Is blogging still relevant?
Blogging is an essential part of every company’s content marketing. Even if you don’t have a clearly established marketing strategy, the blog just seems like a must-have for each website. However, the popularity of other forms of content (that is also easier to create) makes you wonder if blogs are still worth the try.
The very fact that you are now reading this post is an argument in favor of blog relevance. Although the visual content is more appealing to users, a lot of people are still turning to blogs to look for solutions to their problems. On average people are conducting 3-4 google searches a day and visiting pages to find useful and interesting information. So having an active blog is one of the main ways to attracts users, give them the information they are looking for, and promote your company along the way.
1. Blog improves SEO
Every blog post is one more page for the search engine to index, and the more indexed pages the website has the higher it ranks in the result list. Although posts take time to create, they have a huge impact on SEO, especially if published often and regularly. If you create engaging content, users will visit your website showing the search engine that your content is relevant and more people should see it.
2. Blog is an owned media
When you decide to post on social media, different platforms dictate what you can and cannot post and in what form. So basically you don’t have much control over the content after it is published. Sure, you can edit text and post description afterward, but if the platform’s parent company decides to delete the content or close the medium altogether, you will lose every post and every follower you gained. So it is crucial for companies to have their own channel where they can publish whatever they want. A blog is a perfect place for it. You can create content in a text or multimedia formats, and no one (except for your boss) will have the decision-making power over it.
3. Blog creates an image of an expert
Blog gives your company the chance to add more value to the users. If readers are getting consistent and useful information, they will see you as an expert in your field. This makes the users trust your company more and allows you to show your authority. By publishing helpful information, you are also educating your potential clients and giving them the reason to come back for more knowledge. In the perspective of partnership, it is much easier to work with the client who has some insight into the industry and understands its nuances. By giving the expertise to your potential clients, you are making sure that the project will run much smoother.
4. Blog allows you to get to know your customers
Behind the blog posts, there are valuable statistics about your potential customers. You can see how many users visited individual posts and how much time they spend on each page. These analytics help you understand which topics are the most interesting to your audience and allow for testing different formats and styles. As the lifespan of the blog post is very long (sometimes even years depending on the topic), the analytics on that content will be useful to see how the behavior of the readers is changing. Also, over time, you can clearly see which topics are aging well and which had their popularity diminish.
5. Blog makes your company visible
The more you post valuable content, the more the search engine will recommend it to the users. Even if they won't visit your website, they would recognize your brand after a while. The exposure helps to build awareness and gets potential clients more familiar with your company.
However, the search engine is not the only place where users can find your content. Sharing it on social media allows users, who are not intently looking for the information online, to see blog posts’ preview and visit your website. Users nowadays are very active on social media and love to interact with brands online but only if the content is engaging. In fact, interesting content is one of the top 3 reasons why users are following companies’ profiles. Social media are an excellent medium for the promotion of the content because not only the owner can share the posts but also other users.
Make your content seen
In today's world, blogging itself is not enough. If you just write posts, publish and forget about them, you won’t see much action on your blog or website. For your articles to drive the traffic on the site, you need to invest some time into promoting them. Free options like sharing articles on social media and blog optimization require a little bit more effort, however, they are the perfect opportunity to be where your audience is. Because of the fact that posts on social media are created by users themselves, article previews will be perceived as another natural content.
You can go one step further and create paid ads. Because most posts on social media have low reach due to the amount of content published all the time promoting your posts will make more users see your posts. Thanks to ads, you also will be able to reach users on platforms and websites where your company does not have a profile and can’t have followers on its own. By promoting your content, you are not only encouraging more people to read your articles, but also making your brand visible to a broader audience.
These days blogging is still relevant if you are doing it right and devoting enough time to promote your content. Focus more on aspects of blogs other than writing. Of course, great content is the foundation and the reason the readers are visiting your blog. However, if the only place users can find your content is your website and the organic search results, it will not get much traffic and will not turn into sales.
