There is a specific marketing tool that is cost efficient, shareable, generate leads, and establishes lasting authority in the industry and search engines. A simple tool marketers can use to educate and is sought out by customers.
Newsflash: it’s blogging.
A cornerstone of inbound marketing, think of blogs as an ocean and web traffic as the river and rainwater that dumps into it. Blogs are both sought out by customers searching for a solution on Google can be used to target audiences by supplying potential customers with relevant content.
Social Media
Creating constant content on social media is difficult, especially when you’re in a creative slump. Providing followers with blogs can be a simple way to provide additional, in-depth information to customers. The engagement will also bring them to your website and drive traffic to other web pages.
Social media marketing turns your followers into free, grass-roots marketers. As they comment, like, share or retweet the post, it will show up in their friends’ newsfeeds. Even better, your followers’ friends likely share similar thoughts, attitudes and lifestyles, meaning they’re more likely to use your product. A great piece of shareable content can bring potential customers to your website and turn them into sales.
Types of content
Depending on your service, a blog can be written to target industry experts or consumers. For instance, this article will likely be read by companies seeking strategies to market their brand, service or product, who, in turn, can use their own blog to target a consumer audience. Using multiple social media accounts can help differentiate between these two audiences—like Facebook for consumers and LinkedIn for industry experts.
Establish Authority
That brings me to my next point. By providing the right content, a well-written blog can establish authority in the ever-changing media landscape. Customers will look to your blog as a go-to to answer for their problems. Or leading industry experts can follow your blog for advice or catch tips and pointers applicable to their situation. Whichever you choose, establishing authority in your industry and the online world is a major key to success.
Once you have customers hooked on your product, use blogs to further explain your services or any new updates. Customers will feel more comfortable buying and using your product if they know the bells and whistles.
This newly established expertise can turn into marketing campaigns as well. Give your readers and customers a chance to subscribe to weekly newsletters to establish a dedicated following and constant website traffic for SEO purposes, which we will explain in a bit.
Search Engines
When problems arise, a customer’s first move is usually to scour the internet for advice and answers. This is perfect for your company. By providing them with advice, not only do you establish your company as an expert before they walk through your doors, but you lead them to your site as well. Linking your company’s services within your blog can turn a google search into a sale. Place yourself in your customers’ shoes and ask “what will they be searching?”
SEO
Search Engine Optimization is vital in staying relevant in the digital world; blogging and SEO pair hand-in-hand. A great SEO legitimizes your brand and puts you at the top of search results, further driving you traffic which, in turn, improves your SEO through increased website traffic. Think for a second, how often do you click to the second page of a Google search? The better and more searchable the blog, the higher up it will be in a Google search. This means using keywords and phrases customers are likely searching. But you must strike a balance between keywording and providing adequate, readable content, as keyword stuffing will lead to poor content and readability. When in doubt, always choose readability and quality over keywording, your customers will appreciate it and your company will give off a more verified, professional impression.
In addition, blogs are the gift that keeps on giving. Blogs continue to generate traffic as potential customers continue to search for solutions to their problems—a 6-month-old blog on storm damage can generate plenty of website traffic during storm season. With more traffic comes more SEO, so a blog frequently read by customers—both reoccurring and new—increases online authority and establishes expertise amongst online algorithms. This comes back around full circle, creating an endless cycle of SEO improvements.