The Evolution of Blogging, and What it Means For Your Business
Quietly, without many of us even realizing it, the world of blogging has shifted drastically over the past 10 years.
I first discovered blogging 17 years ago (17 YEARS, yikes!). Back then it was a way to keep memories, as I was awful at scrapbooking. I wanted a way to record all of the brand new precious moments of having my first baby. I kept it up for years, and I'm so glad that I did!
Back then I didn't worry about formatting, linking to affiliate products, or driving traffic to my blog; it was simply my online journal.
Eventually, other blogs were moving into monetizing. Moms were running elaborate blogs with professional-looking pictures, and I started feeling "not enough". I let the pressure of turning my blog into an "influencer" blog trump the joy of simply writing down my stories. I stopped blogging altogether as posting on social media took over; a decision I regret
From personal storytelling to storytelling with the purpose of monetizing and increasing reach, blogging has once again evolved into something new.
People are Looking for Answers
Let me ask you this: when you google something, say, “how to lighten dark spots on my face”, what shows up in the results? Is it an Instagram or Facebook account? Nope! It’s a website or YouTube video almost every time…and not just a website home page, but the results link you to an article that covers the exact topic you googled.
That article is a blog post on the website, and the reason it popped up in your search results is because of SEO, which means that it contained some of the exact words and phrases that you searched for, or some that were similar enough to make it relevant.
The algorithm of search engines like Google is very smart and knows where to send you when you search, but here’s the kicker…that content HAS TO EXIST in a searchable way for Google to send someone to it!
As of this point in internet history, social media posts are not searchable on google. They rely on hashtags or more often, views and comments to be seen by new audiences. You can have the most comprehensive and value-filled social media channels on earth, and still, never have any of your traffic come from search engines…your traffic will come from word of mouth or the post going viral.
To get seen on search engines, you need to turn that content into something searchable. Blog posts and YouTube videos (also called long-form content) will get that job done.
1 Blog Post: A Full Week of Instagram Content
Want to know my favorite tip? You can use one blog post to create content for all of your other channels, also known as repurposing content!! It’s a great way to work smarter, not harder. In fact, if I went through your social media right now, assuming you have a large collection of posts and videos, I could create a bunch of blog posts just using that content. It goes the other way too. From one good piece of long-form content, you can create dozens of captions, tweets, emails, and quote graphics!
If you post them on a website, now it’s searchable. Now your post on summertime eyeshadow looks won’t just be landed on because it’s a viral video on Instagram. It can be found by anyone searching "summertime eyeshadow looks" on google! It will live there forever as a resource that people are pointed to when they search.
Bonus, the post can have links to products that you sell or are an affiliate for (make that money in your sleep!)
But Jade, you say, I searched for summertime shadow yesterday and a tik tok video popped up as one of the results!
It is possible for this to happen, but that Tik Tok video was most likely either embedded into an article on a website (HuffPost and other sites do this a lot), or it was posted as a YouTube video. If you go search “summertime eyeshadow looks” right now, you will get:
-a handful of images (that link to youtube or sites with blogs, or shopping areas of sites),
-then YouTube videos,
-then articles on websites.
Set Yourself Apart as the Authority in Your Industry
If you are a business owner of any type, it's time to stop thinking of a blog as a separate full-time business, useful only to influencers.
The blog on your website is prime real estate and can set your website lightyears ahead of the competition! It has no limits on how many posts you can have, and each one can help guide and inform your ideal client. It's a tool that is readily available and can bring hundreds of new visitors to your site, you just need to use it!
Has this ever happened to you? You search for something you need help with, for example, How to make sourdough bread. The article or video you find gives you the answer you need, as well as links to other articles or videos that may be helpful. They are, and before you know it, you've been on their site or channel for an hour, just learning! I can think of a few examples of websites I regularly visit for help (or recipes!).
Build your blog as a library of helpful content, and people will flock to your website! They will keep coming back because they know that even if they don't think they currently need your service or product, they can find helpful tips to guide them along the way. Now your website is their go-to source of information!
Of course, there is a roadblock that regularly comes up, and that is the time it takes to fill a blog with helpful posts. You have the skills, and you know what you are doing, but to take the time to write it all out into a collection of posts would just take more time than you currently have. That's where I come in! I will do all of the writing for you so that you can focus on the areas of your business that you are really passionate about.
How do I do it? Read this post to learn more about my process and how I can help you!
-Jade