Firstly, a blog is short for web log, where business owners, hobbyists, authors and more can write and publish content. There is a common misconception that blogging is out, and video is in, and that’s not entirely true. Although video has been on the rise and can help increase your engagement, blogs are still crucial for aiding your online marketing and sales tactics, just in different ways.
Writing content that speaks to your target audience will help them perceive you as a thought leader amongst your competition. Blogs will typically be posted within a blog section or tab of your business’ website. So, in addition to establishing yourself as a thought leader, you can improve your websites SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by utilizing keywords respective to your industry, geographic location, and target demographics.
These blogs can take shape as either short or long form content. Short form content means the blog post is below 1,000 words, whereas long form content ranges between 1,000 and (roughly) 7,500.
Some other examples of short form content are shorter news articles, promotional emails, and even social media captions.
Now that we know blogs can take shape in two different forms, you may be asking, what scenarios are appropriate for which?
This is ultimately up to the business owner or content creator, however there are a few instances where long form is best. Case studies, how to guides, and tutorials are a couple examples where long form may be more ideal than short. Also, assuming the content is providing value to the consumer, studies have shown that long form can cause website traffic to stay on webpages longer. This will subsequently improve your rankings within google, making it easier for your customers to find you online.
It also helps to look at your website data, this can determine if you need to change up your content style. If your page view times are low or, your bounce rate is high, this could be an opportunity to experiment with long-form blog posts.
Now that you understand why it is important to blog, and some of the basics regarding their structure, it’s time to figure out some topics. As the business owner or content creator, you are the expert on this material. You should be able to hit the ground running, speaking about how your product or service will add value to the consumers life. You can compare different products and services, so customers know which best suits their needs. As well as speaking about the consumers pain points, and how YOU can eliminate them.
There is only one more step to go… Start blogging!