Lucas Miller
Regardless of whether you like it or not, marketing is now a digital endeavor. Sure, there was a time when handing out fliers, working with roadside billboards and paying for radio commercials actually worked to promote a product or service—fortunately, those days are long gone.
And yes, this is a fortunate occurrence.
Think about it—20 or 30 years ago, if someone wanted to create a business, he or she would be forced to start locally and gradually work his or her way up the money-making ladder until funding had reached a point where more widespread marketing techniques could be used.
And if we’re being honest here, more often than not, thing’s had teetered out by that point, and it was time to start over from scratch or quit and go home.
The Perks of the Booming Social Web
Fortunately, there’s that word again, the world we now live in is dominated by the social web and, right from the get-go, reach is of a global nature.
Seriously, think of all the affordable tools at your disposal as a digital marketer. Few—if any of them, for that matter—are both outside of your understanding and budget. Here’s a couple of them:
- Simple, easy-to-use social networks
- Real-time communication with prospective clients
- Smartphones, tablets, laptops and a host of other useful gadgets
- Do-it-yourself web building programs
- Effective self-publishing platforms and blogs
The Value of Blogging In Today’s Day and Age
The second half of that last one is of particular interest—blogs. For the longest time, you may have thought blogging was little more than a way for bored stay-at-home moms to digitally talk about their parenting tactics or for hopeful journalists to try and scrape a living as a writer.
Nope. That’s wrong. Not even close. Try again.
Let it be known—without an active blog, as a digital marketer, you’re doing both your brand and clients a disservice. Why? For starers, the benefits of a reputable blog are many. Try this on for size:
- Blogs have the capacity to both promote and sell unique products and services
- Blogs serve as a portal through which a business can be built and attract new clients
- Blogs allow for positioning atop an industry’s pecking order of thought leadership
- Blogs create invaluable networking opportunities through real-time reader interaction
- Blogs provide a general channel for open freedom of expression
Overcoming Blogging’s Most Difficult Barriers
Sounds like a pretty sweet digital marketing gig, doesn’t it? It is, and because it is—as is the case with just about anything worthwhile in life—things can become a bit dicey when getting started.
If you or your clients are to succeed as a blogging entity, there are many obstacles that will need to be overcome.
First and foremost, there’s the ever-present whisper of diffidence within each content marketer’s conscience. Truth be told, this naysaying voice can quickly become more than just a mere nuisance, but a literal impediment to the overall creative process.
Don’t listen to it.
Speaking of the innate power of blogging and the self-doubt which often accompanies it, says successful global marketer Jeff Bullas, “It can be a facilitator of both personal change and self-development. It can transform both your life and your reader’s life—don’t let that awful responsibility stop you.”
At its core, blogging is about pushing aside personal ego and getting to work. Put your best foot forward and hit “publish.” In time, the results will come. Well, kind of …
The ‘Secret Sauce’ to Make This Whole Blogging Thing Work
Remember, blogging isn’t just putting digital pen to paper. Don’t lose focus—this is still very much a marketing endeavor. Be it a product, service, image or reputation, something is being marketed to a specific audience.
Because of this, working in conjunction with the words you’re able to formulate on behalf of your brand or customer, real-time user engagement, social media, digital PR, creative images, video production and SEO strategies all make blogging magic happen.
If you’re thinking this will be an easy undertaking, you’re in for quite a shock. However, most assuredly, the advertorial success derived from the practice will be well worth the painstaking effort.
Needless to say, it’s time to get writing. Without a doubt, your competitors have already started.
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