Successfully advertising and marketing a enterprise requires fairly a little bit of content material. That being mentioned, you don’t at all times have time to create the varied sorts of content material you need to be creating. Whereas diversifying your content material technique with as many various kinds of codecs as you may deal with is often the way in which to go (extra on that later), there are occasions while you would possibly end up attempting to resolve which course to pool your sources in direction of.
Each blogs and podcasts are conversion-driven content material strategies which are value your effort and time. On the running a blog entrance, corporations who produce blogs see a median of 67% extra leads than corporations who don’t. In the meantime, the quantity of month-to-month podcast listeners has grown 54% in simply the previous three years, suggesting a ton of potential for grabbing the ear of potential prospects.
There are clearly large advantages to those content material methods, however how do you resolve which is best to contemplate for your corporation? We’re breaking down the advantages and potential pitfalls of each, in addition to why you most likely need to contemplate tackling each for content material advertising and marketing success.
Running a blog
Running a blog is a mainstay technique. Most manufacturers have been prioritizing running a blog for years, whereas some have discovered it troublesome to stay to an editorial calendar. If you end up questioning if running a blog actually is all it’s cracked as much as be, it’s time to dive into the advantages in addition to issues to bear in mind.
Advantages of Running a blog
1. It might probably enhance website positioning
Finished proper, running a blog is superior for website positioning, which implies increased rankings on search outcomes pages and extra site visitors to your web site (about 55% extra, to be actual). Nonetheless, there’s a technique to this insanity, so it’s a must to be sure to prioritize website positioning all through the content material creation course of.
2. It might probably enhance ROI
In 2019, entrepreneurs who prioritized running a blog noticed a 13X increased ROI than those that didn’t. Why? Effectively, while you create weblog content material, you’re primarily fueling your electronic mail advertising and marketing. You’re offering leads with high-quality, informative articles that reply their questions and handle their ache factors. And while you try this, you’re constructing belief and shortening the lead cycle.
3. It may be simpler than adverts
Standalone adverts have their place, however 70% of shoppers say they’d relatively find out about an organization by means of articles than commercials. Paid adverts are nice at grabbing the eye of latest leads and catching them the place they’re already engaged (social media platforms or different on-line websites that promote advert area). Nonetheless, they don’t do a lot to coach leads on a necessity they’ve or a query they’ve answered. That’s the place running a blog is available in.
Issues to Maintain in Thoughts About Running a blog
1. High quality takes time
 Writing is tough work, and the typical submit takes practically 4 hours to provide. It’s important to consider all of the levels of the content material creation course of: ideation, analysis, writing, modifying, optimizing for website positioning and including the correct backlinks, one other spherical of edits, then distribution.
2. There’s steep competitors
It’s positively attainable to succeed together with your blogs, however you’ll have lots of competitors in doing so. There are greater than 600 million energetic blogs on the internet, and should you’re late to the running a blog recreation, your opponents most likely already have you ever beat.
3. It’s not nearly textual content
The best blogs at this time comprise pictures, statistics, and contributor quotes along with phrase copy. So whereas it’s nice to create constant written content material, it’s essential to even be incorporating visible content material, knowledge, and enter from trade influencers into your running a blog technique.
Podcasting
Podcasting has exploded up to now couple of years. They’re a good way to get your model in entrance of a brand new viewers and interact in a brand new means. Not like running a blog, podcasting isn’t essentially a pillar of any advertising and marketing plan, however that doesn’t imply there isn’t tons of worth from having one.
Advantages of Podcasting
1. It’s a rising medium
Podcasting isn’t as standard as running a blog with companies, however with 37% of Individuals listening to podcasts each month, there’s an enormous likelihood to make a mark. Getting concerned with one thing whereas it’s nonetheless rising means you might have extra time to construct a strong viewers and faucet right into a much less saturated market.
2. The format is perfect for schooling
For those who’re seeking to share tons of perception, private expertise and develop into a thought chief in your area, podcasting is a superb format to contemplate. This type of agenda might be amplified by means of visitor appearances or by internet hosting your personal podcast. The previous can be excellent for tapping into third-party credibility and a bigger viewers.
3. It’s “sensible” tech-driven
Tons of individuals now personal sensible audio system like Amazon Alexa and Google House, each of which are perfect for podcast consumption. With podcasts being obtainable on completely different platforms, it makes your model extra accessible to the plenty.
Issues to Maintain in Thoughts About Podcasting
1. It’s not fast
This isn’t a quick-win sort of deal. Podcasts take lots of time to plan, produce, and edit, and it could possibly additionally take time to realize a following. Like running a blog, it’s good to have consistency, persistence, and technique to drive these efforts in direction of success.
2. It’s not CTA primarily based
You possibly can definitely finish your podcast with a verbal CTA or a promotion of some variety, however you’ll clearly miss out on having a clickable button. As an alternative of driving digital interplay, your podcast is extra about engagement and model consciousness. So, should you’re hoping to make use of a podcast to promo a brand new product, that may definitely occur, but it surely will not be as impactful as you hope.
3. It’s not intuitive
You’ll have lots to be taught earlier than you may publish your first podcast — definitely greater than it’s good to be taught to create a weblog submit. It’s essential to do your analysis and see what sort of instruments you’ll want to make sure a transparent, high-quality sound. This might imply renting out area and investing in costly gear. You’ll additionally need to be sure no matter community you be a part of is smart to your podcast focus and model.
Why Not Simply Do Each?
They might differ in format, however blogs and podcasts each share among the identical fundamental parts, together with the necessity to hone in in your audience and to create well-researched, authentic content material. It could appear intimidating to get the ball rolling with only one, not to mention each, however these elemental overlaps imply that lots of the work is comparatively the identical — you may even flip your weblog analysis right into a podcast on the identical matter and vice versa.
Doing each running a blog and podcasting additionally helps fill within the gaps that one or the opposite might go away behind. For instance, you will have variations inside your viewers of who’s extra prone to have interaction with one medium over the opposite (males, as an illustration, are barely extra tuned in to podcast listening than girls).
In the end it’s as much as you to resolve what you might have the bandwidth for and what makes probably the most sense to your viewers and your targets. And due to the expansion in digital advertising and marketing instruments, it’s simpler than you is perhaps considering to get began with both format — and no, you gained’t want a level in radio to start publishing podcasts.
Assess your advertising and marketing objectives and your finances when figuring out the place your sources must be funneled, and at all times maintain an in depth eye in your knowledge analytics to see how your varied efforts are performing.
