The blog is dead, long live the blog!

The humble blog has come a long way in the 25 years since Justin Hall - then a student at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania - created the world’s very first fledgling blog. The term ‘weblog’ itself wasn’t coined until 3 years later in 1997, but the rise and further rise of blogs has been nothing short of meteoric ever since.

Estimates vary, but of the 1.6 billion websites that exist in 2019, it's believed that 500 million or so of them are recognised as blogs. They account for something like 2 million new blog posts appearing online daily.

But despite these staggering figures, there will be those that will try and tell you that blogging is dead… over… kaput.

And they’d be wrong.

Here’s why the demise of the blog has been greatly exaggerated.

Has video killed the blogging star?

Rather like the time when that pesky television thing came and took over from 'the wireless’, the blog’s biggest rival comes in the shape of video. Since YouTube emerged in 2005, video has slowly but surely taken over the internet. The numbers don’t lie and video marketing statistics, on one hand, seem to present a compelling case for ditching everything for a video camera!

Yes, video is sexier than blogging. Yes, video content gets more views, likes and shares than blogs; and, yes, more and more people seem to be converting to podcasts day by day – but that still doesn’t mean that the blog is dead!

Content is still king

Blogs can take many forms: professional, personal and business and - hackneyed as they might be - two phrases spring to mind when putting together the case for the defence for blogging for business:

‘Variety is the spice and life' and ‘content is king’

Great content is the bedrock of great marketing. This is what content marketing is in a nutshell. Brands that understand this and focus on producing high quality content on a consistent basis have got the edge.

The forms that content should take really depends on what business you’re in. In some sectors, it might be white papers and e-books. For others, Instagram is all-important because a much more visual approach is required.

Content marketing should be about communicating to your audience in a strategic, not random, way. From podcasts to emails to videos to webinars – they can all have a very important place within your marketing strategy.

And, for most businesses, blogs can have a vital part to play too.

Blogs = useful + shareable content

When a blogging strategy is well thought-through and the blog is well-written, you are essentially creating a bank of useful and shareable content for your audience to borrow and buy into.

There are some prerequisites: the content always needs to be helpful for your audience. Blogs that are little more than a glorified sales pitch can be a real turn-off. Handy tips, guidance and advice – that’s what your blog should be all about.

Having a consistent voice and a similar style in your blogs helps, as this becomes familiar to your audience. If they like what they see, they will come back for more week after week. In time, the blog pages of your website will be transformed into a library of useful material. When your prospects find this on your site, they’ll stay there.

What’s more, all this great content you now have is easily shared on social media – giving your brand a greater reach and putting your brand in front of a larger audience.

And finally…

Don’t forget that video content can easily be incorporated into a ‘traditional’ blog too. In truth, blogging vs videoshouldn’t be a straight ‘either/or’ choice – there’s room for both in any good content marketing strategy.

But the world of vlogs, vlogging and vodcasts is a conversation for another day. For now, just focus on getting ‘Blog’ on your website menu.

If you need help getting your business blog off the ground, just connect with me to find out more.

#blog #blogging #content #content-marketing