Although people generally lean toward visual content like videos and infographics, blogs remain popular for brands that want to position themselves as industry experts. There are currently 600 million blogs on the internet, and these blogs help websites get more exposure and increase their traffic.
As an established provider of affordable SEO services in Orlando, FL, we’ve seen how content can bring significant traffic to websites. There’s more to writing blogs than sharing insights and information, though. You need to engage your audience to increase their retention time and boost your conversion rate.
If you want people to click on your site and go down your sales funnel, you have to know the trends and get creative with your blogs instead of simply doing what your competitors do.
How do you improve your blogging content?
Considering that over 409 million people view blogs monthly, we can deduce that blogs are invaluable in content marketing. They’re more effective in boosting brand awareness and consumer trust than email, ebooks, and white papers. What’s more, businesses that have blogs for marketing purposes see 13x higher ROI than those that don’t. It also helps that blogging is affordable and scalable, making it ideal for businesses of all sizes.
Seasoned marketers already know that, though, which is why everyone else is maximizing their use of blogging to generate traffic and boost ROI. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you have to familiarize yourself with and implement today’s biggest blogging trends.
First, you have to understand the importance of adding visual content to your blogs. Most readers just scan web pages, so it’s best to highlight the most relevant information with attractive visuals.
People are likely to remember just 10% of information three days after reading it. However, they have a 65% chance of recalling that same information if it’s accompanied by visual content. So to keep your readers engaged and to stay on their minds long after they finish reading your blog, add images and videos to your posts. Consider adding infographics, too.
There’s also the fact that images, videos, and infographics help make posts scannable by breaking up heavy chunks of content that your readers would otherwise be likely to skip. Show; don’t tell—if you want to keep them interested.
Second, it’s not enough to know your target audience. Keep in mind that today’s readers are critical of the information they digest. If you say something, back it up with data.
Fake news isn’t anything new. But the internet opened the doors to a greater risk of misinformation and disinformation. Understandably, your readers would be wary of misleading, manipulated, and fabricated content. They want to know that they’re reading genuine content written within the proper context and without any intention of deceiving them.
Verify your claims with citations, sources, and statistics. Of course, make sure that these references are accurate and updated. Simple fact-checking before you post boosts credibility and trust.
Here are some simple rules to follow to ensure you’re writing logical and truthful content for your readers:
● Never make baseless claims.
● Use authoritative and reputable sources.
● Don’t make promises that you can’t deliver.
Third, people are more likely to read blogs on their smartphones than any other device. So if you want people to keep reading your content, you need to have a mobile-first layout.
In 2021, two billion people accessed the internet only from their smartphones. And by 2025, 72.5% of the population is expected to use only their smartphones for online browsing. For this reason, your web designers should be working their way up from the smallest screens first. This way, people can comfortably read your blog and browse your site on their phones.
Think of the news articles that you see on Facebook posts and the swipe-up blogs you encounter on Instagram stories. Your platform should also have a mobile-first format so that your blog loads properly, it isn’t cut off on mobile screens, and your visual content isn’t pixelated. Keep in mind: 88% of people won’t return to a website if it has poor usability.
Here are some tips for writing blogs in a mobile-first format:
● Write simple and concise content that readers can browse easily.
● Think of how your content will look on a mobile screen. Break up your paragraphs.
● Make sure your blogging platform is mobile-responsive with a fast loading time.
Finally, indicate the estimated reading time for each of your blogs. This sets your readers’ expectations, effectively improving reader engagement and reducing bounce rate.
Adults have an average reading speed of 200 to 250 words per minute. If you indicate that a 500-word blog will only take two minutes to read, they might feel more compelled to click on the article right away. If they know it’s a 10-minute blog and they don’t have time to read at the moment, they’re more likely to bookmark it for later instead of abandoning it completely.
On a related note, you might consider adding a “too long; didn’t read” (TL;DR) summary at the start of your blog. It gives readers an informative abstract of your blog even when they don’t read all of it. Regardless of their attention span, any reader would appreciate a sharp and succinct summary of your blog.
How else can you improve your content strategy?
Be open to discussing affiliate marketing links with credible bloggers. This introduces your brand to new audiences and improves your sales reach. It also keeps leads flowing down your sales funnel.
Although your content marketing strategy may include on-page blogs prepared by your team, there’s no harm in working with credible websites and bloggers who can promote your product or service on their platform. Of course, you want affiliate blogs that sound informative, not like a sales pitch. You must also check whether they implement SEO best practices.
If you’ve ever seen a product review that offers a discount to readers when they buy the said product through an affiliate link, that’s affiliate marketing. If you’re skeptical about how effectively it generates website traffic, consider this: the U.S affiliate marketing spend is forecasted to reach $8.2 billion this year. That’s a significant increase from the $5.4 billion expenditure in 2017.
Let’s Discuss Your Content Strategy
Tonic Enterprises is ready to help you build a blogging strategy or implement a content marketing campaign that brings in relevant traffic to your website. Schedule a phone consultation today.