You may be on the fence about whether your company needs a blog. But, what if I told you blogs are the most cost-effective ways to reach your audience?
Itâs true! Over 50% of marketers say blogs have increased their brand visibility, thought leadership, SEO, and web traffic. They add value to your company and turn your website into a priceless hub of information.
Still need convincing? Here are 10 reasons why your company needs a blog. Plus, weâve backed all 10 reasons with statistics. Go ahead, take a look!
1. Drives Traffic To Your Website
Blogs are a tried and true way of driving traffic back to your website. And because itâs a long-term strategy, website traffic actually improves the longer your blog sticks around. Hereâs why. For every 10 blog posts you write, one has the potential to compoundâmeaning website traffic increases over time due to organic searches. Once a blog post has compounded, it generates as much traffic as six regular posts.
2. Gives Your Brand a Voice
Your brandâs voice plays a huge role in your ability to connect with consumers. In a recent study, 80% of consumers said âauthenticity of contentâ was the most influential factor in their decision to follow a brand.
Brands often lack personalityâespecially in the financial services space. Add in ever-changing regulation and compliance issues, and it makes it even harder.
Blogs give you the ability to tell your companyâs story in a way that resonates with readers. You get to add emotion, develop your brandâs tone, and use storytelling to explain your products and services in a way that empowers your audience to take action.
3. Builds Trust With Your Audience
Trying to build trust with your audience is no easy featâespecially now when most businesses are online. A recent study shows 47% of buyers consume 3 to 5 pieces of content before taking the first step towards making a purchase.
Blogs are at the top of the sales funnel, so theyâre a great way to raise awareness about your company. As visitors come back to your website for help, they begin to trust you. That trust moves them one step further down your sales funnel.
4. Generates Leads
Companies with blogs get 67% more leads than those without. Blogs can be used to showcase products and services, establish your online presence, and improve your credibility. All these forces work together to generate leads.
Once youâve hooked a potential customer with a valuable blog post, a strong call to actionâsuch as a discount code or a free downloadableâcan be all it takes to get them to share their email address. Once you have that, you can follow-up and close the sale. 5. Improves Social Media Presence
Quality content and a strong social media presence are two of the four highest factors consumers use when determining the credibility of a blog. If you have a strong social media presence but no blog, youâre missing out on the opportunity to engage readers by asking them to share content they like, leave comments, and spark conversation.
6. Boosts SEO Have you ever googled something, then gone to the second or third page of the search results to find your answer? For 75% of us, the answer is no. All the info we need on a topic is usually right there on the first page.
But, how do you get your companyâs content to rank there? Through writing blog posts that are search engine optimized. Googleâs search engines are always on the hunt for new content. The websites that rank the highest are typically those who produce invaluable information on a regular basis.
7. Costs Less Than Paid Advertising
Did you know 70% of consumers learn about a company through articles rather than ads? This is good news for marketers as ads generally cost more than blogs. In fact, businesses who nurture leads (through blog posts, for example) make 50% more sales at 33% less cost than non-nurtured leads. Blogs are one of the best ways to walk your readers through every step of the buyerâs journey.
8. Stays Online Forever Blogs are around for virtually forever. The post you write today will still be online 10+ years from now. And as long as the content is evergreen, your audience will still find the information valuable. Thatâs why 28% of marketers have reduced their advertising budget and allocated those funds towards content marketing.
9. Makes Great Email Marketing Content Do you have a long list of emails youâve collected over the years? If so, a blog can be a great way to keep those users active and engaged with your brand. Businesses that link to their blog experience 2x the email traffic than those who donât. Every time you write a blog post, send your email list a link to it. This builds customer loyalty and keeps your company top-of-mind.
10. Encourages Inbound Links
Companies that blog receive 97% more inbound links to their website than companies that donât. Let that sink in. If a credible website reads your content and decides to link to it in one of their posts, it boosts your SEO and credibility with Google. The more inbound links you have, the higher your content will rank in search results.
The Bottom Line
Blogging is one of the most cost-effective ways to connect with your audience. You reap the benefits of increased sales, website traffic, and customer retention while customers learn to trust you and the products and services you offer. What more could you ask for?
Vested is a global financial content marketing agency with experience building and launching creative campaigns that resonate with your audience. If you’re ready to scale your content marketing efforts, contact us.
