Blogging For Beginners: A Guide to Blogging in 2021
In today’s climate, digital marketing is essential for businesses to get ahead of their competition. ‘But what even is digital marketing?’, you ask. In basic terms, it refers to any promotion of a business in the online sphere. This can include organic social media, paid ads, email marketing and blogging.
There are so many forms of digital marketing it can often be overwhelming to figure out how to start. It is also particularly difficult to decide which platforms will work best for your business and where you should focus your energy. Since MBP is passionate about helping businesses cut through the online clutter, we thought it would be a good idea to take a deep dive into one of our favourite forms of digital marketing – blogging.
Read on to find our beginners guide to digital marketing: blogging basics edition. We discuss everything from why you need one, what you should write about and how to build an audience.
Why you need a blog in 2021
When many people hear the word blog, they think of a ‘dear diary’ style online journal. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), this type of blog lost traction around about 2009. In 2021, blogging looks very different and often comes in the form of ‘how-to’ guides, top 10 lists and behind the scenes snippets of your business.
These days, blogging can actually be one of your most powerful marketing tools. On average, a person will have 7 interactions with a brand before they make a purchase. Therefore, having a consistently updated blog is a great way to regularly attract people to your site through offering engaging content. You can then continue to nurture that relationship by providing (you guessed it), more engaging content. It is a great opportunity to connect with potential customers, without constantly coming across as ‘salesy’. This in turn, builds trust in your business and keeps you at the forefront of a person’s mind when they are finally ready to purchase something.
The other great thing about having a blog is that the content doesn’t die as quickly as on other platforms. When we upload something to Instagram, the post lives for about 48 hours maximum. Whereas, a blog post can continue to gain traction for months, even years, to come. Some other benefits to blogging are as follows:
-It provides an opportunity to build your email list as you can include an incentive for them to sign up within the blog post.
-You are able communicate directly with customers without having to worry about algorithms.
-You can internally link to pages on your website meaning once someone has clicked onto your blog post they are likely to explore other areas of your website.
-Blog’s provide data that can be analysed and used to your advantage. For example, you can see which posts gain the most views, which therefore tells you what topics resonate with your target audience.
What should I blog about?
Your blog categories should encompass topics that your ideal customer cares about. This means the posts do not always have to be solely about whatever it is you’re selling, however, they should certainly be aligned with your brand. For example, a natural skincare company might have posts such as, ‘Top 10 benefits of switching to natural products’, ’How to create a skincare routine’ or a ‘Guide to mindful morning practices’.
For blogging to work as a digital marketing strategy, the most important thing is that you offer value to your readers. This will be the one thing that keeps them coming back to engage with you further. Creating value can often come in the form of positioning yourself as an expert in your field. If your blog shows that you are a helpful source of information, this will in turn enable the reader to feel confident about purchasing from you.
How do I get people to read my blog?
The biggest mistake people make once they start blogging is that they spend far too much time producing content and not at all enough time promoting that content. There’s no point in writing great articles full of great information, if no-one’s going to actually read it. To get people to look at your blog, it’s important to have a strategy for how you are going to share it. This means ensuring you are letting people know about the new post by sharing the link to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or wherever else you might already have an audience.
Arguably, the most effective platform for attracting more eyes to your blog is Pinterest. Incorporating a Pinterest strategy is often the missing link that can skyrocket your traffic. This is largely due to it being more similar to a search engine than it is social media, which therefore means it can show your content to people who aren’t already following you. Check out our other blog post if you want to learn more marketing your business on Pinterest.
Another way to get people to read your blog is through SEO, a.k.a search engine optimisation, which involves designing your post to include key phrases. This means that when people search for a solution to a problem using these keywords, your blog post will rank higher in search engine results. In our other previous blog, we discuss a number of other ways to ensure your website is optimised for search engines.
If you’ve been waiting for a sign to start a blog for your business, this is it! Not only can it be an excellent digital marketing strategy in 2021, but it can also be a fun way to creatively express what your brand is all about.
If this is still a little daunting for you though, feel free to Contact us at MBP today to learn more about how our digital marketing company can support your business!