The Importance of Bloggers in Digital Marketing
Working in digital marketing comes with various benefits in regards to enhancing your creativity. Whether you’re working in sales, PPC (pay per click) or SEO, creativity is key to evolving and developing your mind.
Today, however, we’re going to be diving into the deep-end of SEO and tackling the illusive whale that is blogging.
Now, blogging’s relationship with digital marketing is one that’s sort of on and off… a bit like Ross and Rachel from Friends – sometimes it works really well, sometimes it’s a train-wreck. The point is that at the end (hopefully) everyone’s happy.
Blogging in Digital Marketing
Right now, out there in the digital world, one of the main debates is whether blogging still has a place – or at least an effective place – in today’s social media marketing environment. Well, I’m here to quickly and effectively answer that question with a big, fat, sexy yes.
It’s also worth mentioning that size doesn’t matter. So, if you’re a small business, or a multinational company, blogging is integral to your online content marketing strategy.
Here are 4 reasons you need to blog:
- Blogging drives organic traffic to your website
- Blogging increases your SEO/SERP
- Blogging can position your brand as an industry leader
- Blogging helps build better personal customer relationships
So, let’s start by talking about driving traffic to your website!
Writing Drives Traffic to Your Website
The best thing about having a company blog is you’re fully in control of what you want people to see, or more specifically, read.
Having a blog allows you the personal privilege to create relevant content for your customers. There are many different ways to ‘sell’ your writing online but all you need to worry about is driving that traffic!
Your style of writing is arguably the most valuable weapon you have in the digital world. In fact, it’s the sword to your armour. Sure, your armour is going to shield and withstand the majority of stuff in the digital world.
Armour is a safety net, it’s PPC, it’s AdWords, it’s sales, things that follow rules and patterns. Writing, however, doesn’t follow any pattern, it’s entirely subjective. Writing is your sword, sharpen it, blunt it, swap it for a giant mace, do whatever you need to do in order to smash your readers minds with quality content (do not literally smash their heads with weapons, this would be unwise).
Your blog should be the hub for all your social media platforms. If, like many other businesses you’re on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram, you’d be wise to utilise these platforms to promote your blogs. This can be done by posting relevant images/visuals of your articles or generally by giving your social followers a reason to want to click through and read more!
Additionally, it’s wise to post inbound links directly into your articles. This is a neat idea because people may hit those links to continue reading an article, or it may lead them onto another part of the website where a conversion may be made.
Optimise Your SEO
As everyone should now know, SEO is incredibly important for brand and business growth. Shelling out fresh, engaging and groundbreaking content is guaranteed to beat your competition in the search engine results side of things.
One of the most important tools within your SEO armoury is keyword research. Using keywords in your blog will help you rank for the word, product or brand you’re trying to promote. Knowing how to utilise keyword research is incredibly useful, knowing what categories, topics and lists your company wants to be found with is the first and most important step to appearing higher on that search term.
Of course, whether you want to fully utilise keyword research (actively placing keywords in your article) or not, the simple fact is that if you’re writing about your business, your product, your service, chances are you will rank for these keywords anyway. However, you’re sure to raise your rankings if you do know how to correctly use keyword research.
Why is keyword research important? Well, keywords and topics on your website are a significant way in which Google (and other search engines) find your site for these searched words. Once Google (or whatever search engine) recognises these keywords and trusts your site, you should see your website climb the ranking system.
Assert Yourself! Become a Brand Leader
There’s nothing more off-putting than finding a website you think you trust, only to find they’ve misspelled something, or thrown in a random comma when it’s not needed.
Granted, this is coming from a somewhat bias viewpoint, as I’m a writer.
However, my point still stands:
poorly written content = a big dent in your chances of securing a conversion, or continued reading.
By showing your knowledge through content, you’re getting readers engaged and you’re developing a trusty relationship. In theory, this means that readers will return to your site to receive more information.
In short, more visitors = more trust = higher rankings. Simple!
However, things do change depending on the service you’re offering. For example, if you’re a retailer, write content about your products. Your customers will grow to understand the style you’re adopting, and hopefully this will become part of the reason they buy your product.
If you’re in B2B, you’ll want to post well-written, research-infused articles about your service.
What this all boils down to is trust. The more trust you can show your followers, the more they will return to your site. Supply the people with what they need and in such a way that’s different, or quirkier than the competition.
Build Better Customer Relationships & Use YouTube!
Similar to the previous points, building a relationship with your customers is key.
Look at YouTube for example. More and more people are jumping on the YouTube marketing bandwagon because of the exposure that comes with it.
Let me explain.
So, let’s say you’re wanting to sell your product, let’s say that your product is an energy bar, snack, whatever. You’ve written all your content and done your research but you’d like more exposure. You head on over to YouTube and search for gym/fitness fanatics who talk about their topic (usually fitness-orientated). You approach them and offer them a deal for promoting your new energy bar.
Why YouTube? Because it’s essentially becoming a new form of television.
YouTube personalities grow in popularity every single day and their influence is gargantuan, just look YouTubers like Zoella, PewDiePie and Joe Weller are so trusted by their audiences that they could sell you a peanut and make it seem as if it’s the one thing you’ve always needed in your life.
No, it’s not snide and it’s not taking advantage of the audience. What it is, is trust that’s been built up over a number of months (even years) and it’s a pretty damn clever form of millennial marketing.
So, go and start scouring YouTube for potential personalities to help grow your brand. It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?
So, Grab Your Pen (or Keyboard!)
In today’s media market, blogging is no longer just an individual’s hobby. Instead, it’s become an important tool for the business of the modern world. The best thing about blogging? It doesn’t cost a penny. Sure, you can flood money into building a website, but the content is the key factor here.
Websites like gottagettablogger.com are always looking for guest bloggers to flesh out their website with quirky content, they usually have very good discounted offers as well. It’s sites like these that help promote quality content and help new bloggers find their feet in the digital world.
Blogging is no longer just an individual’s hobby; it has become an influential tool for the businesses of today. Blogging has created an even playing field among businesses, allowing “mom and pop shops” to compete with the Fortune 500 companies. You do not need millions of dollars to maintain a blog; it simply requires someone educated in your field or even willing to do research in order to consistently update and educate your readers.
So, get out there and start using that imagination of yours! Don’t fall into the trap of copying others, make your mark and shell out some fresh content that’s going to get people talking (and sharing!).