Several research works have shown that business owners have much to gain from running blogs as it has proven time and time again to be one of the best marketing tools out there. DemandSage reports that as of 2024, B2B and B2C businesses that blog generate 67% and 88% more leads respectively than those that don’t.
Buffer, a social media management company was able to get over 1.5 million monthly visits to its website. It did this by creating high-quality informative and consistent blogs focusing on its audience’s needs. This shows beyond reasonable doubt just how powerful a blog can be because the more visits your website gets, the better the potential for lead generation.
This article will guide you through the most important steps you need to take in building a blog that can effectively promote your products and services, and ultimately generate leads.
Ensure Authentic Content
81% of customers say they need to trust a brand before they can patronize it; this shows that businesses need to go out of their way to prove to potential customers that they are legit. And you can’t do this by posting unoriginal or mediocre content on your blog. Buffer was able to get over 1.5 million monthly visits because of the quality of their content. They didn’t just write about their product; they wrote on topics their readers cared about.
Another example is the Ignitioncasino blog which has a collection of unique content that is not only entertaining but also educating. In many cases, especially when playing strategic games like poker, it’s necessary to have some knowledge of poker hands, strategic decision-making processes, and so on, and this blog offers several articles to help players understand these concepts better. This kind of helpful, original content keeps readers coming back for more.
Many successful online casinos also use their blogs to share player stories and highlight big wins. This kind of authentic content can further build readers’ trust in the brand. Seeing others’ success stories will make the brand more credible and potentially boost players’ confidence to try games on the site.
Use Visual Content
Blog posts with pictures get 94% more views than those without pictures. Using visual content in your posts is not only about making your blog posts look good. Pictures have proven to make blog posts more engaging and less intimidating. A long block of text can be boring and overwhelming, but with pictures at the right intervals, your readers can get a necessary break from reading. This might even give them a little time to digest what they are reading.
We can see an example with Neil Patel, a successful digital marketer. He breaks down complex data and statistics with infographics and this makes it easier for his readers to comprehend his content. He also shares memes and GIFs occasionally to make his content relatable.
Leverage Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
75% of people never go past the first page when using search engines. This means that you have to join the millions of blogs fighting for a place on the first page of search results. This is where Search Engine Optimization comes in.
SEO helps your target audience find your post when they search on search engines like Google. It focuses on making your blog rank high on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). One popular SEO strategy is the use of keywords. These are the words or phrases your target audience is searching for.
A great example of good SEO in action is the website SnackNation. This company was only able to get 10 to 100 monthly searches for its keyword at first but it managed to rank #1 on Google after targeting search terms with higher search volumes.
Promotion Across Channels and Networking
Promoting your blog across different channels (like social media, email, and other websites) can boost traffic on your blog significantly. Statistics reveal that more than half of customers hear about businesses on social media.
Networking with other bloggers can also be really powerful. This type of connection can help with link building which is another SEO strategy. It simply means getting other websites to link your blog and it has proven to be one of the most effective ways to promote a blog.
Those who like case studies might be interested in the digital success of a usual pet insurance company called Bivvy. While this type of service heavily relies on social media, they didn’t overlook the opportunity to develop their SEO strategies, and after the professional maintenance, the organic visibility of their website increased by more than 700%.
Final Thoughts
Although there are several ways to build a valuable blog for customers and ordinary readers, the final decision about strategic approaches should be up to the company. One thing to remember is that blogs are not created to directly promote the brand but rather to be helpful to people, give some guidance, and provide authentic content.