Who Still Blogs, Anyway?
Well, I do (a lot, actually). And I know what you’re thinking: ”Blogging? In this economy?” But, hear me out. I think writing blogs is still completely worth it, even if marketing and analytics experts tell you otherwise. So, here are my top reasons why I think blogging still has a place in our current marketing landscape.
Blogs Give You Time to Think Critically
As a society, we’ve gotten away from committing to long-form content. Instead, we want small, easily digestible snippets of info so we can see as much as possible and stay on top of any viral trends. And I get it (and am guilty of it, myself.) It’s much easier to consume content this way.
But, my argument is that, in our pursuit of finding the next best thing that will make us stop scrolling for .2 milliseconds, we’ve gotten away from critical perception. Basically, there’s so much noise being thrown at us that it's become hard to take a step back to understand the real meaning behind it.
Think about it – when was the last time you truly paused and reflected on a TikTok or Instagram caption? It’s likely that it’s been a while because our current content landscape isn’t built for that. We’re all instantly compelled to keep diving deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, or off on random tangents you didn’t even think you cared about.
With blogging, however, you are honed into one narrative that builds and gives you time to think about what you’re reading. And, those moments where we can naturally pause and interpret the words on the page to form our own opinions are exactly what we need in a world filled with clickbait and fake news.
Blogs Help Refine Our Language
The language we use matters. I write for a living, so I’m surrounded by words all day. But, the average person doesn’t really interact with language much these days. So, unless they read leisurely, I’d wager that their daily word count is pretty low.
Reading helps us become better thinkers, so it’s important that we take the time to actively and intentionally expand on what we’re consuming so we can make our brains work a lot more effectively for us. Blogging, along with reading blogs, can help with that.
One of my morning rituals is reading through a few articles from The Onion or Medium, and incorporating this practice somewhere into their day-to-day with publications they care about is something I recommend to anyone who will listen to me.
Not only will this expand the mind and help us learn a thing or two, but it will also introduce us to words and phrases we’ve never seen before. And who doesn’t love learning something new?
Musing Moments: Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Is there anything you’ve read lately that you love? Let me know in the comments!
If You’re a Writer, Blogs Can Give You A Ton of Content
As the old adage goes: “if you can’t beat them, join them.” We’re living in a very content-driven world and while you’re trying to get your audience to slow down, if you’re a writer, it’s smart to simultaneously play into the current landscape to draw more people in.
When you write blogs, you’re giving yourself so much promotional content to work with. For example, let’s say that you’ve written an 800-word blog outline of 7 marketing tips. You can break the list of tips up and create graphics or short videos for each tip that then links to your larger blog. Or, you can host a live Q&A about your blog to keep the conversation going. Or, you can create one larger video of you going more in-depth about how your readers can apply your tips to their brands.
These are just three ways you can use your blog post to reach more people. There are so many ways you can capitalize on your writing. If you’d like to hear more of my content promotion ideas, give me a shout!
Final Thoughts
Blogging is important, and that’s a hill I’ll gladly die on. The question is, however, how the practice fits into our current marketing landscape. For that answer, dear reader, you’ll have to wait until my next article.