Blogging about blogging – using blogs within your digital marketing strategy

Girl on tablet with social media icon chalkboard

(Source: Hawk-Bridges, 2013)

We’ve all heard about blogging and odds are you’ve read a few, however what is it and how can your business benefits from it? Simply put, blogging is “the action of writing a series of journals or articles online” (Tracey, 2015) which are often surrounding a particular subject; for example a blog about fashion normally wouldn’t start suddenly writing articles about ‘algae systems in north Yorkshire ponds’.

But before we start with the how lets begin with the why of blogging and your business. Akehurst (2009) found that using blogging can benefit your business in 3 key ways:

Developing trust

Lets be honest, you really shouldn’t trust everyone you meet on the internet. It’s exactly the same when someone meets a new business, you might look great but why should they trust you to be as wonderful and great as you say you are. Akehurst’s research found that using blogs as part of you digital marketing strategy created an element of assurance towards a brand as individual engage and often are able to respond to blogs through the ‘comment’ section. This ability for 2 way dialogue also allowed people to (hopefully) agree with blogs and thus leave reviews of said blogs. Statistics show that 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendations (Engine Land, 2012), making these reviews a powerful marketing tool within themselves.

Targeted marketing 

As a general principle, the internet increases the effectiveness and efficiency of traditional marketing functions. So when you’re trying to target a specific audience then what better way than creating specific content that users will be searching for. For example if you’re an airline looking to promote your flights to Cuba, then writing a blog about “10 thing about Cuba you’ll love” engages users from the start. Akehurst’s journal also found that the conversion rates from using blogs were a huge benefit, due to the targeted nature of blogging.

Continued interaction

This is kind of goes hand in hand with trust, if you trust a source of information you’re going to go back for more right? The journal found that individuals who used blogs went back to look for more information on similar topics. One of the key benefits of using blogs is the ability for the information to also be easily shared, creating electronic work of mouth; combining the ability to share through social media hugely increases the reach of your business (potentially limitless… well as limitless as the number of social media users out there..).

blogging1

(Creativebloq, 2016)

How to use blogging with your business?

So the why’s are pretty convincing now we need to move on to the how. The joy of blogging is you can go as deep or as shallow as you want, but here are the key points on how to get it right (Bridge, 2014):

  • Be committed. There is no point in writing one blog and then giving up. If you start writing a blog you need to commit to writing it regularly – once a week or once fortnightly is perfect.
  • Think about why you are doing it. It needs direction, are you doing it to create awareness in a specific product or service? Or keeping it broader?
  • Consider what kind of customers you have. Lets be honest, if your customer base don’t use the internet or are not likely to be checking out blogs, then this might not be for you..
  • Don’t over do it. A blog doesn’t have to be a novel. Your customers are busy people, 400-800 words is plenty.
  • Make it interesting. How many times have you started reading something and then stopped because it was sinfully boring? Don’t let that be your blog, make it interesting and engaging!
  • Write it as if you are blogging to one person. A great tip is to imagine you’re writing it to one person. Imagine your stereotypical customer and write it as if you were chatting to him.
  • Tell people what to do next. At the end of your blog provide a signpost to where readers go from here. If you want readers to buy your stuff, provide a button for them to click. If you want them to comment on your blog or share it with friends, or register for special offers, tell them how to do that too.
  • Don’t expect fireworks. Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’ll take time but build up a strong and loyal following about people interested in your business and you’re laughing.

 

So there we go, you know why and how now. If you want an example of a website which does it fantastically click here, or otherwise check out this video for great advice on how to design your blog using the popular ‘Blogger’ website.

References:

Bridge, R. (2014). SME Masterclass: How to blog. Available: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/docview/1551526199?pq origsite=summon&http://ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/login?url=accountid=9727. Last accessed 10th Apr 2016.

Creativebloq. (2016). A history of blogging. Available: http://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/history-blogging-51411626. Last accessed 10th Apr 2016.

Engine land. (2012). Study: 72% Of Consumers Trust Online Reviews As Much As Personal Recommendations. Available: http://searchengineland.com/study-72-of-consumers-trust-online-reviews-as-much-as-personal-recommendations-114152. Last accessed 10th Apr 2016.

Akehurst, G. (2009). User generated content: the use of blogs for tourism organisations and tourism consumers. Springer Science & Business Media. 3 (1), p51-61.

Hawk-Bridges, T. (2013). Get Clients by Blogging – 7 Steps. Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tammy-hawkbridges/post_5679_b_3968811.html. Last accessed 10th Apr 2016.

Tracy, T et al (2015). Social Media Marketing. 2nd ed. London: Sage. p94-125.

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