Written by: Vickie Sullivan | March 28, 2017
New Trends for Bloggers
Blogging has become a standard tool of the trade for thought leadership. It’s time to get serious about it, though, according to this Orbit Media survey of over 1,000 bloggers.
Bottom line: Blogging has grown up. Not only are writers spending more time writing a typical post, but they are also paying more attention to driving traffic to their posts.
Other trends you must pay attention to:
• Blog post length is up; frequency of posts is down. Frequency is moving from daily posts (down over 50%) to monthly (up 38%). Short posts (500 words or fewer) have declined by half in just two years. Conversely, 2,000-word plus posts have doubled every year. Let’s drill down, though: Most of those longer posts involve “list making,” not substance. My take: This trend will flame out fast.
• Video use in posts is flat, but those who use video report great ROI. Suggestion: Try using video for three months. Check your stats every month, then regroup and decide how to proceed.
Listen: How to use video strategically
• More bloggers drive traffic to their posts using email marketing and paid ads (Google, Facebook, etc.). SEO is still widely used, but it isn’t growing. Distribution is taking a front seat to creation. Idea: Have a detailed plan for distribution. Traffic to blogs and websites doesn’t happen by accident anymore.
These findings are typical of when a tactic reaches the saturation point. Now is the time to get strategic about content and driving traffic. Putting out your brilliance and hoping for the best no longer suffices.
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