With the rise of video and podcasting, one might assume that running a blog is lifeless as an efficient advertising and marketing channel.
In any case, it appears we’ve an obsession with killing issues off. Within the new millennium, we had the Y2K pc scare. When know-how took a extra essential position in our lives, we assumed all print publications would go bankrupt. Now that video content material is having its time within the solar, some speculate that running a blog might quickly meet the identical destiny because the dinosaurs.
I reached out to entrepreneurs with backgrounds in product advertising and marketing, web optimization, YouTube, podcasting, and extra and requested them, “Are blogs lifeless? ” This is what they mentioned.
Are blogs lifeless?
Based on entrepreneurs, not even shut. Blogs proceed to be extraordinarily priceless for lead era, model consciousness, and web optimization. They usually’re nonetheless widespread amongst customers. A HubSpot examine discovered that 60% of individuals learn a weblog at the least as soon as every week. So, blogs will not be out of entrepreneurs’ toolbox anytime quickly.
In all equity, this query surrounding blogs isn’t with out purpose. Google Traits exhibits that within the final 5 years, the curiosity in blogs has steadily declined worldwide.
Within the U.S. throughout the similar five-year span, video has risen in recognition and surpassed blogs in searches.
Nonetheless, blogs are nonetheless viable advertising and marketing channels with WebTribunal reporting there are greater than 600 million blogs out of 1.9 billion web sites worldwide. Collectively these blogs generate 6 million posts each day with WordPress and Tumblr being the most well-liked platforms.
Entrepreneurs nonetheless contemplate running a blog a prime advertising and marketing channel. Ross Simmonds, a B2B advertising and marketing skilled and the founding father of the content material advertising and marketing company Basis, says running a blog has helped his purchasers triple their visitors and speed up their gross sales shut charges.
“At Basis, running a blog with intent has helped us generate thousands and thousands of {dollars} within the pipeline for each us and our purchasers,” says Simmonds. “It is also armed us with the power to raise our model’s place available in the market and, most significantly, actually assist others in our trade be taught and unlock new alternatives.”
With that mentioned, the running a blog panorama has modified over time. Lisa Toner, director of content material at HubSpot, says it isn’t sufficient to simply have a weblog these days.
“It is advisable persistently create content material that’s extra priceless than your competitors’s content material. It is advisable be an web optimization skilled to get your articles rating on web page one among Google, and also you want a distribution technique to advertise your content material throughout all of the channels your viewers likes to eat content material on,” says Toner.
“It is much more advanced to win at running a blog now, however in the event you can grasp it, it is definitely worth the funding.”
Transparency is a much bigger accountability, particularly as customers are paying nearer consideration to a model’s values and its stance on social points.
“It is advisable take into consideration how individuals see your model in comparison with your competitors. Everybody has their very own distinctive promoting place (USP) and what they need to put ahead, however what customers do is evaluate,” says Sandra Mpouma, head of digital advertising and marketing at RationalFX.
“So, by way of enterprise technique, create loyalty, belief, [and] be clear and aggressive, which is essential these days.”
Blogs vs. Different Advertising and marketing Channels
Now that different content material advertising and marketing channels – particularly video and podcasting – have surpassed blogs, will blogs quickly turn out to be redundant?
Effectively, all of it is dependent upon the person personas you are focusing on. However whilst different platforms develop, blogs nonetheless provide many benefits.
“Podcasting isn’t with out its personal set of limitations. There are many discoverability and viewers progress challenges. At this level, blogs have a reasonably well-dusted playbook for scaling. That is not true for podcasts,” says Matthew Brown, senior podcast producer at HubSpot.
“An organization can use its probably restricted assets to spend money on a weblog that can principally give constant, simply measurable, and dependable efficiency. Blogs even have a direct line to the corporate’s backside greenback, podcasts don’t.”
Nelson Chacon, the principal content material strategist for YouTube at HubSpot, highlights that there is no purpose to decide on between two platforms in case your workforce has the bandwidth to deal with each.
If it aligns along with your person personas, you’ll be able to interact your viewers from a number of angles.
“Making a weblog constructed of articles round the advantages of your product can be useful. Having a video showcasing its use or the best way to set up it might be helpful in your viewers,” says Chacon.
He continues, “Residence Depot has accomplished a incredible job of doing this. Whereas they inform and educate their prospects on their merchandise, additionally they add a fast ‘how-to’ for the extra educated one that simply wants a brief reply defined in a video.”
As for social media, Annabelle Nyst, a senior content material strategist who focuses on social media initiatives at HubSpot, says it is arduous to check it to blogs as every platform serves totally different functions.
“Social content material would not at all times have the shelf life or the discoverability of weblog posts,” says Nyst. “It is extra about persistently assembly your viewers the place they’re, in the best moments, participating with them one-on-one, and establishing belief by way of group constructing.”
She provides that social media may be a good way to amplify your weblog posts. And vice versa, weblog posts can function inspiration for social content material.
If utilizing each, Nyst recommends pulling probably the most compelling factors out of your weblog posts, creating social-first content material, and utilizing it to drive visitors again to your weblog.
With all that mentioned, blogs do not come with out their disadvantages. AJ Beltis, a senior content material and acquisition supervisor at HubSpot, mentions the excessive drop-off charges typically seen in weblog posts.
“Blogs lack the interactivity that many crave as a result of its nature as written content material,” says Beltis. “This challenges weblog writers to hook their readers in just a few quick sentences with out having the good thing about particular results or audio engineers out there to their video and podcast creating counterparts.”
