Blogs – or weblogs, as they were originally referred to – have been around since the 90s. What started out as an easy way for regular folks to publish recipes, new ideas, and opinions has evolved into one of the most popular tools for generating organic traffic.
Although the information presented in blogs usually takes on a more informal tone, the goal is to give readers valuable content. Companies can tailor their blogs to cover topics that will interest and engage their buyer personas. These efforts help to build authority and establish a business as a go-to for industry insights. In the digital era, blogs come out as the fifth most trustworthy source of gathering online information.
In short, a blog is an individual web page on your website that displays text-based information, but can also be embedded with images, videos, permalinks and calls-to-action (CTAs).
Some may question the need for blogs since so much of our content is consumed in audiovisual format these days. But the truth is, blogs are still critical for search engine optimisation (SEO). By leveraging keywords and creating insightful articles, you can continuously refresh your website with new content (Google loves that – websites that have a blog are shown to have 434% more indexed pages) and also cater to those leads and customers who prefer to read.
B2B organisations credit blogs for giving them 67% more leads compared to businesses that don’t invest in this medium. 57% of marketers state that blogging has aided in effectively growing customer base – a great reason to start blogging.
Blogging is an excellent way for your business to find its voice and build a brand through the sharing of helpful information with anyone who may be interested in your industry or your products and services in particular.
The more quality content you create – content that is precise, well written, and specifically concentrated on the topic you’re trying to cover – the more Google recognises your website as a legitimate source of information. This, in turn, means that you will start to climb higher and higher on the search engine results page (SERP) and invite more visitors to your website organically.
Blogs are a pivotal element in the customer journey, too. For example, if you sell a B2B product, and the buy-in process requires several layers of approval, having content available online makes it easier for employees to share information about your brand with key decision-makers. You can create awareness, consideration, and decision-stage pieces to nudge buyers along the sales funnel, by presenting them with the right information at the right time.
If you’re trying to implement an inbound methodology into your marketing practices, then blogs are a great place to start; this is because this type of content isn’t all about the hard sell. Sure, you can add some CTAs and guide website visitors to the next article or action you’d like them to take. But, in essence, a blog should be used as something that offers genuine help and information to the reader – whether that’s about your product in particular, or broader ideas surrounding your industry and your buyer personas’ pain points.
It’s important to note, however, that blogs fall within the realm of a greater digital marketing strategy. And while it’s okay to offshoot with the odd ad hoc blog that addresses current events, it’s important to have a clearly defined goal and purpose for each piece of content you create. Your blogs have to fit into your lead-nurturing sequences and should focus on the keywords you are trying to target.
Decide on your blog strategy by researching the topics that your buyer personas are searching for; these should determine your titles and content. Furthermore, consistency is crucial. Whilst there is no defined formula for how many blogs you should be publishing per month, it’s important to remember that quality matters far more than quantity. A poorly composed and presented blog may damage your reputation and discourage customers. Frequent publications that offer little substance will do you no favours, either. Invest time and effort in producing high-quality blogs that will attract interest, spark conversation, and educate your buyers.
If you’d like more hints and tips on how to make your blogs more powerful and effective for lead generation, check out what the master of blogs – HubSpot – has to say on the subject or read our last blog post: "5 Business Blogs That Drive Traffic, Leads and Sales"
HubSpot is a sophisticated marketing tool that allows you to build website content directly on the platform. From there, you can track and analyse how your blog performs by viewing traffic metrics, analysing the source of your traffic and the actions readers take on your page. By gauging this information, you can work to continuously optimise your blogs; whether that entails refreshing your most popular articles, tweaking your CTAs, or using more effective headings and images to draw attention to the content.
The HubSpot blog tool enables you to create templates and automate your process to optimise content without the hassle of repetitive tasks. HubSpot can also link to your social media platforms and automatically promote your articles to your readers. Use HubSpot to centralise all your blogging activity, view engagement, and manage the performance of your content.
As HubSpot Platinum Partners, we can help you to make the most out of your HubSpot blogging tool. What’s more, we can support you in creating a comprehensive marketing strategy that encompasses effective blogging for your business.
If you’d like to learn more about our services or find out how we can help with your inbound marketing strategy, click below: