Yes, and here are OVER 20 statistics to prove it.
I hear it all the time; VPs, directors, owners, and managers ask the same question, “Do I need a blog for my business website?” They know that digital marketing is everything in today’s marketing landscape, and search engine optimization (SEO) drives the whole thing. But is a blog the best way to increase website visitors, gather potential leads, and connect with current customers? Wil it actually drive the important metrics?
The answer is yes. You do need a company blog.
If you stop reading now, you’ve already come to the core of this article. But if you want to know why the answer is yes, read on, my friends.
The Purpose and Importance of Content Marketing
First, we must understand that a blog is just a piece of a brand’s entire content marketing strategy. It should be a massive part, but it’s still a part of a whole. That strategy should generate as brand awareness and attention from search engines as possible via SEO. Through regularly updated SEO content, the engines find your pages, index them, and determine who will see them and when. Appeasing their algorithms is vital to better search engine rankings.
Also…
Content marketing is all about your customers. Great content demonstrates your brand’s authority in your field. It tells your audience who you are, what you offer, and why they should care. You can build life-long customers, and position yourself as an industry leader through content focused on education and entertainment.
Optimizing for both parties is hard, and creating content is a huge undertaking. It takes a lot of hard work and time. It also requires resources. And because engaging content often avoids direct selling, it can seem like little more than marketing busy work.
I promise you that it’s not. Content marketing, specifically blogging, is the most powerful marketing tool you can harness while being faster, scalable, and more affordable than you think.
Let’s get into some statistics that prove my point. By the time we wrap up, I think you’ll find blogging one of the most critical and easiest ways to strengthen your brand’s marketing.
Your Customers Love Blogs
Blog articles are a great way for potential customers to connect with you and your brand without feeling squeezed for a sale. Now more than ever, that’s a significant factor in purchasing trends, regardless of industry.
There’s no question that this marks a major change in advertising. If you had told marketers in the 1980s that not all ads need a call to action, they would have kicked you out the door. But today, it’s working on a massive scale.
Companies are making a killing by switching to lifestyle branding and connecting with individuals on everything from YouTube to social media, and especially blogs. Content marketing creates connections by entertaining their audiences, informing them about the brands’ expertise, and not asking for something in return. And stats like this one show that the public is happy to engage.
7 out of 10 customers prefer promotion through articles rather than ads.***
Techjury.net
Why do blogs work so well? Simple. It’s about relationships and relational transactions. Blogs engage your audience as humans, not cash machines. They give first and ask for the sale later, if at all. We approach our day-to-day interactions like this; why not our marketing?
This approach removes the psychology behind tugging on emotional strings, ad pitches, and headlines (Let’s ignore clickbait right now). It creates trust, and, according to this statistic by Techjury.net, nearly every one of your customers genuinely loves it!
77% of internet users read blogs.***
Techjury.net
Still not convinced? Consider this; email marketing is still one of the most effective marketing methods, and countless companies send an email newsletter with excellent results. I offer email marketing services, by the way. Companies spend untold millions on crafting winning email marketing campaigns. And yet, according to Optinmonster,
Internet users in the US spend 3X more time on blogs than they do on email.*
Optinmonster
It’s easy to understand why blogs get more attention than email. After all, a healthy email marketing campaign often directs readers to the blog. It’s all part of your sales funnel. And that’s what it comes down to; The sale at the end. Right? Blogs are only worth it if they increase conversions and sales.
Guess what? They do! They even do it when your customers don’t plan on buying.
34% of buyers will make an unplanned purchase after reading quality content.**
SemRush
Obviously, a blogger writing a blog about blogging thinks you should have a blog. No surprise there. But hopefully, these statistics prove that your audience wants you to have one, too. More importantly, your bottom line demands it.
Content Marketing Trends
I hate to use the scarcity sales tactic on you, but it’s a big reason you need a blog. As SemRush points out, you need one because everyone else – at least the successful ones – has one.
84% of companies have a content marketing strategy.**
SemRush
Over the last decade, blogging and content have quickly become the #1 marketing channel, regardless of industry. But they are especially impactful for those of us in MI and pro audio. If you sell music gear, you don’t have to beg your customers to check it out. They’re already pouring over the photos, product pages, and details. They love gear, and they want to know everything about it.
That’s why successful brands focus less on traditional artist ads and instead interview the artists for a YouTube video. They don’t tell you about the bass’s round low end. They put it in Nathan Navarro’s hands and prove it. They don’t talk you into a purchase. They give their customers hours of resources for free.
The companies with a successful blog give their audience what they want are killing it in marketing. They’re the ones with massive website traffic and who end up on every gear blog imaginable. But those who publish their own blog control the customer experience from top to bottom. Maybe that’s why Optinmonster finds that,
53% of marketers say blogging is their top content marketing priority.*
Optinmonster
The numbers aren’t a fad. Active blogs are so effective and proven that most brands are doubling down on their efforts.
Over 80% of marketers plan to turbocharge their use of original content.***
Techjury.net
These are the brands that rule the top of the search results. Why are they committing so much time and resources to blogging and content? Because it works. According to Optinmonster,
72% of online marketers describe content creation as their most effective SEO tactic.*
Optinmonster
So, blogging works, the most successful companies in your industry rely on it, and your customers want you to offer your own. That should be enough reasons to jump on board. But if you’re still wondering if it’s worth it…
The ROI of Blogging
Look around the web and find countless musical instrument and pro audio manufacturer websites littered with abandoned blogs. Many have, at most, a few product announcements from a year ago.