What it typically comes all the way down to is your model targets and which channels will provide help to meet them. Podcasts, for instance, are higher for branding whereas blogs serve higher for top-of-the-funnel engagement.
“Weblog posts are an acquisition juggernaut. There is a clear path that any seasoned marketer can observe. Podcasts, nonetheless, greatest function a model alternative,” says Brown.
“You would not measure a sequence of weblog posts on their model uplift capacity, identical to you would not measure a podcast present’s lead era. That’s until you want grey hairs and a critical lack of sleep.”
Why Blogs are Nonetheless Impactful
From an funding perspective, blogs could also be a greater long-term funding for lead era.
“I might spend $200K to rent a full-time author, web optimization skilled, and conversion charge optimization (CRO) specialist to work on my weblog. By combining these talent units, I am going to have the ability to create a weblog that drives natural visitors to my web site and converts it into leads for my enterprise all yr lengthy,” says Toner.
She continues, “Or, I might put the identical $200K into an promoting marketing campaign and perhaps get a few thousand leads over the course of the advert marketing campaign. However as soon as the marketing campaign ends, so does my lead circulate.”
Toner provides that almost all of HubSpot’s blog-generated leads come from older weblog posts. Because of this running a blog generally is a nice lead supply lengthy after posts are printed. Aja Frost, who leads the English web optimization workforce at HubSpot, echoes this sentiment.
“Natural visitors is extra essential than ever. Not like paid visitors, which stops coming within the second your funds runs out, natural visitors is generally self-sustaining after you have put within the effort and time to create a weblog publish,” she says.
She provides that almost all content material administration techniques (CMS) have web optimization instruments built-in into their platforms, which makes it simpler to optimize your posts.
Running a blog may also be priceless in shaping a model’s product positioning.
“Blogs are nonetheless among the best channels we’ve to create narratives round our product,” says HubSpot Product Advertising and marketing Supervisor Alex Girard. “They provide us the chance to handle tendencies we see available in the market, how these tendencies affect the reader, and the way our product may be capable of assist them meet that development efficiently. They’re additionally nice for telling buyer success tales.”
He provides that when utilizing your weblog to market your product, the content material would not must be promotional. If you set up your self as a thought chief and acquire the belief of your viewers, they may organically look into your services and products.
With that mentioned, it will take greater than good content material to have a profitable weblog.
“Progress with out a objective is not going to assist your corporation – if 10,000 persons are studying your weblog, however none of them suit your persona, that is not going to do something in your firm,” says HubSpot’s Senior Weblog Supervisor Karla Heseterberg. “Concentrate on one thing attainable, like producing new contacts, and ensure each publish you are placing out has that objective in thoughts.”
She provides that one of many greatest errors manufacturers make is creating content material just for individuals on the decision-making stage.
With so many phases between studying a weblog and making a purchase order, entrepreneurs ought to have posts geared at customers in each stage with corresponding affords.
Be taught extra about that by way of HubSpot’s enterprise running a blog course.
From an web optimization perspective, manufacturers may additionally wrestle with producing visitors as a result of they’re pondering weblog first, hyperlink constructing second.
“What I typically discover is that entrepreneurs see ‘running a blog’ and ‘hyperlink constructing’ as two totally different disciplines. First, they write the weblog posts, then they give thought to the best way to earn backlinks to them,” says Irina Nica, a senior product advertising and marketing supervisor at HubSpot who works on product consciousness by way of outreach initiatives.
“As an alternative, they need to embody linkable belongings into their common content material calendar, alongside different sorts of articles which might be perhaps designed for producing natural or social media visitors.”
Regardless of the various advantages we have gone over, running a blog is not at all times the very best technique for each model. Why? Effectively, what in case your preferrred person persona would not learn blogs? What if they like emails as an alternative?
“Some manufacturers have nice e-mail communication and workflows the place they supply individuals with downloadable affords the place they do not must go some other place to get the knowledge, it is simply of their inbox right away,” says Mpouma.
“You do not essentially want a weblog so long as you are providing one thing in alternate. I feel the weblog has at all times been that: Provide one thing without spending a dime in alternate for that person interplay.”
So, in that case, blogs would not precisely be lifeless, extra so irrelevant.
Why Advertising and marketing Is not Lifeless
Taking a look at issues from a broader perspective, blogs are simply an extension of selling. Some have steered that advertising and marketing is lifeless, which makes entrepreneurs like me marvel if there’s one thing we do not know.
Based mostly on latest knowledge, advertising and marketing continues to be influential. And that applies to each conventional methods and digital initiatives. Statista reported that in 2022, content material advertising and marketing generated over $63 billion in income worldwide.
“There is a purpose why Nike and Mcdonald’s proceed to take a position thousands and thousands each month in advertising and marketing despite the fact that they’re already family names. There is a purpose why the highest musicians and artists nonetheless do promotion previous to their newest album launch,” says Simmonds.
“Advertising and marketing is not to be seen as simply an expense. It is an funding. And in the event you make an funding that’s rooted in a strategic plan — that funding ought to return dividends for years (perhaps many years) to return.”
Running a blog Is Far From Lifeless
The important thing takeaway is that whereas not all advertising and marketing ways work for each model, it is unlikely that blogs will cease being priceless to manufacturers within the foreseeable future. S
o for now, blogs, you’ll be able to relaxation and step off the chopping block.
Editor’s word: This text was initially printed in February 2021 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness. 
