You have probably heard that blogging is an essential marketing tool for your business — but why is it important? We will be covering what blog posts are, why they are an important element in online marketing, what makes a good blog post, and how to know what to write. Whether you are new at blogging or you want to see better results for your existing blog, there are a lot of ways to drive traffic to your website!
What are blog posts?
If you have spent any time on the internet, chances are you have come across a blog — like this blog post! A blog (short for “weblog”) is a regularly updated online journal for business or personal use. The typical composition of a blog is text along with pictures, videos, or gifs. Bloggers will write about advice, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and information on a particular topic, or they may keep a record of activities. The purpose of a business blog is to drive more traffic to your website in order to close more deals.
Benefits of blog posts
When you are busy running a business, blogging may seem like it’s not worth the time and effort. It may also seem daunting to publish your writing for the public eye. Let’s dive into why blogging is an essential marketing tool you don’t want to pass up.
Drive traffic to your website: If you have a business website, how are people currently finding it? Without blogging, the majority of viewers already know who you are and are interested in your business. This won’t help you gain more customers. Your website probably only has a few pages and you rarely update it. Sound about right? Blogging will help solve both of those problems. Business-to-business (B2B) marketers that use blogs get 67% more leads. Companies that have more than 16 blog posts get 3.5 times more traffic to their website. The more content you have published, the more your website will show up in search results and drive more traffic from an organic search. The increase in web traffic will lead to more opportunities for you to close business and your reputation will grow.
Promote your products and services: Those that visit your website will be exposed to what you offer as a business. You have the opportunity to promote the value of your products and services in great detail, however, don’t write about all the features of your offerings. This will bore your readers. Instead, explain how your products and services can improve their daily lives. Write about what your customers are most interested in about your business. Blogs help you control the message about your business and explain how similar consumers have benefitted from your services. Providing valuable information will bring back former viewers and generate new leads.
Build credibility with customers: The greatest asset for your business is building loyal customers. This takes consistent effort to prove that you are a high-quality and reliable brand. Your writing will prove that you are an expert in your field and build solid online rapport.
Repurpose content for social media: The information that you blog about can easily be reformatted for social media posts. Don’t reinvent the wheel every time! Your social media posts can provide snippets of information that you cover on your blog. You can even direct your social media followers to related blog posts to learn more.
What makes a good blog post that drives website traffic?
As with all marketing, there are more effective approaches than others. Anyone can write about their business, but some brands drive more traffic to their blogs than others. Let’s talk about what makes a strong blog post.
Be consistent: Consistency in marketing is key to your success. You want to stay top-of-mind with your customers. The more consistent you are with publishing blogs, the more exposure your potential customers have to your brand. This will build credibility for your business, and ultimately, will help you reach your goals.
Be consistent in the small details of your blogs. By creating a template in line with your company’s style (font type, terms, grammar, etc.), your content will be more professional and easier to create.
Search engine optimization (SEO): Strengthening your SEO will generate more leads and close more deals. Google processes over 8.5 billion searches a day. Google Trends will show you the past and current volume of the keywords and phrases your niche target audience is searching for online. Adding these to your blogs will strengthen your footprint, making you more visible and easier to find.
Concise blog topic: The subject of your blog needs to be clear and compelling. Readers want to know if it’s worth their time reading your blog. Make the subject matter direct so they can anticipate what they will be learning. Construct a punchy title loaded with keywords to create interest and optimize your website.
Headings: Most readers will skim through the headings of blogs to find what is most interesting to them. Clear and concise headings help guide readers to what they are searching for. Take SEO into account by including keywords and phrases to create strong titles and headings.
Offer solutions: Readers are searching your blog to find answers to problems or questions. Offer your distinct take on a matter and what you believe the best solution is. Readers that return to your blog have built a connection with you and rely on your insight for solving related issues.
How to generate new ideas for your blog to generate website traffic
Whether you are a novice or already have experience writing blogs, coming up with new blog ideas can be a challenge. The good news is that there are several avenues to generate topics so that you don’t feel like you are running out of ideas. Here are 5 ways to get you started:
Ask customers what they want to hear.
Send online surveys to find out what questions or issues your target audience has.
Read the topics that your competitors address on their social media and blogs.
Share what your company is learning.
Research Google autocomplete results — Google search a list of industry-related topics in an “incognito window” to see what people are already searching.
Blogging will get easier and flow more naturally the more you do it. Make a plan for what content you want to share and how often you want to share it. It’s time to start writing! If you still don’t know how to get started, we are happy to help you reach your marketing goals here at Jamias Creative. Let us know by filling out the form below!