Social media has affected blogging in a way not imagined before. Blogging has been traded for tweets and posts on Facebook and other social networks. No doubt social media is a great development and a great tool for marketing, however, it does not match the array of purposes served by regular blogging.
There are several benefits of blogging that are specific to various industries. However, we will discuss just two areas and leave it to the informed readers to understand how it will benefit their area of operations.
- Blogging is beneficial to attract visitors
- Blogging helps in link building
Relation between blogging and visitors
When blogging began it was the primary tool of communication with a website’s visitors. However, all that changed when social media sites appeared on the horizon. Product updates, news, product launches, etc were all discussed and communicated via blogs. Today social media is used for these purposes. But it is important to note that social media posts cannot match a blog’s inherent quality. Blog is a place where visitors go to when they need in-depth information or in-depth insight. Here is how you have to calibrate your blogging strategy:
For current visitors:
Current visitors are ones that visit your blog or know you as an information source. Do not blog to update daily events. Use social media posts to achieve that objective. Blogs should be used to reinforce your expertise and your trustworthiness. Discuss in detail, for example if you are in the food business discuss about recipes or write reviews about the best restaurants.
Blog is a place where you build your authority. It is not a place where you convert, but a place where you highlight your credibility which eventually helps in conversions.
For new visitors:
Since the blog post is on your website it can be used to drive traffic to pages that are conversion oriented. If you do it correctly you will build trust and encourage conversion.
Keep your focus local so that your followers value your opinion. Specific targeting helps in conversions. However, please keep in mind that blog traffic does convert at a slower rate.
Blogging for links:
Your main website should be geared for conversions while your blogs should focus on giving information. For example someone finds your blog interesting and informative, that person will then post a link to your blog on their website/blog.
If you operate in a particular field, try to find sites that have great content on that particular field. Follow authors that exhibit authority and read their blogs and posts. Write a great piece of content on the points missed by that author and send it to them via social media or send it directly. This will not pay off immediately, but it will slowly build your reputation as a source and you will be rewarded with links.
Another way to generate links ethically is via systems such as Zemanta or other content distribution systems. Purchasing links is not such a good idea.
Blogging tips
- Write about all the new developments in your business/industry. Become a resource for information.
- Write about new products that come in the market or the changes you expect in your industry
- Keep a close watch on what others are writing on social sites like Twitter and Facebook about your industry, and then go back, do a thorough research, and write a long informative piece. This should attract visitors and help in building links.
Blogging is difficult but maintain a schedule. Start with a volume you can easily maintain. Start with one post per week and when something new and exciting happens, start posting more frequently. This is better than writing prolifically in the beginning and then tapering off.
Second, categorize your posts so that visitors know where to find what. And last but not the least; maintain a high degree of quality in your content.