If 2020 has taught us anything about business, it’s that an online presence is crucial!

And that doesn’t just mean having your sales offerings online.

People want to know about who you are as a business. They want to connect with you and trust you before they are willing to pull out that credit card!

That is why content marketing is such a powerful tool in any business owner’s arsenal.

However, the very thought of creating that content is enough to send you into a blind panic. 

All those articles and posts to write, all those graphics to create and all those videos to record. Is it really all worth it?

The answer is a resounding YES! 

In fact, businesses who use blogging as part of their marketing strategy see 13 times the ROI of businesses who don’t!

That stat in itself is enough to make you want to run out and start blogging, am I right?

But, don’t hit the X button yet. I’ve got lots more interesting info about content marketing that you are going to want to read. Here it is:

 

The Business Blogging Stats You Need To See

 

To Blog Or Not To Blog… That Is The Question

There is no denying that blogging is a huge time investment for your business. However, it is an investment that can pay off HUGELY.

Take these blogging stats published on Hubspot for example:

• 80% of internet users interact with blogs and social media sites
• Blogs can create a 434% increase in indexed webpages
• Businesses who have a blog produce 67% more monthly leads than those that don’t have one
• Businesses that blog get 55% more website visitors than those that don’t
• 70% of people would rather learn about a business through content than advertising

The numbers don’t lie. Blogging is a powerful business tool. And what’s even better? 

You can take that blog post and use it to smash out some stats on other marketing channels too. 

 

SEO

Did you know that 75% of search engine users don’t scroll beyond the first page of search results?

Your blog is an ever-growing collection of SEO rich content that delivers immense value to your readers. It also gives you numerous opportunities to weave in key search terms and showcase your expertise.

Having a blog attached to your website really helps to boost your SEO strategy. You can include a wide variety of inbound and outbound links. Hubspot calls these hyperlinks the “currency of the internet” as high quality backlinks give your website a higher chance to rank in search results.

 

You Could Be Missing Traffic

Each and every month, around 409 million people are viewing more than 20 billion webpages. That is a lot of people that you could potentially be reaching!

People are typing all sorts of weird and wonderful things into Google every day in their quest for answers. Your blog posts could be the solution showing up in those search results.

The exciting thing about search based web traffic is that people are in action mode. If they have taken the time to search for something online then they are really interested. In fact, leads obtained via SEO have a 14.6% close rate. That certainly beats the 1.7% return on direct mail!

 

Social Supplement

Your business blog and social media accounts used to operate independently. In days gone by they would call for two very different kinds of content. 

Your blog was where the long form content was housed and your social pages contained the light hearted, frivolous content. But, that has all changed now!

Your blog actually adds to the social experience of your followers now. By sharing informative, quality content, it makes for a better social experience. You are missing a beat if you aren’t using a blog as part of your social engagement strategy.

Nearly 50% of the world’s population is on social media. With 3.8 billion social media users spending an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes on social networks daily, that is a lot of potential reach!

 

The Inbox

Is email still a good marketing tool for your business?

Well, with an average ROI of $38 for every $1 spent, I am leaning towards a big fat YES! Especially as there are 3.9 billion daily email users out there.

The thing about email is that people don’t like getting bad email. They don’t like spammy messages or things that waste space in their inbox.

Fortunately, you can avoid sending bad emails by using your blog as the base content for your newsletter and sales messages. By focusing on delivering value over everything else, you can teach your readers to look out for your emails as they will learn something by reading them!

 

The Time Investment

As you can see, having a business blog is a fantastic tool for your brand. But, there is still the time factor to consider.

Hubspot reports that the average blog post takes around 3 hours and 57 minutes to create. That is a big chunk out of your day!

While blogging can show your business great returns, it might be a job that you consider outsourcing. That way, you get all the statistical benefits of a business blog without losing too much time away from what you do best. 

Consider selecting a content writer who can not only write those key, cornerstone blog pieces, but social media posts and a newsletter intro too. That way, you have all your written content covered off for the month!

Blogs, social posts and a newsletter intro are exactly what I offer in my monthly content packages. Check them out here, or jump on a free strategy chat to see how blogging could work for your business.