Seven Reasons Why Your Brand Needs a Blog
According to research from The McCarthy Group, approximately 84% of Millennials report disliking advertising in general. Today’s customers don’t want to be advertised to; they want to engage with informative, interesting and entertaining content. This is only one of the reasons why it’s crucial for your brand and for organisations across all industries to maintain blogs on their websites.
The benefits a blog offers aren’t merely theoretical. Several case studies demonstrate blogs have the potential to yield major brand advantages.
The benefits a blog offers aren’t merely theoretical. Several case studies demonstrate blogs have the potential to yield major brand advantages. SnackNation offers one such example. According to a study by Backlinko, SnackNation boosted homepage traffic by 59% after its marketing team performed thorough keyword research and used what they discovered to build an effective blog.
Major brands have also used blogs to improve their results. For instance, according to Pride et al.’s Foundations of Business, Marriott CEO’s blog has generated $5 million worth of bookings for the company. That’s a clear return on investment.
Still not convinced? Here are seven good reasons why your brand needs a blog.
1. The Ultimate Data Magnet
Blogs are incredibly valuable because they provide brands with a regular source of information about their customers. In essence, blogs are data magnets. Every time a piece of content performs well and engages readers, you can use this data to determine what type of content is worth focusing on in the future. This makes it much easier to develop an effective marketing strategy.
Your blog also provides you with general information about the interests, tastes and behaviours of your customer base. Other members of your team, such as marketers and salespeople, can leverage these insights to improve their strategies and interactions with the customers.
2. Make Your Brand Searchable
Your website is a crucial business investment. In the digital age, your brand needs consistent web presence in order for potential customers to discover it.
A blog helps your business take full advantage of its website. Posting frequently allows you to improve your SEO strategy, target numerous keywords and boost your odds of appearing in relevant results for searches undertaken by your customers.
In the digital age, your brand needs consistent web presence in order for potential customers to discover it.
3. Show How Unique You Are
It’s essential that content marketing teams produce unique content. Simply distributing content others have created isn’t enough to establish your brand’s identity or authority.
As a marketer, you can use a blog to not only create original content, but also to determine how that content is distributed and who it reaches. This allows you to exercise a greater degree of control over your strategies. Unique blog content also makes it easier for your brand to differentiate itself from competitors.
4. Boost Your Reputation and Authority
Major brands have used blogging to establish themselves as authorities in their niches. Mint.com is one example of this. As explained on Mashable, Mint.com grew very quickly thanks in no small part to its MintLife blog. By enforcing high editorial standards, posting often and sharing genuinely valuable advice with readers, the blog made sure that customers associate this brand with authoritative personal finance advice.
Blogs are effective at helping companies build reputation and define their brands because when companies post strong entries on a regular basis, their customers end up associating them with their blogs’ content.
When companies post strong entries on a regular basis, their customers end up associating them with
5. Supports Your Outreach
Various team members at your company may need outreach content they can use to catch the attention of potential leads. For instance, a salesperson may need branded content to build the trust in the company and its ability to deliver. It can also be a great way to rekindle the interest of former customers or turn existing customers into active brand ambassadors. Blogs ensure your team has large volumes of relevant content to share.
6. A Megaphone for Your Expertise
People need to take your brand seriously before they can become loyal customers. That’s why it’s essential that you find ways to demonstrate your brand is authoritative and trustworthy.
Blogs are fundamental in this capacity. For instance, if you were handling marketing for a bank, your blog could focus on topics such as investment best practices and tips. This would serve two purposes. One, it demonstrates your expertise, making your brand more reputable from the perspective of customers. Two, it provides readers with genuine value. As a result, they may share the content with others, return to your blog often for additional informative content and generally engage with your brand more frequently.
7. Generates Personal Connections
Marriott is an excellent example of a major organisation that’s succeeded in using blogging to form personal connections and boost revenue. Because both Marriott’s CEO and President have blogs published under their own names, they can engage with customers on a more personal level, giving a human face to the brand. The result? A return on investment worth millions.
As these examples demonstrate, it doesn’t matter whether your company is a start-up, a multimillion-dollar business or simply a one-person operation: a strong blog will always deliver major benefits.