What is Blog Marketing?

Blog marketing (or content marketing) is an innovative form of internet marketing relying on blogsites or web content articles as vehicle for promoting a product or service. Because blogs are deemed effective in attracting a large number of search engine traffic, many corporations and businesses are now using blog marketing as ideal method of keeping in touch with their customers and increase exposure in search engines at the same time. Being one of the “frontliners” of solid internet advertising campaign, blog marketing has become a significant vehicle for public and customer relations.

Many small-time companies and businesses use blog marketing because they find it the easiest way of attracting inbound links from other websites. While most site owners are reluctant in linking their page to a corporate website, blogs have a more natural and humanistic approach. In fact, the use of blogs helped solve dilemmas related to adapting business in online marketing.

Blogs may be simply websites displaying information in certain ways, but once it is used in promoting a product/service, an incorporated “commenting system” allows bloggers to infuse feedback and customer participation in their blogs. In other words, blog marketing has a way of reaching out to potential customers.

In relation to advertising, blog marketing is also known for offering a relatively big opportunity in reaching out to customers. A line of new products/services for example, can be introduced via blogs. Bloggers do this as their immediate way of communicating with their regular visitors/readers while providing them a “quick place” to link their page to the visitors’ own. This strategy creates a potential for consistent product release.

People attracted to this type of internet marketing are likely enticed to get themselves involved in the business via “direct feedback”. The commenting tools found in blogsites will allow them to give feedback on everything else – from new ad campaigns to product lines to major company shifts.

Importance of Blog Marketing

Blog marketing helps business owners or bloggers procure mainstream exposure or visibility to their business. You can use a blog in giving emphasis to product features. This is to educate and inform people about your business. In turn, they will be likely persuaded to put up their own business.

Your blog must contain reviews, written experiences and trusted figures to motivate your customers to believe in what you’re selling and write about it in their own sites or social media profiles. This will trigger a “snowball impact” in spreading information from one blogsite to another. However, this only happens if bloggers enabled user comments while managing to accept opinions from other bloggers.

Blog marketing has surpassed almost all expectations in the internet marketing scene and emerged as a leader in improving regular link building activities and attracting web traffic. With this in line, you can use efficient blogging resources like search engine optimization or search engine marketing in encouraging people to check out your products. Because search engines often snap up sites with unique backlinks and URLs, putting in “selective links” to your blog is necessary.

Blog Marketing Ideas

Because using blogs for marketing encourages, inspires and innovates, here are 20 ideas that will help you increase your potential customers with just a click away!

  1. Develop a “customer-base” event that doesn’t only deal with your products but informs them on where the business is going.
  2. Create a separate content that would be entirely unforeseen by customers.
  3. Find a partner or group of experts in launching a blog marketing project.
  4. Find at least four “thought leaders” and include them in building your content marketing plan.
  5. Assign one person (particularly your employee) to sign up for SlideShare and use it as alternative in content marketing.
  6. Create a list of over 100 questions aimed for your customer base.
  7. Focus on one content marketing initiative this year.
  8. Focus on targeting one marketing initiative that can be incorporated not just with blogs but also social media apps.
  9. Make sure your content can be easily read and understood by people.
  10. Do away with writing the same old press releases then presenting them as engaging, customer-friendly stories.
  11. Utilize a “content marketing metrics” plan for your supervisor or CEO. Focus on metrics that are essential in your business objectives.
  12. Commission a certain piece of research indispensable to your customers.
  13. Talk to any salesperson and ask what their customer’s strongest (and weakest) “pain points” are.
  14. Have an editorial leader for each of your content marketing plan every week.
  15. Start writing a book for your business. This can be either an eBook or a printed one.
  16. Hire at least six people to do the job of organizing your weekly content marketing plan.
  17. Always commit yourself in smaller but smarter use of images in your blog.
  18. Always update your social media list after every blog is posted for promoting your products.
  19. If you have lots of money, start negotiating with media companies that can be a channel for effective online marketing or promotion.
  20. Always make content marketing personalization on top of your priority.

Blog Marketing Tips

There are three crucial steps in successful blog marketing: leveraging evangelists, converting visitors into regular subscribers and getting your blog discovered. While taking each step, below are three useful tips to take into consideration.

  1. Be a little bit controversial. In blog marketing, CONTROVERSY SELLS. Since content marketing is an integral part of the 20th century business model, always be prepared in engaging others especially those with absurd opinions. Keep in mind that not all readers or customers will agree with your offers. Because the internet has a massive global reach, you may get to encounter haters, bashers or “trolls” frequenting blogs for no purpose but to ruin your business reputation.
  2. Don’t just oversell but also teach your customers. This tip best applies to business bloggers relying on social media to let people read their blogs. Be aware of knowing when to control large readership and giving away all information in your blog.
  3. Be honest and original.