Does Your Brand Need a Blog?

A brand without a blog is like an Oreo cookie without its creamy center. I know what you must be thinking. What about social media? Podcasts? Email newsletters? All these communication tools have their place in your marketing plan. Still, none have the power to build your business the way a well-written blog can. Blogging remains one of the most effective ways to boost brand awareness and reach target audiences. A business blog gets twice as much traffic from content than email campaigns. Authoring content relevant to consumer searches guides consumers to your products and services while establishing your brand as an authority.
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Do you need more convincing that a brand blog is the way to go in 2022? Here are some reasons to compel your brand to give blogging a go. 

Blogs help search engines find your brand

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a tricky skill. Just when you think you have mastered it, search engines like Google change their algorithms. Using SEO when you blog is worth the effort. Professional bloggers and SEO copywriters rely on keyword research to discover which keywords will help your content rank higher organically. For instance, let’s say you want to blog about choosing an air purification system to reduce the spread of germs in residential settings. Using a keyword tool identifies words relating to the topic based on search engine activity. Plugging in the phrase “air purification system germs” and optimizing for Google produces a list of potential keywords to include in your content. Some of the suggestions:

• Air purifier germs
• Air cleaner for germs
• Air purifiers for germs and viruses
• Air purifier to remove germs

Those are just a few of the longtail keywords recommended. Keyword tools reveal search volume, trend, and competition for each keyword it suggests. Choosing keywords with less competition can be an effective way to get noticed online.
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In addition to SEO, you also can find out what searchers are looking for by doing a search yourself. Go to your search engine of choice and enter “air purification system germs” again. The results will produce a list called “Common Searches” that reveal the key phrases others are using to find information related to this topic. Include those in your blog as subheadings to maximize your searchability factor. This is super easy to do in a blog. 

Blogs target your audience with relevant content

Hard as it is to imagine, businesses did not always have the advantage of touting their wares online to a global audience. Once upon a time, they had to print ads, buy mailing lists, and send those mailers out to potential customers in their service area to entice them. Direct mail campaigns have not completely disappeared. They can be quite effective under the right circumstances. However, they can eat into your advertising budget. The average cost to produce and send a direct mail advertisement is between 30 cents and $10 per mailer. Cost varies and depends on whether you use professional copywriters and designers to produce the advertisement and a printing/publishing company to mail them.

Blogging eliminates much of the cost associated with targeted mailing campaigns. Hiring a professional writer to plan and produce the content can cost between $50 and $2,000 depending on the blogger’s experience level and length of content produced. While you certainly can find writers who will crank out a blog post for $30, you likely will not get the kind of quality that tickles the fancy of Google and other search engines. Copywriters that charge low rates tend to produce “copy mill” content that is recycled from other information they find online. Search engines look for relevant content that adds value.
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Producing copy that helps your target audience solve a problem attracts both prospective customers and search engines. “How to” blogs featuring your products or services can attract an audience and eventually convert them into valuable customers or business partners. 

Blogs establish brand authority

Building your brand requires earning the trust of your customers. This is known as brand authority. An effective method for gaining customer confidence is to provide relevant content that solves problems or answers questions. Establishing brand authority is easy with a well-crafted blog. Choose topics to which your target audience can relate. Then, commit to producing the kind of quality content that will have them returning to your site for more tips and tools.
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Brands that provide accurate and compelling content build lasting relationships with their target audience that convert to eventual sales. Once consumers realize your blog is a source of valuable and trustworthy information, you can build rapport. Helping customers solve a problem before do business with your brand convinces them to return when they need your products or services. After repeated exposure to your blog, they will view you as an authority. They enter the sales funnel with pre-existing knowledge of what you bring to the table, making it easier to convert them.  

Blogs help with brand storytelling

Consumers today want more than impersonal sales transactions with a brand. They want to connect with your products or services and the people behind them. Blogging is an effective way to tell your brand story and give target audiences a reason to return to your business. You can feature news about team members doing incredible things in their communities or announcements about the launch of helpful new products or services. Best of all, since it is your blog, you can control what information is shared and verify its accuracy before publication.
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Blogging allows businesses to show their human side. Customers never want to feel like they are nothing more than dollar signs. Humanizing your brand can help flip the narrative. There is no limit to what kind of storytelling you can do on a brand blog. 

Blogs drive long-term results

Blogs are the gift that keeps on giving. Sure, you might spend $1,000 on a professionally crafted piece of content, but it has the potential to drive long-term results. Once you hit that post button, blogs can continue to drive traffic to your site and convert customers eager to do business with you.

​Blogs that perform well in search engines offer the best return on your investment. Once your blog begins ranking, it remains relevant in most search engines for months or years, depending on the topic and how much competition there is for the SEO keywords. Well-written blogs continue to work hard for your business. Copywriting professionals call them compounding posts because they contain evergreen content that continues producing leads. 

Hiring a pro to help with your brand blog

Before you rush off to your computer and start writing your first blog, you may want to consider bringing in a pro to assist. Just because anyone can write does not mean they should write. Content production is not as easy as it sounds. First, you must develop a content strategy that aligns your mission, vision, and values with any copy produced and published. Then, you must identify your target audience. Your brand cannot provide value without fully understanding who it is serving.

Other aspects go into content planning, including competitive analysis and researching information from credible sources. A professional blog writer can assist with these steps required to establish your brand authority through blogging. Reach out to the brand blogging experts at The Write Reflection™ to learn how we can leverage the power of blogging for your brand. First-time customers receive a 25 percent discount on their first blog order.