We are living in a digital world where it is common to share information through the internet. Presently, there will rarely be anyone who does not access the web for professional and personal means.
One question that keeps on popping up in this scenario is, ‘Is blogging dead?’
Today, in this post I am going to share my thoughts on this topic so that it is easier for you to decide whether you must put effort, time and money into blogging or not.
Are Blogs Dead or Still a Thing?
The answer is yes, blogs are still a thing.
Offering good information is the most effective way to earn search engines favor that holds the potential to make or break your business. One thing that most of the businesses are aware of is that higher ranking on Google can help them succeed.
As far as the role of the blog is concerned in this context, companies with blogs tend to receive 67% more leads than those who don’t have an optimized and updated blog. And search engines play a key role to help people find your blog posts.
Sometimes, businesses are not able to benefit from blogs. It is not because blogging is no more but because they might not be practicing the right strategies instead.
Let’s have a closer look at it!
First, think what makes Google such a big market player in the lives of many people. It is because it is a reliable platform that offers information to those who are searching for it. Google is not offering them knowledge but help searchers to find the information they are searching for.
If your company is among those who are offering knowledge, then you would be able to make most of your blogging.
Google hasn’t employed people to write articles to address search queries. Instead, it is looking for people who are experts in their field in sharing information through their website. Hence, if you are good at writing and sharing information then you can become an expert in this context. If your business blog is providing good information to the searchers, Google will reward your business by moving it up to higher ranking in the search results.
In theoretical terms, earning benefits through blogging is a chain process, which is explained below:
- Post more blogs posts.
- This will increase your chances to rank higher.
- Receive more traffic to your website.
- As a result, more people interact with your brand.
- Eventually, the number of people will fill out forms or calling.
- You can expect more sales.
- Ultimately, your ROI will shoot up.
What Has Replaced Blogging?
This era has evolved and lots of websites related to blogging seem to be on the wane. Earlier, everybody had a blog page that was updated frequently. However, I as well as other bloggers have noticed a change of delay.
Blogging was a massive hit in the 2000s, but now the technology has progressed and hence the blogging community seems to be quiet. So, what new trends have replaced blogging?
Let’s read on!
1. Social Media:
Everyone in this digital era must have heard about Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other platforms. While some people have witnessed the advent of social media as the end or replacement of blogging, others have a different perspective for it. People no more dedicate a particular time slot to write a full-length daily report or story of their lives. Rather, they have become more interested in sharing multiple posts of quick minutes throughout the day on their preferred social media platform.
It would not be wrong if I say that social media has resulted in casual microblogging, which has made it easier and quicker for people to connect with their friends all over the world. This is one thing that conventional blogs were not able to do, and hence, have been replaced with social channels.
2. Images, Ideas and Photo Sharing:
With cameras becoming more accessible than ever, even the young ones are now moving ahead to share photos and content through it. Pinterest and Instagram are such platforms that have made it easier for people to take selfies, group photos, food images, and a lot more.
Since everyone is not good at writing, so images and pictures have offered them a way to share their ideas and thoughts with others in just a fraction of seconds.
3. Social Blogging and Microblogging:
In the present scenario, websites and search engines are overloaded with information. Still, a lot of people prefer blogging, but in an alternate way. The new way of blogging is sharing posts as well as pictures publically.
Medium and Tumblr are great examples of this that let you share your experiences and ideas through social blogging.
4. Vlogging:
While vlogging is not completely killed blogging, but yes it has been successful in replacing it to a great extent. Making high-quality videos is not an easy task. It involves investing in a costly video camera, having an entire production team, long film rolls, and more. But those with a smartphone find it much easier.
With such convenience and easy accessibility to technology, video blogging or vlogging has become more popular than ever. Moreover, vlogging is more entertaining and dramatic than blogging, and hence, the new generation is falling in love with it.
Is Blogging Dead or Worth It?
People have a short attention span and are falling in love with social media. For such reasons, you must be wondering if blogging is still worth it. We believe it is. Some of the reasons which make blogging still a valuable tool for businesses are:
1. It Lets You Reach Audience Everywhere:
With the digital system expanding, the expectations of consumers of the way businesses interact with them are also increasing. Consumers these days prefer brands that are able to communicate well with them.
Social platforms might be the finest way consumers wish to interact. However, the blog is still the platform where they will go to find detailed information about services or products. Consumers would like to do detailed research and love to read about a service or product before they invest money into it and there is nothing best than a blog.
