It’s 2019, and the landscape of consumer demands and technology is always changing. During the last few years, it has become increasingly crucial for businesses to establish a robust online presence to reach their customers, communicate, and engage with them. That is where blogging comes into play.
Blogging is one of the many aspects of content marketing and one of the oldest. Even today, it remains to be a digital medium that helps brands create value for their customers. Let’s take a look at why you should include blogging into your content marketing strategy.
1. Establish yourself as a Niche Authority
If you are knowledgeable and can present your brand as an authority in your niche or industry, then maintaining a blog is a surefire way to establish yourself as a thought leader. In case a prospect needs to choose between a business with or without a blog, they’ll probably go for the former. Why? Because you are providing value to them by answering their potential questions, teaching them about things you know, and providing transparency about who you are, what you do, and how you do it. To make this happen, you must publish quality content and stay consistent.
2. SEO Boost
All major search engines love relevant and fresh content, while blogging is an inexpensive and straightforward way to create it. When publishing fresh content consistently, you are providing Google, Yahoo, and Bing with new material to index. And if you insert the right keywords that your target audience uses to search for things they need, you’ll move up in SERP.
3. More Opportunities for Sharing
Blogging creates an opportunity for your website visitors to share links to your blog. It is one of the most powerful benefits of blogging that creates the potential for viral traffic. We have many different sharing platforms available today, so visitors can share links on their social media, email it to their peers, or even send them via messaging apps (such as Viber or WhatsApp). This strategy will help you feed your social channels and keep a steady flow of shares, website traffic, and inbound links to your blog post.
4. Lead Generation
When you install a signup form on your site, your blog will become an effective lead generation method. A signup form enables users to give you their email address in exchange for a newsletter about product sales, discounts, giveaways, new content, case studies, and so on. These users are your qualified leads with the potential to become purchasing customers.
5. Connect People to Your Brand
An intangible yet essential element of marketing is brand awareness. Blogging will allow you to show your visitors and prospects the personal side of your business. You can communicate your brand message, tell the story behind your business, what motivates you to do what you do, and will engage your customers in a way that is not possible with outbound marketing techniques.
Blogging is something you will want to take advantage of if you’re going to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and increase your online exposure. We may say that running a blog is a must for startups and small businesses. Remember that you need to be consistent and patient to develop your skills, maintain a high rank, and build a strong relationship with your readers and peers.