Benefits of Blogging for Marketing

Nowadays, a web presence has become more of a non-negotiable for businesses than solely a supplementary resource. However, marketers endorse going one step further—blogging. 

If you’re here, you’re already wondering what the benefits of blogging for marketing are and weighing whether or not they would be worth the hassle. Is it worth the effort? Well, 88% of B2B companies are already using blogs as a content marketing tactic, and 43% of them even declared that blogs are their most important content.

Consumer Validation

Although, don’t just take the word of the masses buying into this practice but also the consumer-backed results. Of those marketers who prioritize blogging, they are 13 times as likely to generate positive ROI than competing businesses.

Blogs are also an incredibly cost-efficient marketing strategy, possibly free even. Add a blog to your current website with minimal effort and also at little cost. Given its price tag, it is an extremely valuable digital marketing tool. 

Discover more about its benefits below!

Benefits of Blogging

What it boils down to is that blog marketing increases product or service visibility. You gain exposure both within your channel as well as cross-functionally with other marketing channels. Here we’ll delve into just how it works.

How it Works Within Its Own Channel

On your site alone, blog posts work double-time as their own form of brand advertisement and as an upgrade for the entirety of your business’s online presence. 

Traffic Driver

Most evidently, the primary benefit is that blogging helps drive traffic to your website. 

• The Value of SEO: There are only so many pages on a business website and, without a component of social media marketing, there’s a limited amount of new blog content to be added. The basics, such as your contact information and company history, are usually not updated frequently.

This is where blog posts come in. Each one is a chance to incorporate SEO keywords and push organic traffic to your website. Not only will you pop up as a result under search engines, but it will signal to the algorithms that your site is active and should remain a contender higher up on search results. The further down you are, the less likely consumers are to make their way onto your channel. And search engines are responsible for driving 93% of web traffic, so they aren’t a factor to consider halfheartedly.

Regular new blog content gives users cause to visit regularly. The more eyes on your site, the more potential there is for profit. Especially if you gate your content, traffic equates to leads. So, however much you invest in your blog will heavily influence how much you profit.

Product Exposure

Your blog can be a natural extension of product advertisements, working in conjunction with the previously detailed benefit. By making your service or product the subject of posts, you can use it as an opportunity to directly tell your prospective clients exactly what it is you offer, how it works, and why they should make the purchase. 

Giving just enough information to inform consumers can be all it takes to turn them into a buyer. How much effort you put into making the content engaging can also be a deciding factor in whether they decide to purchase from you or a competitor. Even if it’s sufficient to allow them to consider their options, they may return to contact you for more information. 

Use these tips for content to get you started:

• Links – Include several that lead customers back to your inventory, other blog posts, or pages on your site to continue racking up clicks.
• Keywords – Remember to use them throughout each blog post and provide clear, compelling content for optimal SEO performance. 
• Promote – Spotlight new products or utilize it as a digital portfolio of past work. 

Long-term Benefits

Each post that you write is archived on your website. As briefly mentioned above, new content from posts can generate new interest. However, its benefits don’t exactly have an expiration date on them. While you might pull in the most views and leads in the earlier days of a post’s life, it will continue to be in search results. Then, its performance will be ranked in search engines and allow for future, potential prospects to access the post from that point onwards. 

So, they aren’t one-and-done but quite stable investments. Posts that continue to provide value are called compounding posts. And timeless content is more likely to become compounding. As a matter of fact, a single compounding post can generate six times more traffic than six decaying blog posts.

Hubspot purports than 1 in 10 of their posts end up as compounding blog articles. Approximately 70% of their monthly website traffic is actually from old posts, not from that same month. Moreover, nearly 90% of their monthly leads are from older posts, from months to years old. They continue to benefit from those very links included in this article.

Save your social media team some stress with the knowledge that each blog post will continue to have value for quite some time after it’s uploaded and live. 

How it Works Cross-functionally

Like all online content today, they are not bound to the platform that they were initially posted onto. As a result, the benefits of blogging multiply with as little as a click.

One Site Fits All

Any wielder of a smart device is aware of the feature of “sharing.” “Sharing” has come to have its own meaning online, same as “liking” or “following.” The term has expanded beyond its traditional definition, now signifying users’ ability to distribute content on the internet. As interconnected as it comes, the sharing feature magnifies your posts’ potential audience. 

If you create content that is useful or interesting, they can share your post on these blogging platforms:

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• And more

They can even share the link to it via text or email. Either method is a way to expose your post and brand to more prospects. With the possibility of going viral, blogs can amplify your website traffic exponentially. Not restricted to the actions of consumers, you also have the ability to share your post on your personal and professional social media. This way, you have new content for all your social media platforms—all for free.

Building a Network

For those willing to spend more on their blogging, businesses can look to influencers. With established fan bases of thousands of followers, they have the potential to push prospects your way. Whether through a website and pay-per-post model or by reaching out to a specific individual, you should select a source that has an audience that would be interested in your product. 

In exchange for money, free product, or free service, said influencer could either directly promote your business or do a review. Backlinks are also a cross-functional promotion option. By linking back to your website or products, it tells search engines that you’re a valuable resource to browsers. Thus, networking can be an efficient and low-cost way to boost brand awareness.

Why You Should incorporate a Blogging Strategy 

Need more incentive to start blogging? Well, in addition to having all the traffic and potential to turn them into leads, a blog can be free public relations, marking your brand as trustworthy. 

Establish authority

By providing a prospect with information about what they’re seeking, your expertise can influence their decision to hire you or pay for your products. With a repertoire of information on the same subject, your authority in the matter is well-established.  Employees are also able to refer to indexed blogs for assistance when answering specific questions, which can be prevented on the consumer’s side because an informed buyer via your blog posts can streamline the sales process.  

Additionally, your website can become a reference for users, further building your authority. It becomes a positive feedback cycle, where your knowledge draws in traffic, improves your standing in search results, and creates more leads.

Enhance Customer Relations

Blogging provides a unique opportunity to interact with prospective clients casually. By providing the information they need, you also begin to build trust with your consumers. Customer trust then leads the way for customer loyalty, guaranteeing returning customers, and the possibility of sharing their recommendations with their network.

Including a comments section can also allow for the relationship between client and company to build. Customers can engage more fully with the website through comment and also share their opinions. Their feedback is also valuable since it can be used to directly implement improvements your clients want or provide useful suggestions for future products. In turn, other users may look to the comments of fellow consumers as testimonials to the quality or experience of your company to inform their decisions.

Begin Your Blog Now

Ultimately, a regularly maintained blog is an easy way to reach countless targeted readers whenever and wherever. It is your prospective clients’ first, free product that sets the tone for the rest of your interactions. The more value that you provide without cost, the more likely they are to become your customers. With all that in mind, start posting quality content and prepare for the customers to come your way.

Sources: 

• Hubspot. Why Blog? The Benefits of Business Blogs for Marketing. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/the-benefits-of-business-blogging-ht
• Search Engine Journal. 5 Ways a Blog Can Help Your Business Right Now. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/benefits-of-blogging-for-business/195037/#close
• Street Directory. 7 Key Benefits to Blog Marketing for Your Business. https://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/113659/blogging/7_key_benefits_to_blog_marketing_for_your_business.html

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Article From: "Jillian Frager"   Read full article

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