Every so often you get a little flurry of articles about blogging and they all ask a variation on the same question. Yup, you guessed it. ‘Is blogging dead?’ Now, obviously I have a bit of a vested interest here. Writing blogs is a core part of my business so if everyone suddenly decides that blogs aren’t worth bothering with I might have a bit of a panic. Only a small one though. My granny was a farmer’s daughter and always taught me never to put all my eggs in one basket, so I do other stuff too.
So, is blogging dead? I don’t think so. Here’s why.
Blogging has changed
When blogging first emerged as a marketing tool it was easy to stand out because there weren’t that many people doing it. Audiences who were tired of hard sell marketing loved the fact that blogging offered useful information without the pressure. Since then it feels as if everyone and their budgie has a blog. The market is saturated and it’s harder to stand out.
The good news is that ‘harder’ is very different from ‘impossible’. These days, the key to building a successful blog is to treat it as part of a larger strategy. Frankly, if you want to succeed in business it’s exactly what you should be doing anyway. If all of your marketing posts have the same focus your blog can be a central piece of content that helps your audience get to know you and builds your reputation.
Video isn’t for everyone
If you really don’t like the idea of a written blog you can still do a video version. Even Facebook were taken by surprise at how quickly video has taken off and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere just get. The issue with a video blog is that you can’t say as much. Videos on social media are generally better in bite size form. You’ll probably be able to read this blog in about 5 minutes but if I sat in front of a camera and read it out to you then you’d swiftly nod off. I’ll generally do a video that gives a quick summary of a topic with a link to the blog if they want more detail, so they have a choice.
There’s also the fact that some people still prefer to read things. One of the main advantages for me is that I can read something while the kids build a Lego fortress around my feet. Try that with an unmuted video and I’ll suddenly have a 5 year old on my shoulder asking for YouTube. The point is that presenting your content in different ways means that you’re more likely to get the message across.
People are still searching
I keep hearing that SEO is dead, with keywords coming in for particular abuse. If you suspect that might be true, here’s a statistic for you – at the last count there were just over 63,000 searches on Google every second. That’s around 2 trillion searches a year. Google is still using its search algorithms to rank websites and individual pages into order of importance. That makes SEO important in my book.
What has changed are the techniques you need to use. Writing SEO content used to mean stuffing your blogs and website full of as many keywords as possible, regardless of whether they made any sense. When you’re blogging now it’s more important to create useful content that people will want to read. That way, when someone asks Google a question they’re more likely to find you as the answer.
If you’d like to find out more about how to use blogging as part of your marketing strategy, sign up to my mailing list. You’ll receive a copy of my free guide ‘Stop hiding your business’.
Further reading
If you’d like to read some interesting stats about blogging, here you go
If you’re a larger organisation it can be easy to think of marketing as part of someone else’s job description. It’s easy to understand why. If your business has invested in employing marketing professionals why not rely on them to do the heavy lifting? Leave the marketing training sessions to small business, sole traders and network marketing companies. The truth is that even when marketing isn’t your primary responsibility it doesn’t mean that you can’t play your part. After all, as far as your customers are concerned, every employee represents your brand. The question is, what do you need your team to do and what marketing training do they need?
Businesses come in all shapes and sizes, from the sole trader working at home to massive multinationals. The main differences in their marketing strategies tend to come down to budget. If you’re a one person business you’re unlikely to be able to afford to plaster your message on a city centre billboard or nab an ad slot in the middle of ‘Coronation Street’. On the other hand, creating written content is accessible to everyone. Any business can create a blog, but a lot of the people I talk to tell me that they don’t need to as they’re already writing articles. The fact is, while there are similarities they aren’t the same thing. Here’s why.
When you first start marketing your business it’s all trial and error. You might find that one post is a hit then something similar completely flops. Over time you can start to build up a picture of what your audience responds to and where your customers are coming from. Of course, it’s never quite that simple. Your customers’ needs change over time and external trends have a big part to play in that. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s having an impact on your business and what changes you might need to adapt to in the future. Getting a fresh perspective on your marketing content can help you to stay relevant and grow your business. Here’s why.
There’s a world of difference between wanting to start a blog and actually doing it. You might like the idea but when it comes to it you don’t know what to write. Perhaps you’re looking at your already packed schedule and wondering where on earth you’re going to fit it in. Maybe you’ve even tried writing your first blog and got stuck. You spend hours on it and get nowhere or think what you’ve written is rubbish. Sometimes all you need to get started is a bit of education. Thankfully there are lots of different ways that you can learn about blogging. Here are just a few.
When you want to learn something new there are usually a range of options available. Blogging is no exception (and if you want to know more about the ways you can learn about blogging, read this). Actually choosing the right method for you can be tricky. Do you opt for a workshop where you don’t know anyone and could be out of your depth? Would you rather get some 1:1 help? To be honest, you could find a way to talk yourself out of any of the options. If you’d prefer to learn in an environment you know will be friendly, you might want to consider training with a friend. There are all kinds of benefits. Here are my top 4.
I know, you’ve heard people like me bang on endlessly about using storytelling in your marketing. It’s a great way to get personality into your content and set yourself apart from the crowd. The thing is, how do you do it? It won’t surprise you to hear that it’s not just a case of telling everyone your life story. It’s all about balance. Your customers will love the fact that you’re relatable but they mainly want to hear about how your business can benefit them. Here’s how you can start using storytelling in your marketing.
It’s time that I came out of the closet. I’m one of ‘those’ Mums. The ones they warn you about when your child is starting school. I’m the person you’re encouraged to actively avoid in the playground. I’m the chair of the PTFA at my sons’ school. Before either of my kids started school I wouldn’t have had myself down as a PTFA person at all, even though my Mum volunteered at every school fair when I was the same age. I was invited to a meeting to write an article for the local magazine about the latest fundraising project and found myself inspired by everyone’s enthusiasm. I’m stepping down next term and my last event is done and dusted. I found myself wondering (not for the first time) why I took it on in the first place and what I’ve learned. Here’s what I came up with.
Whenever you create a new piece of content for your business you need to think about what you want it to do. I know that might feel as if I’m asking you to analyse every single little thing that you put out there (and I am) but it doesn’t have to be a pain. Your marketing has one really simple job to do. It needs to tell customers that you exist and convince them that you have something they need. I know it’s not that easy in practice but it gives you a good starting point. There are loads of ways that your content can achieve your aims. It could explain the benefits of what you offer, educate your audience or just raise awareness of your brand. Whatever you want each post to do, you need to follow it up with a good call to action. Here’s how it works.
I know that some of you roll your eyes when I start talking about technical stuff. Others rub their hands in glee. Whichever one of those you are, you need to know about A/B testing. This recent blog talked about getting to grips with your data by looking back and analysing what worked in the past. A/B testing allows you to do that in a much more dynamic way. Those quarterly or half yearly reviews are still important as they let you see the bigger picture. So what is A/B testing and why should you be putting it to work in your marketing? Read on…