Consistent blogging has become one of the most popular inbound marketing strategies out there, and we're a fan! But what is the appeal of investing in writing informative articles for your target customers and does it work? There are a lot of stats out there (thanks, HubSpot and Moz!) that help us understand and quantify what the actual value of blogging is. So if you're a company deciding whether to invest in (or ditch) the company blog, this can help you decide which way to go.
Improve your ROI
The main thing people seem concerned about is whether blogging gives you a return on your investment, and the answer is an overwhelming yes. According to Hubspot, businesses who prioritize blogging experience a 13X increase in ROI, year after year. We generally suggest blogging at least twice a month. More if you can still keep it high-quality content. If you can only afford to post 1 blog every six months, your efforts might be better off being spent elsewhere. But if you can blog consistently, and follow the basic practices of making a blog engaging and educational, blogging generally has one of the best ROIs of all content marketing tools.
Be Human and NicE
So, of course, you need to have a return on your investment in order for blogging to be worth it for you. But sometimes measuring the ROI can be hard. The main way people measure this is through measuring conversions, clicks, and leads. But another, less qualitative measurement to keep in mind is the reputation that your blog is building amongst the online community. As a large company, there are only so many ways you can define your brand, and blogging is a really easy one.
This crazy long infographic tells us that 60% feel positive about a company after reading their blog. It is a great way to get those warm and fuzzy feelings flowing about your company by putting a human voice out there that is educating and inspiring, versus just selling, selling, selling. In general, blogs are more read and appreciated in B2B businesses. This might be because they add a touch of personalization and humanity that can otherwise lack in business transactions.
Be Helpful
The "soft" marketing approach to blogs is another one of their greatest benefits. Building trust is important to make the sale and doing this can be hard now that business is moving online. The same epic infographic above shows us that 90% of readers find the content USEFUL and that 82% of readers enjoy reading valuable blog content from companies. The blogs of today are the friendly customer service and sales agents of yesterday: they help potential and current customers, keeping the sale on the back burner until the customer feels informed and empowered enough to choose for themselves. And with Google being the main place that people will answer their questions, blogs are a way to access curious potential clients looking for answers from someone they can trust.
Get Leads!
HubSpot allows us to just get in there with some STATS:
77% of internet users read blogs.
Small businesses with blogs generate 126% more leads.
Companies that blog have 97% more inbound links.
B2B marketers that blog have 67% more leads. Blogging is proven to get you more leads. This is because you will attract more traffic, you will have more content on social media that links back to your website, and you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, growing the level of trust people have for your brand.
Good blogs lead to good, solid leads that can change the way your online marketing works for you. The keywords here are “Good blogs.” Many people have jumped on the blogging bandwagon which means there is a lot of competing content out there. Opt for more quality over quantity. The online world will thank you.
Want to check out some other stats about the marketing landscape in 2018? Check out this infographic!
So...why not?
We probably sound all rah rah rah about blogging, and we are. For most people. But sometimes blogging is a bad idea. If you can't commit to doing it consistently, it might not be worth your time. It takes effort to maintain a blog. Results aren’t always immediate and consider there may be more effective ways to use your time. As with most things, the benefits of blogging, and whether it's the right marketing choice for you, depends on a lot of variables. The best thing to do is do industry-specific research before diving in and getting started.
–––––
How healthy is your brand? Take this free 20-question survey to find out.
Consistent blogging has become one of the most popular inbound marketing strategies out there, and we're a fan! But what is the appeal of investing in writing informative articles for your target customers and does it work? There are a lot of stats out there (thanks, HubSpot and Moz!) that help us understand and quantify what the actual value of blogging is. So if you're a company deciding whether to invest in (or ditch) the company blog, this can help you decide which way to go.
Improve your ROI
The main thing people seem concerned about is whether blogging gives you a return on your investment, and the answer is an overwhelming yes. According to Hubspot, businesses who prioritize blogging experience a 13X increase in ROI, year after year. We generally suggest blogging at least twice a month. More if you can still keep it high-quality content. If you can only afford to post 1 blog every six months, your efforts might be better off being spent elsewhere. But if you can blog consistently, and follow the basic practices of making a blog engaging and educational, blogging generally has one of the best ROIs of all content marketing tools.
Be Human and NicE
So, of course, you need to have a return on your investment in order for blogging to be worth it for you. But sometimes measuring the ROI can be hard. The main way people measure this is through measuring conversions, clicks, and leads. But another, less qualitative measurement to keep in mind is the reputation that your blog is building amongst the online community. As a large company, there are only so many ways you can define your brand, and blogging is a really easy one.
This crazy long infographic tells us that 60% feel positive about a company after reading their blog. It is a great way to get those warm and fuzzy feelings flowing about your company by putting a human voice out there that is educating and inspiring, versus just selling, selling, selling. In general, blogs are more read and appreciated in B2B businesses. This might be because they add a touch of personalization and humanity that can otherwise lack in business transactions.
Be Helpful
The "soft" marketing approach to blogs is another one of their greatest benefits. Building trust is important to make the sale and doing this can be hard now that business is moving online. The same epic infographic above shows us that 90% of readers find the content USEFUL and that 82% of readers enjoy reading valuable blog content from companies. The blogs of today are the friendly customer service and sales agents of yesterday: they help potential and current customers, keeping the sale on the back burner until the customer feels informed and empowered enough to choose for themselves. And with Google being the main place that people will answer their questions, blogs are a way to access curious potential clients looking for answers from someone they can trust.
Get Leads!
HubSpot allows us to just get in there with some STATS:
77% of internet users read blogs.
Small businesses with blogs generate 126% more leads.
Companies that blog have 97% more inbound links.
B2B marketers that blog have 67% more leads. Blogging is proven to get you more leads. This is because you will attract more traffic, you will have more content on social media that links back to your website, and you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, growing the level of trust people have for your brand.
Good blogs lead to good, solid leads that can change the way your online marketing works for you. The keywords here are “Good blogs.” Many people have jumped on the blogging bandwagon which means there is a lot of competing content out there. Opt for more quality over quantity. The online world will thank you.
Want to check out some other stats about the marketing landscape in 2018? Check out this infographic!
So...why not?
We probably sound all rah rah rah about blogging, and we are. For most people. But sometimes blogging is a bad idea. If you can't commit to doing it consistently, it might not be worth your time. It takes effort to maintain a blog. Results aren’t always immediate and consider there may be more effective ways to use your time. As with most things, the benefits of blogging, and whether it's the right marketing choice for you, depends on a lot of variables. The best thing to do is do industry-specific research before diving in and getting started.
–––––
How healthy is your brand? Take this free 20-question survey to find out.
