Is Blogging Still Valuable?

Even though marketers and consumers are all over video content on Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat, blogging remains the strongest online marketing vehicle of all. Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t, and if you’ve been thinking of halting your blogging efforts, then think again. Here are some reasons why blogging is still the most important form of content for your business.

1. Written content is more easily searched on Google. Google algorithms love the written word, so your blogs are far more likely to show up in a Google search than your Instagram posts. In fact, posts that hit about 1200 words get top ranking in search results. Some experts say the magic number is even as much as 1600 words. That may be why your 500-word blog habit isn’t bringing you customers.

2. Blogging is a great way to establish yourself as a subject matter expert. Nothing boosts your brand power and your credibility like writing about what you know. Potential customers search for information on the web and if you’re lucky, they’ll find you before they find your competitor. The more you post, the more likely you will be seen as an expert (and the more Google likes you).

3. Once you post a blog, it is available for search forever. Maybe the blog you wrote last week wasn’t such a hit, but over time, it will increase its views. The information is always going to be accessible. The best part, is that you can continue to reshare your blog every few months on different platforms to extend your reach even more.

4. Blogs can be repurposed into other forms of content. The list of things you can do with blog content is quite extensive. Snippets of blogs can be turned into memes. A collection of blogs written on a particular theme can become an e-booklet or even a full-sized book. Use content from your blogs to create short videos, online courses, webinars, newsletters and more.

5. The engagement you receive from your blogs will give you some sense of what your audience wants from you. What posts bring you the most engagement? Who is sharing or commenting on your content? How many people call you for business purposes because of a blog you wrote? What platform was it shared on? The answers to those questions can provide you with a lot of valuable marketing information.

6. Blogs can be combined with other types of content. Blogs allow you to post pictures and video within them, and those elements not only boost readership, they provide more opportunity for would be customers to get to know your offering even more.

7. Blog posts are easier to share on multiple networks. I am a brand ambassador for a blogging site called beBee.com. I post all of my blogs there because they get seen by people all over the world, and I can easily share my blog links on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Blogger is a Google product and is therefore great for SEO purposes, but nobody is really driving traffic to your Blogger account (or WordPress, or any other well-known blog site) which means you have to work harder at sharing it on other platforms. beBee blogs show up in Google searches and are read by a more engaged audience than I have ever found anywhere else. We all like to know that someone other than our own mother is reading our content and has an opinion about what you are saying.

8. Blogging drives traffic to your website. Think about this. You write a blog, include a link to your webpage and maybe even a free offer for a download. Then you share it on multiple social media platforms where your customers spend time hanging out. They read it. They like it and click on your web link to learn more about what you do. Before you know it, you’re getting a message from someone looking for some info that leads to a sales opportunity. That’s pretty sweet!

                        If your blogs aren’t working for you, it is likely because you are making these mistakes:

1. Not providing value. It’s important to understand that blogging content needs to be valuable to others in order to have the most value to your business. Having said that, there are many types of content and while there should be a mix of content types, the majority of what you produce should be informative and helpful to people in some way.

2. You are not writing often enough. Career bloggers write daily. Most businesses can get away with a weekly schedule. The less frequently you publish the quicker people will forget you. No matter what kind of content you are publishing, consistency and frequency are the keys to success. Leverage your blog content to publish all types of content and put something out daily on multiple social media platforms.

3. Your blogs are too short. Like I mentioned above, you really need to strive to create lengthier posts. That’s the general rule of thumb, but audiences vary. The more you write, the more you will be able to track the tastes of your audience. Time of day, day of the week and proximity to holidays will affect your posts, as well. Measure, measure, measure! That’s how you will definitively know what will work for your business.

4. You didn’t share the link all over everywhere! You cannot write a blog and then let it hang in the ether and expect it to be seen by people. So many businesses do that and it is a terrible mistake. You have to work it like a stripper, baby! Share it, share it again, ask people to share it for you, and then keep asking and sharing.

5. Your following is too small. If you don’t have many followers, then it is harder to get noticed. You can pay to promote your blog link on other social media sites or you can join beBee.com and get noticed right away. Keep in mind that if the geographic location is important to your business, then just having local people share your content may be the best free option for you.

6. You didn’t use back links. There’s a bit of a science to it, but linking your content to quality sites with related content is good for your search engine optimization (SEO).

7. No graphics. Every blog should have at least one nice picture and a catchy title. Bonus points if you add a relevant video.

8. No link to your website. Even if the blog is posted on your site, you should have a link to your site in it so that when it gets shared off your site, people know where to find you. It’s also easier to remember your website address than your blog site address.

Are you ready to grow your business?
I am passionate about helping business owners get the most out of their marketing. Nothing upsets me more than marketing consultants and service providers who take advantage of business owners by not giving them what they paid for. Undelivered SEO services and poorly executed marketing plans with no substance are things I come across very frequently. I thrive on empowering small business owners to understand and get results from their marketing so they can scale without stress or overwhelm. Contact me through my website if you'd like to find out how a full marketing audit can help you move ahead more efficiently.