A thorough, informative blog is an essential element of a cohesive digital marketing strategy that works. Well-established blogs provide brands with opportunities to educate consumers, demonstrate value to diverse audiences, and showcase their personality beyond what everyone, trade and consumer audiences alike, may already know (or think they know). Beyond the value they provide for your subscribers, blogs are a great tool for passively generating awareness from people who may previously have been unaware of your brand—just look at your site’s organic traffic to see the potential value there!

However, even the best of blogs can—and should—consistently be undergoing updates and improvements. This is something to which we can personally testify: for the past decade that we’ve been writing on The Core, we’ve seen and experimented with numerous approaches. And—just like other marketers—we face the challenge of staying up on the latest trends and changes in best practices, which is no easy feat! Based on our own experience, we suggest prioritizing the following:

Evaluate Your Approach: Are You Captivating People…or Talking AT Them?

If there is one marketing truth that stands the test of time, it is that quality storytelling is one of the most reliable ways to capture—and keep—the attention of your audiences. Throughout history, people have bonded over stories, which have the capacity to teach lessons, broaden horizons, and build empathy by allowing us to more easily put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. For marketers, what better way is there to demonstrate how your products speak to people’s diverse needs, preferences, and pain points than by painting a picture that shows readers how your brand fits in to their lifestyle?

Intuitively, we all know that we don’t like feeling “sold to,” and we often don’t trust companies with content that seems biased or exclusively self-serving. To combat those perceptions, remember to write your content with the goal of providing something worthwhile to your reader, not with the sole purpose of persuading them to buy your products. Learn how to tell your brand’s story using the “Hero’s Journey” approach used in some of our most beloved tales, including Harry Potter, Star Wars, and The Lord of the Rings.

Perform a Content Audit—or at Least Take Inventory!

According to research by Curata, 37% of marketers never complete a content audit. And while we can understand, given the time-consuming nature of this project…if you don’t know exactly what you’ve already written, how can you ensure you aren’t duplicating topics you’ve already covered? Or, worse, you may end up omitting important content entirely…whereas your competitors may not make that same misstep. Taking the time to determine your most-read and highest-converting pieces will help you strategically determine which content to retire, as well as what will topics are most advantageous for your brand—including what leads directly to sales, where applicable.

Not sure if you need to perform a content audit? Here are 5 reasons you might.

Want Your Brand to Rank Higher on Google SERPs? Prioritize Search Engine Optimization

Even if you consistently publish the most informative, thorough content available on a specific topic, it can’t help people if they never read it. For that reason, search engine optimization is one of the most important elements to elevate on your blog for the upcoming year. Many marketers without coding experience shy away from SEO, but know that you don’t have to be an expert to make a difference in your website’s search rankings! We recommend making these three items (which take little to no additional time) a part of each blog post you write:

1. Add links to relevant content you’ve already published on your blog and website
2. Include relevant keywords in your titles, subtitles, and photos
3. Avoid leaving your metadescriptions blank—this is always a missed SEO opportunity!

Learn more about search engine optimization:

• 6 Simple Search Engine Optimization Tips for Marketers
• How to Perform Basic Keyword Research and Search Engine Optimization

Just like your main website, a blog requires ongoing maintenance and updates, but when done right, the payoff is more than worth the effort. Not sure how to get started? Reach out to us—we’d love to chat about how we can help.

Have a top blog improvement priority we didn’t include? Leave us a comment below, or tweet to us at @TheCoreBlog!

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