Is blogging still relevant? The numbers certainly say so.
There are 70 million new posts each month, and 42% of the web is built on WordPress alone. As a result, blogging is still a prominent part of an online marketing strategy.
In fact, in a recent survey, out of all the content marketing modes out there, such as videos, infographics, ebooks, and online events, 90% of businesses used blogs to help market their brands within the last 12 months.
But, how are they accomplishing this with the overload of content on the internet?
Well, they can achieve this with the right strategy and by focusing on the priorities surrounding blogging, such as SEO, and taking time to understand their customers, which we’ll discuss in a bit.
But if you’re getting into SEO or have been a content marketer, you may wonder if it’s still worth building out blog strategies or spending time outsourcing blogs. Well, it is.
Even though social media has become an essential part of content strategy, that doesn’t mean blogs have been left in the dust.
Blogging brings in more traffic and can help build brand awareness and authority. And those leads and traffic turn into customers and help create an audience.
But making influential blogs that meet your company’s objectives is another topic.
So, while they are important, it’s crucial you take time to create an effective strategy that engages and grows your audience and entices people back to your brand’s website.
Why Is Blogging Still Relevant?
Now, let’s learn why blogging is essential for 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, blogs help build loyalty and trust. But how?
Providing advice and reliable information that consumers can use will establish authority on the topics you discuss.
Blogs are a great way to slowly nurture your audience and prove your expertise when it comes to your industry and product line.
An essential part of improving content is the E-A-T concept, which stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
While it’s not a ranking factor, Google shares that E-A-T is essential to its algorithm and how it analyzes and recognizes content.
This means your content needs accurate, informative, and helpful information throughout the content and site.
2. Blogging Increases Visibility
The next part of building great content is making sure it is search engine optimized. Blogs that answer the questions consumers are asking about in your industry are helpful for SEO.
Additionally, incorporating keywords throughout your captivating and unique headings and subheadings, as well as your well-researched unique content, is a sure-fire way to help increase visibility.
Internal linking is another way to increase visibility. Link building throughout other pages, blogs, and product pages on your site can help build brand visibility, awareness, and authority.
It’s also important to look at the length of the blogs that are comparable to the topic you are discussing to ensure 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 talk more about later. Now, let’s get into brand awareness.
3. Blogging Creates Brand Awareness
New and original content can make your brand more prominent amongst the rest of your competitors.
When they are searching for answers to their questions or want to learn something more, your brand is at the top of SERPs, giving them the information they need.
The more you invest in blog strategy, the more potential you have to grow brand awareness not only for SERPs but through shares across social media.
4. Blogging Generates New Leads
If consumers like your content, they will likely want more.
It’s an excellent way to get new leads by having them subscribe to your email listing.
This way, it’s less intrusive than having them like an ad that prompts them to sign up for an email listing to get a coupon.
While this can be a great tactic for leads, blogs help build a connection before asking for their information.
If they choose to read through your content on your site, they already like your content and want to learn more. There’s more of a relationship with your brand through the unique, helpful content.
You can then incorporate the subscription opt-in pop-up at the end of the blog or when they scroll, so they can quickly enter their information and keep reading.
5. Blogging Drives Engagement
One of the goals for most content marketers is to continue building relationships with new and existing customers.
Blogs provide more shareable content than just your products or service posts for consumers to share with others across social media.
It’s a great way to educate customers, provide tips or how-tos, and create more connections with your brand.
Over time, slowly reminding consumers of your brand through your content can help convert readers to long-term customers.
In addition, blogs can add interesting points to the customer journey and offer different opportunities to share your content.
Finally, it engages consumers with topics they are already interested in or want to learn about, creating more excitement for engagement.
6. Blogging Allows You To Understand Customer’s Needs
Generally, consumers don’t have ample amount of time to read blogs, so it’s important to find what will resonate with them to keep them on the page.
Trying to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and answer their queries is what blogs are made for and can benefit both you and the customer.
This way, you have taken the time to further research and understand your target market, and they get the information they need.
Blogs also offer an inviting space to leave reviews and feedback. You can find great areas for improvement and new ideas for blog engagement.
For example, maybe someone left a question, and that question creates a great topic for another blog post.
It is excellent for future inspiration, connecting with customers, and understanding their needs.
What Is The Future Of Blogging?
Blogging has undergone quite a transformation over the years in the strategies to optimize it and the best practices to engage with readers.
Google Trends shows that content marketing and blogging merge at some point, although the focus is now shifting to content as a whole.
Simply inputting keywords and what you think Google wants to hear isn’t enough.
All content needs to be expertly crafted and well thought out.
So now, let’s dive into how you can reinvigorate your blog content to ensure it’s hitting the mark.
How Can You Adapt To The Changing Times?
When it comes to blogs, the baseline to focus on is quality over quantity.
Don’t produce blogs just to produce them because you think it might help with your brand’s visibility.
Search engines have evolved just like blogs have and are better at evaluating content.
Also, people don’t have time to read long, never-ending content either, where it’s difficult to find the key points.
Content needs descriptive and engaging headings and subheadings, as well as clear, concise content with effective keywords.
It’s valuable to fully discuss a topic so someone can understand it but also get to the point – no additional fluff.
Additionally, it’s crucial to create a long-term content strategy to make sure you’re not just meeting general business objectives but truly reaching and understanding your target market.
Multi-Channel Storytelling Is The Way To Go
Content is still king, but the channel is now queen. Multi-channel storytelling is about how you spread content across different platforms. There are numerous social media sites and business listings where you can tailor and share your content.
See where your target market engages.
Maybe it’s Facebook or Instagram, and you can create copy that promotes the blog and brings them back to your site.
You can also check out business listings or directories where you can share content, such as your Google Business Profile, where you can share Google Posts.
Visual Content Attracts More Readers
Entwining pictures, infographics, short videos, and other visual content can help break up your topics.
It can also help you better highlight topics, describe difficult concepts, and keep readers engaged.
Be Visible In Search
To create visibility, it’s crucial to produce unique content and focus on keeping the readers engaged.
In addition, it’s vital to keep the customer in mind when creating content, so the content doesn’t fall on SERPs or get lost among other similar content.
Researching what your competitors are doing and what’s ranking well on SERPs is a start to growing your brand’s visibility.
Then finding a unique angle or building on what they are talking about while still answering what consumers are searching for, is the perfect balance for creating engaging ranking blog content.
Are Blogs Still Relevant In 2022?
Yes, but as with SEO, it is evolving. At the center of an effective blog strategy is SEO best practices.
It’s important to evaluate your strategy as SEO develops to make sure your content and overall website have the expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness that search engines require.
Even with all the changes in online marketing strategy, blogs remain a pillar.
Blogs can not only bring in leads but also grow brand awareness for your target market. If you take the time to understand simple SEO tactics and how to reach your audience, you will surely have a thriving foundation of blog posts.
More Resources:
Featured Image: ESB Professional/Shutterstock