Blogs Are Outdated, Right?

WE MAY BE SKEPTICAL 

When you hear the term "blog," what comes to mind? For many of us, it might be an old jogging blog or a DIY blog. Perhaps we think of an obscure hobby with a blog dedicated to it. These types of blogs are what put blogging on the map, but they may sound a little dated to us now.

As leaders of industrial companies, we may be skeptical that blogging can add value to our businesses. However, if you're interested in establishing your business as a subject matter expert in the minds of your target audience, if you want your business to be found by the people searching for solutions your business can provide, and if you want to build trust with your target audience, then blogs are the way to do just that.

BLOGS SERVE A FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSE

Blogs can also be known as Learning Centers, resource sites, or digital academies. However, they all serve the same fundamental purpose: providing a platform to publish helpful content for your target audience. Helpful content can be in the form of articles, white papers, videos, tools, profit calculators, educational material, and anything that adds value to the people you're trying to reach and build relationships with.

BUILD AUTHORITY

Let's take a closer look at the value of blogs one by one. First, blogs can be used to establish your business's credibility and domain authority in your market or niche. When you educate, train, and inform your target audience, you build trust with them. They start to look to your business and subject matter experts as people who can help them and as a source of information that they can use to advance their business.

GET FOUND

Second, blogs can help you get found by your target audience. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial component of this. As you publish helpful content, you attract traffic, and other websites will link to your content. People will find you online, and Google will rank your website for the keywords that your website contains, helping you get found by the people who are looking for the products and services that you offer.

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

Lastly, blogs can help build relationships with your target audience. By being genuinely helpful to your target audience, you build trust. You publish information that helps them make decisions about purchasing your products and educate them on how they can use your resources and other tools to achieve their goals and solve their problems.

Building relationships takes time, but it increases the likelihood that your audience will want to do business with you when they're ready. According to Gartner research, only around five percent of business-to-business customers are actively in the buying stage at any given time. That leaves 95% of the time off the table if you're only having a sales conversation. However, if you take the stance of helping and educating your audience, they'll know you and trust you when they're ready to buy.

Long story short, blogs are not outdated. They're a valuable tool that can help establish your brand as a subject matter expert, help you get found by your customers online, and help you build relationships with your target audience. 

If you have any questions related to blogs or digital marketing, feel free to reach out to me. I would love to hear from you. 

- Nate Maguire, Strativise Inc.