Co-written with Summer/Fall 2024 intern Tyler Raterink
Finding effective ways to provide value that resonates with customers can be challenging. In a time when short-form videos and social media are taking brand marketing by storm, it may be shocking to hear that blog writing is still effective for engaging with certain customer bases.
Website traffic analytics studies, like DemandMetric, suggest blog writing is an outstanding way to engage with customers. In fact, their research shows that, on average, companies with “custom content” blogs (content created by humans, not crafted using AI) can generate 67% more leads than companies without, and 90% of blog visitors find the custom content useful.
Blogs Help Build Rapport
Take a second to think about what makes a brand seem trustworthy or appealing. For example, I appreciate when a company preemptively answers one of my questions. From a consumer standpoint, sharing that content shows the company truly understands the problems it solves for their target audience.
At a minimum, an active blog shows the company cares about staying in touch with customers and providing them with helpful resources. Openly sharing information (or at least some information) can also build rapport with current or prospective customers. A company holding their cards too close to their chest—for example, refraining from sharing even widely-known industry information—can create some level of distrust in the consumer.
A catalog of helpful content can also reduce a customer service team’s workload. By answering frequently asked questions upfront, companies can help provide customers with greater understanding before they even reach out.
Topics For Boosting SEO
In addition to providing resources to customers, search engines also reward quality blog content (created, as I mentioned before, by humans, not AI). Consistently writing high-quality blogs that contain relevant keywords and have low bounce rates (basically, people don’t click through to a page and then immediately leave) can increase website SEO, making it easier for people to find the company through its helpful resources.
When considering key blog topics, writing from a customer mindset is a great way to ensure effective customer need fulfillment and engagement. There are several ways to target topics prospective customers likely care about to transform them into leads.
Write to Motivations
Prospective customers tend to have two motivators that make blogs mutually beneficial: they want to see their needs recognized, and they want to know the company can meet those needs. Both these motivators should lay the foundation for potential blog topics.
When considering what to write about, it’s important to take on the customer’s perspective. Industry know-how that feels like second nature to the writer might not make sense to customers. Consider what customers likely want to know and see if there’s a way to point them in the right direction. Actively listen to team members who interact with customers daily, especially those in charge of answering questions. For example, service technicians and salespeople often have a great understanding of common questions prospective customers may have.
Establish Industry Expertise
An especially great way to establish expertise is by covering current or upcoming industry shifts or trends. Change is uncomfortable for everyone, but avoiding talking about it only makes it worse. Start the discussion by writing about it. People value organizations that lead with honesty and keep them informed, and showing a future-focused mindset is the perfect opportunity to build trust.
Catering to Needs = Better Leads
We are all customers on some level, and the ability to link that customer mindset with expertise can create stronger relationships and improve the customer experience. There are few things more frustrating to a customer than realizing a company doesn’t understand what’s important to their prospects. But beyond the topics an organization covers through their blogs, the frequency of published content also reflects on them. Ideally, creating more opportunities for connection would lead to more engagement, and regularly writing content fills that need.
For companies not entirely sure where to begin, a good place to start is gathering a list of common product, service or industry questions. Some of the most successful blogs are informative, creating clarity around the topics or ideas people wonder about the most. If you’re considering dusting off your blog or starting a new one, remember that your effort could not only increase customer satisfaction, but also help your business grow with higher-quality leads.
If you have questions about getting started, reach out! We’d love to help.
