6 Things Every Organization Should Know About Blogging

Remember the last time you redesigned your website? It was a lot of work, and it took your team away from a lot of other projects. Building websites is real work, so the thought of adding more content onto that website each month is daunting for a lot of business people. However, there are (at least) six good reasons to give a blogging effort serious consideration. 

1. Blogs can Ignite SEO

The web is full of incredible statistics on how much blogs increase your site rankings on search engines, but let’s be real: no single action leads to instant spikes in search engine listings. Sure, the Cup O Content team has worked on blogs that boosted traffic 10x, but those were smart, strategic blogs combined with social media marketing. Yes, our team has seen search engines listings move from page 3 to page 1, and even to first organic listings on first search pages. However, we had to do a lot more than just create a blog. We spent a lot of time populating the blog with keywords, linking out to sites, creating inbound link relationships and promoting our blogs aggressively on social media and digital platforms. Long story short; really good blogging can ignite SEO, but hardly ever as a standalone.

And at Cup O Content, we do really good blogging.

2. Blogs can Attract Leads

When you blog educational or persuasive content in a conversational tone, it's easier for prospects get to know your business. When your blog digs deep into what you do and how you do it, you increase the reader's confidence in your product and services. Combine this with a reason to click on a button, or a trigger to submit contact information, and you have the start of a good lead generation program.

Once you have the basics in place, you can start creating campaigns to qualify leads, to target messages by audiences, and to create offers that appeal to different sets fo customers. Cup O Content can help you create lead generation programs that actually deliver a steady stream of customers. 

3. Blogs can Pull People to Your Site

Adweek recently reported that 23% of all time spent online is spent on social media sites. At Cup O Content we’re big fans of finding people on social media sites, and then pulling them to your website. Social media is one of most effective ways to build web traffic. But you can’t pull them in with standard web content. You need the newsy, story-telling format blogs provide. Combine blog excerpts with compelling images and you’ll create a social media path that leads directly to your website. 

4. Blogs and Paid Social Media ads 

If you want to see substantial increases in web traffic, you’re going to have to get comfortable with social media advertising. While it feels smart to get “free” exposure by avoiding ads, the social media platforms have caught on. Most notably, in 2014 Facebook began prioritizing content from friends and family over Pages. Some analysts report that most organic posts from Facebook’s business Pages will only reach about 2% of their followers. If you want your best customers to see you, prepare for paid advertising. The good news is that social media advertising is targeted, easy to localize and pretty darned affordable. Cup O Content can walk you through it, help with analytics, and even place ads.

5. Blogs Reduce Bounce Rates

 Most websites have a high bounce rate. That means that visitors leave your site quickly. There are a few reasons for this. Most websites follow an established user experience format - people know where to go, and how to get there quickly. That may not be a problem for your organization, or it may be a huge game-stopping issue. Either way, high bounce rates are an online reality. Your best option is to try to slow visitors down by providing as much sticky content as you can, the kind of content blogs provide.

How do you create sticky content?

Online users are notorious skimmers. They jump from site to site quickly, grabbing what they need and then moving on. If users find reliable content that helps them make better decisions in their home, for their families, or in their careers, they will spend a little more time on your site. That’s why the folks at Cup O Content recommend lots of subheads (better for skimmers to absorb quickly) and to make sure you have accessible contact information at the top of the page and at the end of the blog (and in the header and footer, and, okay, maybe throughout the copy.)

6. Blogs are a Great Excuse for Images and Videos

 Pictures and videos are king online. Videos will get more attention, but they also take exponentially more time (and money) to create. Balance videos with compelling images and word pictures. Remember that online visitors are skimmers (see above). Pictures tell stories quickly, signaling to visitors that they may want to pause a moment to read more. Cup O Content recommends 2-3 images or videos per blog, with complementary images on social media sites promoting the blog.  

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Are you ready to make smart blogging a part of your marketing strategy? Let the folks at Cup O Content create a blogging or content marketing strategy that help you reach your marketing goals without breaking the bank. Contact us today for a no-cost consultation.