6 Things Every Organization Should Know About Blogging
Remember the last time you redesigned your website? It was a lot of work, and it took your team away from many other projects. We know that building websites is real work. Maybe that's why the thought of adding more content to that website each month is daunting for a lot of businesspeople. But it can be done, and there are lots of smart marketing reasons to keep your content fresh. Here are six rationales to consider a more robust blogging effort.
1. Blogs Can Ignite SEO
The web is full of incredible statistics on how much blogs increase your site rankings on search engines, but let’s be real: no single action leads to instant spikes in search engine listings. Sure, our team has worked on blogs that boosted traffic 10x, but those were smart, strategic blogs combined with social media marketing. Yes, our team has seen search engine listings move from page 3 to page 1 and even to the first organic listings on the first search pages. However, we had to do a lot more than just create a blog. We spent a lot of time populating the blog with keywords, linking out to sites, creating inbound link relationships, and promoting our blogs aggressively on social media and digital platforms. Long story short, really good blogging can ignite SEO, but hardly ever as a standalone. And at Cup O Content, we do really good blogging.
2. Blogs Can Attract Leads
When you blog educational or persuasive content in a conversational tone, it's easier for prospects to get to know your business. When your blog digs deep into what you do and how you do it, you also increase the reader's confidence in your product and services. Combine this with a reason to click on a button or a trigger to submit contact information, and you have the start of a good lead generation program.
Once you have the basics in place, you can start creating campaigns to qualify leads, target messages by audiences, and make offers that appeal to different sets of customers. Cup O Content can help you create lead-generation programs that deliver a steady stream of customers.
3. Blogs Can Pull People to Your Site
Adweek reported that 23% of all time spent online is spent on social media sites. We’re big fans of finding people on social media sites and then pulling them to your website. Creating traffic from platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter is one of the most effective ways to build web traffic. But you can’t pull them in with boring content. Instead, you need to attract them with the newsy, story-telling format blogs provide. When you combine blog excerpts with compelling images and a link to the blog, you’ll create a social media path that keeps people coming to your site.
4. Blogs and Paid Social Media ads
If you want to see substantial increases in web traffic, you’re going to have to get comfortable with social media advertising. While it may feel smart to get “free” exposure by avoiding ads, social media platforms have caught on. Most notably, in 2014, Facebook began prioritizing content from friends and family over Pages. Some analysts report that most organic posts from Facebook’s business Pages will only reach about 2% of their followers. So if you want your best customers to see you, prepare for paid advertising. The good news is that social media advertising is targeted, easy to localize, and pretty darned affordable. Cup O Content can walk you through it, help with analytics, and place ads.
5. Blogs Reduce Bounce Rates
Most websites have a high bounce rate, which means that visitors leave your site quickly. There are some bad reasons for this (pernicious bot traffic) and some good reasons: many people know where to go and how to get there quickly. Bounce rates may not be a problem for your organization, or they may be a huge game-stopping issue.
Your best option is to reduce bounce rates is to slow visitors down by providing as much sticky content as you can, the kind of content blogs provide. For example, online users are notorious skimmers. They jump from site to site quickly, grabbing what they need and then moving on. However, if users find reliable content that helps them make better decisions in their homes, families, or careers, they will spend a little more time on your site. That’s why it helps to include lots of subheads (better for skimmers to absorb quickly.) Also, make sure you have highly accessible contact information at the top of the page and the end of the blog (and in the header and footer, and, okay, maybe throughout the copy.)
6. Blogs Are a Great Excuse for Images and Videos
Pictures and videos are kings online. Videos will get more attention, but they also take exponentially more time (and money) to create. Balance videos with compelling images and word pictures. Remember that online visitors are skimmers (see above). Pictures tell stories quickly, signaling to visitors that they may want to pause a moment to read more. Cup O Content recommends adding images or videos to each blog, with complementary images on social media sites promoting the blog.
Want to get Started?
Are you ready to make smart blogging a part of your marketing strategy? Let us create a blogging or content marketing strategy that helps your business reach your marketing goals without breaking the bank. Contact us today for a no-cost consultation.
Want to read more blogs about blogs and content? Check out these Cup O Content articles.
