Is A Blog The Missing Piece To Your Marketing Strategy?

Why Does Your Website NEED a Blog…. Why all the fuss about Blogs?

Are you ready for some steady growth of your business or organization by adding to your repertoire of marketing tools? Enter the blog. Unassuming in its presence, impactful in its reach. The blog is the foundation of an effective content marketing strategy.

How many times have you intended to do just a quick search on a topic, but you were ultimately drawn in by a well-written blog? Almost instantly you wanted to read more. Almost immediately a bond of trust was formed.

You found the blog engaging, substantial, entertaining, and gave you just the information you were looking for. You were ready to take the next step in your quest because of what you had just learned. You were grateful, satisfied, and even fulfilled to some degree, for your time spent in reading.

Now think about your own website. Do you have a blog that can make your visitors feel that – sense that – or want to take the next step with you? Maybe you’re not convinced that you even need a blog. We’ll walk you through why, on today’s business landscape, a blog is essential to building your business. Blogs are instrumental in increasing business revenues and broadening the base of followers, constituents, and customers.

Me? I’m not convinced a blog is worth all the hassle.

OK, so you understand why a website is a necessary fact of life for a business to be all that it can be. A dynamic blog is an extension of your business that works with your other media to elevate your status in your industry.

 It’s been estimated that almost 79% of internet users regularly engage in reading a blog and almost that many B2B buyers depend on blogs for making business decisions. (DemandGen) Up to 60% of readers purchase products and services after blog content convinced them to do so. (Demand Metric)

Still not persuaded?

Then, check out your competitors’ websites. Do they have a blog? Is it engaging or boring? Is it informative or full of fluff? Is it on-point or does it take you down bunny trails that are not even remotely connected to the subject at hand? Would you be motivated to chat, email, or call about their product or service based on their blog content? Could you do it better or has your competition already left you in the dust?

Make no mistake, writing a blog can be hard work. It takes research and more research, staying current on trends and newsworthy happenings, and organizing your material so that it makes sense. Then there’s the writing process itself. It requires lots of discipline, creativity, and determination to write a great blog.

But the value a blog brings to a business is worth the effort. (Or you can turn it over to VisionSales Consulting and they can do the heavy lifting for you.) Whatever you choose, it’s certainly essential that you consider incorporating a blog into your marketing plan. 

Every business needs a marketing plan. Part of that plan should include content strategy. One large piece of that strategy is creating a blog to inform, engage, and multiply your influence in your industry. No matter how great your website is, you need to drive traffic to it by increasing your visibility.

I’m starting to see the value here….

From a marketing perspective, most B2B marketers say content marketing is strategically essential.  It’s an asset that keeps on giving after the initial investment. Throughout the sales funnel – from generating leads to prospect education to final sale – blogs have proven their value. Traffic to your website increases in proportion to the number of blogs you can create. After 20 or so blogs, traffic can increase by an additional 30%...if they are targeted and well-written. (Traffic Generation Café)

Creating relationships, creating loyalty.

More than half of Americans devour blog content 3 x more than email content. (Social Media Today) In addition, a blog can be used at the beginning, middle, or end of the sales funnel depending on how it’s written. You can nurture your leads all the way through to closing with a blog. As well, it’s a personal way to keep your target audiences up to date on new products or services, your successes, leadership changes, nuances in your industry, an inside look at who you are, and a platform for engagement and feedback.

You have control over the content in a blog whereas other mediums maybe not so much. It’s a piece of the internet that is uniquely yours and helps to shape your online presence. If the information is relevant, a blog can keep producing benefits for months or years to come. It’s the investment that keeps on giving.

Those all-important SEO rankings.

When someone does a search online for a particular product or service, does your name or website come up? The closer to the top of the listings (called search engine optimization rankings / SEO) the more opportunities you have for potential customers or clients to click on your website and generate leads… which can become customer conversions.

Blogs are a platform to move your business up the SEO ranking. In fact, it’s been noted that a blog raises the possibility of higher rankings in search engines by more than 400%. (Tech Client)

An advanced blogging strategy takes into consideration Google’s demand for expert, authoritative, and trustworthy content. The information must be purposeful, accurate, and useful. High quality content outperforms poorly written fluff every time. Searches with organic (non-paid) content, aka blogs, are as much as 80% more likely to have clicks than sponsored/paid ads. (MarTech)

Engage with potential or long-standing customers.

Blogs allow your personality to shine and distinguish you from your competition. Your blog is a communication channel that engages your audiences as you express opinions, offers inside information on industry trends, and develops your brand individuality. Consider your blog a conversation with your customers. What is it they are really wanting to know, to feel, or to do regarding you or your product?

If you provide a platform for give-and-take comments or questions, you will get a pulse on what’s important to your readership. With an interactive, relatable style, potential customers feel welcomed, heard, and understood. From there you may want to address issues or even make changes to the way “you’ve always done” something to become more relevant and contemporary. The feedback you receive is invaluable for your business growth.

Become a well-deserved Subject Matter Expert (SME).

When you provide value to your readers, you build trust, gain credibility, and reach the status of a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in your industry. All your blog posts are fodder for social media outlets to share and pass along. The more quality posts you create, the more exposure you’ll receive – again increasing your SEO opportunities.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms thrive on unique content that is recirculated. If your content offers value, then your business will gain exposure and reach new audiences that otherwise may never have heard about you.

Because your blogs are an in-depth look at a particular subject or perspective, there may come a time when you want to link information in the blog to other blogs or pages on your website. This is called an internal link. Internal links improve SEO rankings and make navigation of your website easier.

Your blogs are a vital link to bring visitors to your website. These connections are referred to as “inbound” leads. Social Media Today cites that 75% of online shoppers are influenced by social media as part of their decision making. If other companies begin to link to your website, your company becomes more legitimate in Google’s eyes. Besides, blogs capitalize on longevity – hanging around the internet and producing month after month, year after year.

Hmm.…Now I get it!

Bottom line – businesses that have a consistent, quality blog outperform similar businesses that don’t.

Blogs have the ability to:

·       Generate leads as an acquisition channel

·       Bring new visitors to your site

·       Retain your current customers and fortify their loyalty

·       Strengthen your web presence

·       Help your business stand out from your competition

·       Build your brand awareness

·       Create an online community excited about your company

·       Increase the number and kinds of social media channels that feature your business

·       Expand the probability of converting leads to customers

In fact, content marketing (blogs) can give you up to three times more leads than paid search ads. (One site even claimed that figure was as great as 13 times the return on marketing investment dollars spent on blogs versus paid ads.) Although blog research, composition, graphics, and the writing process are time-consuming, remember you don’t have to go it alone.

Have a conversation with VisionSales Consulting about how to get started. In the end, blogs are economical – they increase revenues. Blogs are effective – they improve conversion rates. And blogs are efficient – they boost brand awareness. Just think what this could mean for your business!