Want more customers? Start blogging!
Content marketing isn't a new concept, but understanding exactly what your blog represents and how it correlates to sales is imperative when building an effective blog marketing strategy.
How a blog strategy connects to sales
A blog is really just a place on your website that hosts articles. It can act as a news feed of sorts or a dedicated place to house short and long-form content. Tags and categories make it easy to organize and label content, creating a place for visitors to quickly sort and find exactly what they are after.
Content is one thing - but how exactly does a blog post create a customer? In the age of information, we face an educated audience where buying decisions are often researched thoroughly. The search for information relative to your industry and service/product can quickly connect your business to potential customers.
Here’s a very simple way to look at it:
This is called an inbound strategy and is often dependent on SEO (discussed below) and a well-crafted website that's focused on communicating your value and capturing leads. That same content can work into your outbound strategy as well (also discussed below).?
The big takeaway here is that a blogging strategy creates content that is educational and influential in your industry. Your business can build trust, gain authority and?move customers down the sales funnel?by nurturing and educating them with great content.
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Building and leveraging a holistic blog strategy
Your blogging strategy should have a multifaceted approach that maximizes reach. The major traffic sources for most blogs are:
In an ideal world, reaching a hyper-relevant audience will drive more sales. While you do want to reach the most relevant audience, casting a wide net is never a bad idea either. Capturing eyes through LinkedIn and social posts can create a buzz around well-written content, giving it the legs for more sharing and reach.??
Before you share that content on social channels or put money into an ad campaign, you must invest time in the research and writing phases of blogging. Keyword research and SEO are the foundations for any blogging sales strategy.
Keyword research and SEO
Your B2B blog strategy (or B2C) begins with keyword research for SEO and gaining a general understanding of the demand for specific content. The research reveals what your potential customers are searching for and what questions they are asking.
Various tools are available for research and you can quickly build a list of relevant search phrases to target. Next, take this list and break it into specific briefs for individual blogs based on the subject matter. Pull the blog topics into a calendar and start scheduling posts.?
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You now have an active content calendar specific to blogging! Add other forms of content like case studies, sales brochures, and?lead magnets?and your business has a full content calendar that powers sales.
Empowering sales reps
You’re busy writing and sharing blog posts and other content to build traffic and educate your audience. Traffic is growing and more?sales leads?are coming through the door but the sales reps aren’t grabbing content and using it to close more deals.
You are probably asking -?How do I get reps to use content in sales?
Your marketing and sales departments shouldn’t work in silos. Share the blog posts and content with sales reps but also show them?how?and?when?to use these assets. Timing is everything and categorizing blog posts and content assets into funnel stages will help reps know when to take advantage of each resource.
The content will help them answer questions, educate the prospect and move them down the funnel without hard selling. As a team, you can?hit sales goals?consistently by deploying content in your sales strategy.
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Quick FAQ:
Why do I need SEO?
Keyword phrases define the demand for specific content and information. SEO satisfies that demand by answering the questions and providing the information desired by your audience. Well-written blog posts that meet the SEO standards of search engines will drive hyper-relevant traffic to your business.
In layman’s terms, SEO helps connect your business with the audience seeking answers to problems (relevant to your niche). Your potential customers are looking for information and you will supply it to make that initial connection.
Why do I need a content strategy?
Your content strategy helps you build assets that power sales. Content educates and engages prospects while building authority and trust in your business.
How can blogging increase sales?
Blogging can drive traffic to your business, engage new customers, and generate leads. The blog posts are useful, informative, and establish a relationship with the prospect.