2. Blog Feeds and Compliments Social Platforms:
Social platforms and blogs not only co-exist, but they also feed off from each other. Buzzing topics are discussed on social platforms and can be explained in detail through a blog.
Also, blog posts can be broken down into informative pieces to socialize on different channels. For example, you can share snippets of social content, which can be a teaser to the long piece of content.
Remember, social platforms are always searching out for interviews, disseminating articles, Infographics, and other rich fillers.
3. Blogs Enhance Your Business’s Credibility:
Blogs offer great value to readers. They give your company or brand recognition. This is an important mechanism for B2B brands and lets them display authority and know-how in their sector. For B2C companies, blogs are great to show consumer trends and discuss viral topics.
4. Blogs Result in Value Exchange:
Blogs can be used as a tenet of content marketing as they offer value exchange between the consumer and you. Readers exchange their time and sometimes comments for blogs that are high-quality, educational or entertaining. If your brand offers customers something for free, you can be rewarded with returning customers.
5. Blogs Support SEO Strategy:
One fact that a good content marketer is aware of is that blogs must first serve the audience and then the machine. Still, the blog is a great way to help your business achieve higher rankings in the search results. But this does not mean that you have to stuff your article or content with keywords. Most important is that your content must please the readers.
If your blog is pleasing to the readers and SEO optimized, only then it can be successful on Google.
6. Blogs Let You Share Authentic Stories:
A blog is an excellent way to share stories with your customers. People are emotional beings and they love reading stories and content related to the lives of other people. Hence, you can incorporate blogs to share stories or write personal pieces, case studies, and inform your brand’s story through the eyes of your customers.
7. Blogs Let You Have Better Understanding of Your Audience:
If you closely monitor the data of your blog, you will find that it tells you a lot about your audience. Might be, you may not be able to figure it out as individuals, however, you know how many people engage, read, and interact with your content through the blog.
Even, you can do a performance analysis of your website pages by comparing the content on different pages using Google analytics.
8. Your Competitors are Practicing it:
If your competitors are blogging and you are not, then you might miss out targeting your audience. Even, this can affect the visibility and credibility of your brand. Hence, it is essential to blog in order to have an edge over your competitors. If you don’t have daily time to invest in it then you must practice blogging weekly or bi-monthly.
Why Blogs Fail?
Sometimes, your business might not be able to earn benefits despite putting in blogging efforts. The reasons for it can be:
- Your blog is not SEO optimized – You wrote and posted unique content, but technically the components were not able to rank high on Google. This means, your blog never ranked in Google, and hence, were not visible to the searchers.
- You did not use strategic blog topics – It is essential to write blog posts based on keyword research. This way, you can know about topics that are getting the most searches. Make sure you consider topics that are relevant to your company.
- You misunderstood the customer’s journey – Without a proper analysis, you cannot know about blogs that actually led people to fill out the form. In this case, all your blog posts will be a waste. Therefore, companies must realize and identify blogs that led people to direct towards their business.
- You didn’t promote your blogs properly – Might be some companies have an excellent blog which is properly keyword researched and properly optimized. However, they fail to promote the blogs and hence are able to win only half the battle. This way, your blog will only be able to reach a lesser audience.
Many businesses are not practicing blogging as they don’t have the time or resources. Even more of them think that it is a failed or an outdated marketing strategy. However, SWOT analysis for your business will let you know that blogging is still a great opportunity. The only thing is that you must design and practice it professionally.
Here are some ways that you can follow in order to make sure that your blog is being read.
How to Get Visitors to your Blog?
1. Try using a template:
Make sure you use a pleasing and well-structured content template.
2. Use Buzzing Topics:
It is essential to write blogs on topics that are already buzzing. Also, include relevant keywords related to these topics so get better rankings and visibility on search engines.
3. Practice Influencer Marketing:
You can collaborate with influencers or other bloggers into promotion partners to gain success with blogging.
4. Guest Blogging:
An easy way to earn success from blogging is by publishing content on other websites in a way that makes your content visible.
5. Send a Blog Link in an Email:
Finally, whenever you do email marketing, you can send your blog link attached to your email signature. Once they click on your website and find great content, they will love returning back again and again.
Is Blogging Dead?
If you are witnessing a fall in your rankings, engagement, sales, subscribers, or conversions, it does not imply that blogging is dying. It indicates that you are not practicing blogging the correct way.
On a concluding note, definitely blogging has been replaced with other modes of communication. But still, it remains an integral part of business marketing, interacting with the customers, and SEO. So, if you wish all-round success for your business, you cannot do without blogging.