Thinking about ways that your company can ramp up their lead generation efforts? There are several methods to choose from, but there’s one that has numerous benefits that’s often overlooked.
Marketing plans and strategies come in all shapes and sizes. A number of factors can play into what is included, such as the size of the marketing team and their strengths, along with budget and company goals. Every company’s marketing plan likely includes written content in some form – from social media, to emails, blogs, and whitepapers. Among these, blogging stands out as a cost-effective marketing technique which allows companies to help increase brand awareness and drive more business.
The internet is filled with information readily available for people to search on any number of topics. It can be intimidating and leave you thinking about where to get started, what to contribute, and how to build a blog that will get noticed. Figuring out how to leverage your blog is key to become an innovative thought leader and help drive prospects to your website.
Businesses that have a blog generate 67% more leads.
If you’re questioning whether starting and maintaining a blog is worth the time, we explain why it is crucial in branding your company and reaching your sales objectives.
Drive People To Your Website
There are three main ways to drive traffic to your website: social media, search engines, and blogging. Did you know that Google processes, on average, over 99,000 search queries every second? That is over 8.5 billion searches per day.
Often, company websites are comprised of few pages and are not updated regularly. This combination means that the site is not likely to perform well in a generalized search. That is where blogging comes into play. When you write a blog post, it adds an indexed page on your website that has searchable content and key words. It’s estimated that companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages than those that do not invest in blogging thus increasing the traffic and visibility of your brand.
Typically, when people are scrolling through a blog, they are directed to other pages or resources on the website. The more people that are directed to your blog for information, the more likely they will be drawn to those pages, providing a chance to showcase your product or services and a chance to start the customer journey. Given that people are constantly searching the web for information, a single blog post will continue to generate traffic and leads for weeks, months, and even years to come.
Blogging also helps in other areas of your marketing campaigns. When you write a blog, you are creating new content to share on your social media pages, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Businesses that utilize blogging receive 97% more clicks to their website. Reaching new audiences will not only increase credibility but will also boost your inbound leads.
Establish Brand Value
Blogging can instill trust before prospects are interested in working with you. Prospects who are familiar with your company from reading your blog posts and viewing your website will often enter the sales process more educated on the products or services you offer. This will lead to a more productive sales call than contacting a cold lead.
A blog should include a variety of content for prospects at all stages in the sales process that addresses questions and concerns relevant to the customer journey. It can help set up your sales team for success with more in-depth information that they can direct prospects to after a meeting or call.
1. Top of the Funnel: Prospects might not be fully aware that their problem is a problem or be specifically thinking about your specific product or service.
2. Middle of the Funnel: Prospects are digging in to see if your product or service is the right solution to their problem and how you measure up against competitors.
3. Bottom of the Funnel: In the final stage, prospects are looking at the fine details to know it’s the right solution and become confident that it will deliver results and ROI.
A blog can also be used to publish company news. Sharing new hires, product launches, a community service project you participated in, or even a case study that you have created are all positive things to consider in your blog content. These types of blog posts will break up the sales content and showcase a more personable side to your company.
Read our previous blog “Content is Key to the Sales Cycle” to learn more about additional types of content that you can use to engage with prospects and customers.
One of the most significant benefits of developing a well-written blog is positioning yourself as a leader in your industry. This goes a long way in the branding of your company. If you consistently publish beneficial material for your readers, you’ll naturally establish yourself as a trusted industry resource. If prospects are turning to your company for educational content, then they will be more likely to work with you in the future.
To have a successful blog, it is essential to post frequently. Just because older posts can continue to generate leads and traffic does not mean that you should rely on them. You must keep your website active and updated by leveraging your blog by continuously addressing hot topics within your industry. Every time you write a new blog post, you are creating new opportunities for your website and company to be found. The more you post to your blog, the more chances you can make a connection with prospects who can turn into customers.
Looking for help creating marketing content to help your sales cycle? We can help.
Sources: HubSpot.com, Speechsilver.com, Oberlo.com