Blog Marketing in 2017: What You Need to Know 

Blog Marketing in 2017: What You Need to Know 

For many years, it has been customary for businesses to use blogs to help drive traffic to their websites and convert visitors into paying customers. Although this is still a great strategy, the internet has changed a lot over the course of the last few years, and only businesses that understand this will truly see the maximum success from their content marketing efforts. Here are the top things to keep in mind to achieve success with blog marketing in 2017.

Educate More Than You Promote 

Internet users have become more wary of ads and marketing funnels than they were when the web was new. This means that selling products requires building trust with your audience, rather than just promoting products to them. The primary intent of a business blog that is going to be successful in 2017 and beyond should be to educate the reader. Of course, you should still promote by linking to relevant product pages or by inviting readers to contact you about your business and its offers. However, if the content you create offers value to readers regardless of whether or not they buy something from you, you will have succeeded in building trust with your audience.

Make Your Blog Mobile-Friendly 

Internet usage via smartphones has skyrocketed over the past several years. Businesses that do not set up their blogs to work well on mobile platforms are leaving huge amounts of potential traffic–and customers–on the table. If you have an existing blog that has not yet been set up for easy mobile navigation, doing so in the near future will be well worth the investment you will have to make.

Use Multimedia 

If you want your blog to stand out from others in your industry, make use of multimedia in your posts to give your visitors the best possible experience. Almost all blogs are already using one or two images per post because doing so is a good practice for improving search engine rankings. However, if you add rich, relevant images throughout your posts, supplement them with videos where applicable and add clickable interactive media (polls or surveys, for example), you’ll have a blog post that will offer far more value than one that is purely text-based.

Let Readers Get to Know People In Your Business 

Reading a blog post probably written by a ghost writer on a company’s website is not a very effective way for a reader to truly connect with that company and its brand. To get around this problem, your blog needs to let readers get to know you or your employees. One of the best ways to do this is with video content embedded in your blog posts, as this puts a name and a face to the business that the reader can relate to and get to know. Alternatively, have employees write their own takes on blog post topics so that readers can get insights from different people about the subject of the post they are reading. Anything that will help your reader connect with your business on a more personal level will be useful in building up more trust in potential customers.

Build an Audience 

Perhaps the biggest mistake businesses with less successful blogs tend to make is failing to provide a way for readers to engage with new content over and over again. To realize the maximum gain from your content marketing, you will need an email list sign-up that readers can opt into to receive updates about your business, your products and new blog content. By establishing a means of reaching readers multiple times, you will increase the chance that they will convert into sales with multiple exposures to your content.

Whether you are just starting your business blog or need to take an existing blog into the future, these tips will help you to achieve your content marketing goals. Above all, remember not to rely solely on your blog to bring you traffic. Of course, it is an important component of your marketing strategy, but paid advertisements, guest posts and social media channels should also play a role in your overall marketing efforts

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