote your business or write a review in exchange for money, free product, or free service.
Furthermore, trusted backlinks to your website tells Google that you’re a valuable resource to users. Thus, networking can be an effective and relatively low-cost way to boost brand awareness.
Why You Need A Blogging Strategy
Still on the fence about whether your business needs a blog? As well as more traffic, the potential to reach a wider audience and boost your SEO, here are a few more reasons it’s time to start writing.
Establish Authority
By providing your readers with more information, you are more likely to answer any questions they may have around that subject area. As a result, they will look to you when they have further questions. Additionally, your expertise can influence their buying decision.
With a bank of information on the same subject, you are establishing your authority on the topic. Also, when it comes to customer service you can easily direct people to particular blogs that can help answer their queries in detail.
What you are left with is a positive feedback cycle, where your authority on a subject draws in traffic, improves your search engine ranking, and ultimately creates more leads and conversions.
Build Trust
Aside from all the statistical benefits, blogging provides a unique avenue to interact with your audience. This interaction builds trust, which then paves the way for customer loyalty, and finally, repeat customs and recommendations.
A simple way to do this is by including a comments section at the end of your blog. That way customers can share their opinions and start a conversation with you. However, if you include this option, it is essential that you respond to every comment in a timely manner. Ignoring comments can be damaging to your reputation.
Related: Why It’s Important to Respond To Positive Reviews
It’s also an opportunity for customers to offer valuable feedback that you can take onboard and implement into your business. Finally, other potential customers may look to the comments of fellow consumers as testimonials to the quality or experience of your company or product/service to help make their decision.
Start Your Blog Today
Ultimately, a well planned, well written regular blog is an effective way to reach a wider audience and increase brand awareness. Additionally, it’s a chance to add value to your reader, establish authority within your niche and build a brand that people trust. With all that in mind, you can see why so many businesses prioritise blogging for marketing.
Great, you’ve decided to start your blog, you might also want to check out 5 Reasons Your Business Needs A Content Cluster Strategy and How Many Topics Should Be In A Content Cluster?
If you need any advice then call our digital marketing company in Dudley, AIM Internet, today on 0870 062 8760. We’d be happy to chat with you and discuss the best options for your business.
