When we started White Space Marketing Group, we weren't focused on buzz words like inbound marketing. But, after years of working with large corporations, where moving brand performance was challenging and complex, we were moved by the use of metrics to guide marketing decision-making.
What does this have to do with business blogging?
As you wrap up plans for 2017, with the newest bright and shiny marketing approach competing for your attention, you may be inclined to question blogging—especially when it's not a new idea, and the results aren't instant.
You should question the results of every marketing tactic—with a metrics-driven philosophy, so do we! But the impact of blogging is well established, and we wanted to share the latest data to illustrate why we continue to be fans.
Don't tell me, show me
In marketing, it's tempting to want to strut around and show off our feathers. We love to talk about ourselves, our product and service features, our brand offers. It's more difficult to remain outside of our own business view and talk to the topics that motivate prospective customers.
But the purpose of a business blog is to offer insights and information that resonate with the reader. Rather than selling in an idea, we want to address the questions, pain points, and curiosities of the audience.
How well does this work? Let’s summarize the proof that supports business blogging.
Why prioritize business blogging
So, how did you arrive on this page? I must have registered a relevant, relatable idea that encouraged you to click on “read more.” Voila, you're on the White Space Marketing site.
Now that you’re here, take a look around. You'll notice that page is not designed around our team, or our collective experience and accomplishments. It’s about the revenue goals and marketing solutions that surround growing companies, with a focus on how to connect the two. In other words, it’s all about you.
Now look deeper: there's a menu of services, a call-to-action that offers more information, even a form to fill out so we can continue the conversation. This is how it works: the right content attracts prospects, and provides a path for them to begin to engage with your company story.
The 70% compounding advantage, and other powerful proof
Each individual blog post sits on your site as a page that gets indexed - and ranked - by search engines. SEO happiness! But here's one data point that's even harder to ignore:
- Compounding content: statistics show that 70% of monthly blog traffic comes from blogs posted in previous months. That's like having a salesperson who works for you 24/7, and never takes a vacation!
- Blog content, optimized for search, can be shared on social media networks that get crawled by search engines. Maybe your site won't rank #1 on your most important keywords, but connecting your content to social media is a powerful way to short cut the system and get found.
- Blog content on your site provides original material to share in social media, in addition to the curated content you share with connections.
- A blog page provides real estate for a call-to-action that can generate a contact or lead; a gentler selling tool that invites - rather than forces - a visitor to engage with your brand.
- Sales enablement is the big win here:
- Readers of your blog come to the sales process more educated about you, your brand, and your insights about the subject matter readers care about. See DMD's blog to witness high value content that has driven most of the organic traffic and qualified visitors to their website content.
- High value blog content serves as a discussion point for your sales team. Insights can be mined based on what a lead reads. Now, there's something to talk about besides "me, me, me." This is your path to becoming a trusted adviser rather that a smarmy sales person.
- Give sales people a chance to author a blog post and they become a subject matter expert in the eyes of a prospect. That's more than a feel-good suggestion; it imbues your sales team with intelligence and heft beyond the commission.
- Blogging more than 2x/week begins the trajectory. Don't be discouraged. Inbound marketing is a hungry beast, but the results speak for themselves.
Don't Give Up!
It can be hard to keep committed to your company's blog. There are always competing priorities, and the results may be hard to see at first. But stick with it—it's worth the effort. The key is to create a schedule and a process to keep things moving.
What's your company's experience been with blogging? Is it building momentum and driving results, stuck in low gear ... or (horrors!) still on your marketing checklist?! We'd love to hear.
2018 will be here before you know it. Contact us for a Whiteboard Consultation, for a fresh point of view on how to achieve your company's growth goals.