Why? Because if you don’t know what you’re doing, quality blogs are hard to create, take a ton of time, and require a substantial investment. You spend hours composing your first article, post it to your site and watch closely as nothing happens. It’s discouraging and seems like a massive waste of time and money.
Here are the most common questions and barriers brands experience when considering a blog. Tell me if they sound familiar.
Don’t worry. I also offer solutions.
#1: Time
Writing great-quality content takes hours out of your day. These are hours you need for every other aspect of your brand. If you delegate the writing to someone on your team, you’re pulling them from the other tasks you need them to accomplish. And again, time is money.
The Solution:
Contracting a copywriter who is both an expert blogger and an expert in your industry puts the time back in your hands. They (we’re talking about me here if you haven’t caught on.) will do the research, create the content schedule, and compose the winning articles, all while you stay focused on the jobs at hand.
#2: Price
Whether you tackle a new blog on your own or have someone else take care of it, jump into it wrong, and it’ll cost you. That’s enough to make most decision-makers run the other way. Marketing agencies charge a premium, and keeping it in-house means paying someone else while eating up their time. And since time is money…
The Solution:
Because this “hypothetical” expert offers quick turnaround times and already knows the subject, they can keep their rates affordable and built around your budget.
#3: You don’t know where to start
Whenever you’ve considered a blog, you’re paralyzed by questions like, “How often should I post?” “How long should each post be?” “Do I have enough blog topics to post about?” You know that you don’t want to be the size of The Huffington Post, but you need regular content that addresses your audience.
The Solution:
A professional content writer is well versed in the trends and requirements of top-rated posts. They know what to post, when to post it, and what it should include. They can make it one of the easiest ways to optimize your online presence out there.
#4: You’ve already tried, and it didn’t work
As I’ve pointed out, the internet is full of single-post blogs and blogs that are essentially withered billboards for products. Maybe this is you? Have you posted a few articles but didn’t capture any new leads?
The Solution:
Blogs and SEO content are a marketing marathon, not a sprint. While that means they can take a bit to hit their stride, results that produce for years will come. Here are some more stats to prove it.
Adding a blog to your existing website can increase traffic by as much as 434%.***
Companies who blog get 97% more links to their websites.*
Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to have a positive ROI on their efforts.*
On average, companies who blog produce 67% more leads per month.**
SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (such as direct mail or print advertising) have a 1.7% close rate.*
Businesses that blog experience twice as much email traffic as businesses that don’t.*
Updating blog posts can increase traffic by 106%.**
Blog posts remain the most effective form of content over email, ebooks, and white papers.**
Sources at bottom of page
You can also share valuable content across all of your social media platforms to capture even more organic traffic.
Here’s where I try and sell you on me…or another blogger…but mostly on me.
Hopefully, by now, I’ve convinced you that you need a blog for your business. But crafting a winning blog isn’t as simple as pounding out some words about product releases, marketing drops, and self-promotion. You need an expert who can connect you, your audience, and search engines in a meaningful way.
The best way to achieve this is through cultivated posts that give more to your audience than they ask for in return. And, believe it or not, there are some rules to this. For instance, while engagement trends are constantly changing, longer articles are the way to go.
You may have noticed that by now…ahem…
On average, long-form content generates eight times more page views, three times more social media shares, and nine times more leads than short-form content.**
Longer blog posts have up to 77.2% more inbound links than shorter ones, blogging statistics for 2020 showed.***
Bloggers who write articles of 2,000+ words are far more likely to have strong results.*
Sources at bottom of page
But, of course, size isn’t everything. If your content isn’t top quality, you’re not getting to the top of the search results. But if it is…
Blog traffic can increase to about 2,000% through quality content.***
Techjury.net
“Quality” is admittedly hard to quantify. Even Google keeps moving the goal posts on what it means. But there are some general traits most high-ranking blogs share.
- They’re from brands with established authority in their fields.
- They are well written and keep readers engaged to the end.
- They are well researched and offer accurate, relevant content on their subject.
- The companies regularly offer new content.
A professional content/copywriter knows how to craft blogs satisfying all three. And it’s easier than ever to measure the results. Platforms such as Google Analytics give instant insight into what’s working and not. What’s driving the brand, and what’s falling flat. Again, a pro writer keeps a close eye on all of it.
The point is that getting the right results from your blog requires some serious know-how. Knowing about the subjects is just the start. So you want a writer who knows you, your brand voice, your products, and your goals. They must understand your audience’s likes, dislikes, interests, buying habits, and questions. They also definitely need to know what Google wants.
I know just the guy.
The Wrap Up
I’m obviously not afraid to ask for your business, but that’s actually not my goal here. I simply want to encourage you to launch a new blog today. It’s one of the most powerful marketing tools and easiest ways to climb those search engine result pages. With content-marketing continued marketing domination, it’s also a necessity.
Most importantly, your target audience wants it, it works, and you can do it.
All I ask of you is a great conversation with someone who loves your products. Then I can l put together a blogging package perfect for your brand, budget, and audience. And it’s all done via careful keyword research and an eye on SEO, putting you in front of more people than ever before. I’m happy to help.
So, does your business need a blog? Yes. Yes, it does. And now you know why.
Until next time…
Statistic Sources
*https://optinmonster.com/blogging-statistics/
**https://www.semrush.com/blog/blogging-stats/
***https://techjury.net/blog/blogging-statistics/