Does blogging still make sense? The numbers certainly say so.
Have 70 million There are new posts every month, and 42% of the web is built on WordPress alone. As such, blogging remains an important part of your online marketing strategy.
In fact, in a recent survey, across all content marketing modes, such as videos, infographics, ebooks, and online events, 90% of companies Used a blog in the past 12 months to help market their brand.
But how do they achieve this through the overload of content on the internet?
Well, they can do this with the right strategy and by focusing on priorities around blogging (such as SEO) and taking the time to understand their customers, which we’ll discuss later.
However, if you’re getting into SEO or have been a content marketer, you might be wondering if it’s still worth developing a blogging strategy or spending time outsourcing your blog. um, yes.
While social media has become an important part of your content strategy, that doesn’t mean blogging has been left behind.
Blogs drive more traffic, which helps build brand awareness and authority. These leads and traffic turn into customers and help create an audience.
But making an impactful blog that aligns with your company’s goals is another topic.
So while they’re important, it’s critical that you take the time to develop an effective strategy to attract and grow your audience and drive people back to your brand’s website.
Why is blogging still important?
Now, let’s understand why blogging matters to brands, and the strategies top brands use to ensure their blogs are influential in the ever-evolving age of online marketing.
1. Blogging builds loyalty and trust
As mentioned before, blogging helps build loyalty and trust. But how?
Providing advice and reliable information consumers can use will build authority on the topics you discuss.
When it comes to your industry and product line, blogging is a great way to slowly grow your audience and prove your expertise.
An important part of improving content is the concept of EAT, which stands for expertise, authority and trustworthiness.
While it’s not a ranking factor, Google believes EAT is critical to its algorithm and how it analyzes and identifies content.
This means your content needs to provide accurate, informative and useful information throughout your content and website.
2. Blogging to increase visibility
The next part of building quality content is making sure it’s SEO-optimized. Blogs that answer the questions consumers are asking about your industry are great for SEO.
Also, incorporating keywords into your engaging and unique headlines and subheadings and well-researched unique content is a surefire way to help increase visibility.
Internal linking is another way to increase visibility. Building links in other pages, blogs, and product pages on your website can help build brand awareness, awareness, and authority.
It’s also important to look at blog lengths commensurate with the topic you’re discussing to make sure you’re fully covering the topic and meeting the length that will help you rank on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
Images are another great way to enhance your content and visibility, which we’ll discuss in more detail later. Now, let’s get into brand awareness.
3. Blogging creates brand awareness
New and original content can make your brand stand out from other competitors.
When they’re looking for answers to their questions or want to learn more, your brand is at the top of the SERPs, giving them the information they need.
The more you invest in your blogging strategy, the more likely you are to increase your brand awareness, not just for the SERPs, but also through sharing on social media.
4. Blogs generate new leads
If consumers like your content, they may want more.
This is a great way to get new leads by getting them to subscribe to your email list.
That way, it’s less intrusive than making them like an ad that prompts them to sign up for an email list for coupons.
While this can be a great tactic for potential clients, blogging helps build connections before asking them for information.
If they choose to read the content on your site, they already like your content and want to learn more. Build more relationships with your brand through unique, useful content.
You can then incorporate subscription opt-in popups at the end of your blog or while scrolling so they can quickly enter information and keep reading.
5. Blogs drive engagement
One of the goals of most content marketers is to continue building relationships with new and existing customers.
Blogs provide more shareable content than just your product or service posts for consumers to share with others via social media.
This is a great way to educate customers, provide tips or how-tos, and connect more with your brand.
Slowly reminding consumers of your brand through your content over time helps convert readers into long-term customers.
Also, blogs can add interesting points to the customer journey and provide different opportunities to share your content.
Finally, it creates more excitement for engagement by engaging consumers in topics they are already interested in or want to know about.
6. Blogging lets you understand what your customers want
In general, consumers don’t have enough time to read blogs, so it’s important to find content that resonates with them to keep them on the page.
Trying to put yourself in your client’s shoes and answer their queries is what blogging is for, and can benefit both you and your client.
This way, you can take the time to further research and understand your target market and give them the information they need.
Blogs also provide an engaging space to post comments and feedback. You can find important areas for improvement and new ideas for blogging engagement.
For example, maybe someone has left a question that makes a great topic for another blog post.
It’s great for future inspiration, connecting with clients, and understanding their needs.
What is the future of blogging?
Over the years, blogging has undergone quite a shift in optimizing its strategies and best practices for engaging with readers.
google trends show Content marketing and blogging merged at some point, although the focus now shifts to overall content.
It’s not enough to just enter keywords and what you think Google wants to hear.
All content needs to be professionally designed and well thought out.
So now, let’s dive into how you can revitalize your blog content to make sure it hits its mark.
How do you adapt to changing times?
When it comes to blogging, the baseline is quality rather than quantity.
Don’t make a blog just for the sake of making it because you think it might help boost your brand awareness.
Search engines have evolved just like blogs and are better at evaluating content.
Also, people don’t have time to read long, never-ending content, making it hard to find key points.
Content requires descriptive and engaging titles and subtitles, as well as clear, concise content with effective keywords.
There’s value in discussing a topic sufficiently so that people understand it, but also straight to the point — no extra fluff.
Additionally, it’s critical to develop a long-term content strategy to ensure you’re not only meeting general business goals, but actually reaching and understanding your target market.
Multichannel storytelling is the way to go
Content is king, channel is king. Multichannel storytelling is about how you spread your content across different platforms. There are many social media sites and business listings where you can customize and share your content.
See where your target market is participating.
Maybe Facebook or Instagram, you can create copy to promote your blog and bring them back to your website.
You can also view a list or directory of businesses that can share content, such as a Google Business Profile where you can share Google posts.
Visual content attracts more readers
Interweaving images, infographics, short videos, and other visual content can help break down your topic.
It also helps you better highlight topics, describe difficult concepts, and keep readers engaged.
Visible in search
In order to create awareness, it is critical to craft unique content and focus on keeping readers engaged.
Also, it’s crucial to keep the customer in mind when creating content so that it doesn’t land on the SERPs or get lost in other similar content.
Researching what your competitors are doing and ranking on the SERPs is the beginning of increasing your brand awareness.
Then finding a unique angle or building on what they’re talking about while still answering what consumers are searching for is the perfect balance to create engaging, ranked blog content.
Will blogging still matter in 2022?
Yes, but like SEO, it’s constantly evolving. At the heart of an effective blogging strategy are SEO best practices.
As SEO evolves, it’s important to evaluate your strategy to ensure your content and your entire website have the expertise, authority, and trust search engines need.
Even with all the changes in online marketing strategies, blogging remains a mainstay.
Not only does a blog lead to leads, but it also increases brand awareness in your target market. If you take the time to understand simple SEO strategies and how to reach your audience, you’re sure to have a thriving blog post foundation.
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