Blogging has become obsolete! No one likes to read a lot of text anymore. The attention span among internet users is dwindling. Why bother with articles when you have videos – the medium with the highest engagement levels?
Do you hold the same opinion? If yes, you’re not alone. However, this is a common misconception among content creators and digital marketers. A recent study reveals that 77% of internet users read blogs.
The importance of blogs in inbound marketing goes beyond this. They are not just relevant but also hugely impactful. Here’s how:
1) An Integral Part of SEO
Your blogs will act as a vital source of website traffic. If you write and optimise your content in an SEO-friendly manner, there is every likelihood of your website featuring in the top search results.
And it’s a well-known fact that the majority of internet users nowadays don’t even bother going to the second page of the search results. The more times your blog is ranked highly in organic searches, the more chances of your website getting excellent traction.
2) Nurtures Credibility & Trust
Generally, people tend to click on results that appear organically. People are wary of ads and don’t like to be sold anything. Content marketing works tactfully in this scenario. It gives them what they are looking for.
It aims to position itself as the solution to their problems and subtly and indirectly promote a product or service. A prime reason why blogging is perceived to be better than traditional advertising.
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3) Boosts Inbound Links
Inbound links or backlinks is the success metric of any content marketing strategy. Your overall SEO performance is directly proportional to the amount of high-quality inbound links generated from other portals.
Therefore, it’s vital not to take your foot off the blogging pedal and keep publishing informative and engaging articles on a frequent and consistent basis.
4) Showcases Your Depth
If it’s storytelling, you’re aspiring, if getting into the nitty-gritty of a subject is what you seek, then the ideal medium has to be a blog. Where else can you provide the depth of your product or service you envisage?
Pick any topic and compare a two-minute video with a 2000-word blog. You’ll realise the shallowness of the former.
A blog allows you to dive deep into the subject matter, create a narrative, set a tone while utilising multimedia to bolster audience retention.
5) Generate More Leads
Blogs are a cost-effective way of amplifying your lead generation process. Let’s assume someone is searching for the best mutual funds to invest in, and he comes across your blog.
If it is written and packaged beautifully and provides an answer to his query, there is every chance of him seriously considering the insurance company you promoted in the article.
Are you convinced about the benefits of blogs? Good. Now, the two most significant factors to ensure that your blog achieves its potential are:
a) It Should Address Users’ Queries
One of the parameters to gauge the quality of a blog is if it’s providing solutions to what users are searching. It’s the foundation of content marketing.
b) It Should Be In-Depth
If you intend to maximise the efficacy of your blog and inbound marketing strategy, your content must be as informative as possible. Nothing’s worse than reading a blog that merely scratches the surface and written hastily.
What About the Frequency?
Be it social media marketing or inbound marketing, one of the big mysteries affecting digital marketers is the publishing frequency. Should I do it multiple times a day? If the quality is top-notch, will one blog per week suffice?
The truth is – there is no right answer. In the same way, there is no wrong answer.
The formula is something you’ll have to conceive after multiple trial and errors. However, the accepted norm is three blogs a week minimum provided you’re able to churn out quality blogs. And it never hurts to publish more.
Bear in mind to avoid adopting an extreme strategy. This means that neither poor quality and multiple blogs a day, as well as stellar-quality once in two weeks, will work.
Now that the value of blogs in an inbound strategy has been reaffirmed, here’s hoping that you’ll give it its due importance.
