Will Humphries — February 10, 2017 Follow @JustCallMeWillDespite the emergence of new content formats and features, your blog remains central to effective content marketing.
It is typically the interactive hub of your website and delivers numerous benefits you can’t achieve through other tools.
Blogging is the most important aspect of content marketing when it comes to generating organic traffic.
Yes, there is a lot of work involved. However, your blog gives you a voice with your customers and offers you the opportunity to be seen as an expert in your particular industry.
The following is a look at several primary reasons a blog is still critical to lead generation through content marketing.
People Want Answers and Advice
The majority of individuals faced with a problem turn to the web in search of information or a solution. Your blog is an important place to offer information and answers during initial awareness and consideration stages in a buyer’s investigation.
Your blog is also the best place to deliver advice to people facing problems that your company addresses.
You Can Drive Conversions
If your information is valid, it sets up a call-to-action for a solution. Precise blogs with accurate, in-depth information demonstrate credibility and authority on a given topic. As a result, you earn trust with someone uncertain about how to resolve an issue initially.
Your blog content guides the reader through the discovery phase of problem-resolution. Toward the end of your post, a well-executed call-to-action points the reader toward the next step of the journey.
Depending on the situation, the CTA could drive downloads of more in-depth whitepapers or case studies, or connect to a landing page where you provide specific solutions.
Google Loves Freshness
Fresh content is a major factor in Google’s search engine results placement (SERP) algorithm. Since your main website pages are typically static, a business blog is the best on-site strategy to post fresh content consistently.
Writing two to three new blog articles each week offers Google, and other search engines, fresh, relevant content to scan when they crawl your site. A diverse range of topics also expands your reach in user searches.
Increased blog content production is a trend in content marketing as companies want to get more information in front of prospects.
You Achieve Engagement
The most effective marketing strategies in 2017 produce high levels of engagement. Again, as your website pages are one-sided, your blog is the best on-site platform to invite conversations with prospects.
Do this from your social media platforms. However, make sure you have the time to contribute to these areas. A lack of presence & interaction on social media when people do engage with your content can have a negative influence.
You can enable comments on your blog to gain feedback from readers and to allow you opportunities to respond to any questions or concerns.
Blogs are Inexpensive
Relative to traditional media advertising, blogs are very inexpensive to operate.
You already invest in the technology infrastructure, such as servers and software, so it is only a limited additional investment in that area.
The allocation of people or contract fees to content creation is moderate. Plus, the content can live indefinitely on your site, allowing for a long life span.
Wrap Up
Integrating videos, graphics, white papers, case studies and other content formats into your marketing strategy is wise.
However, the major benefits of a blog in lead generation prove it remains central to your content marketing strategy.
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