Is blogging the new advertising?

When social media burst on the scene, it seemed the humble blog may be on its last legs. Relatable content and a comments section seemed to pale in comparison to the constant connection and sharing ability that social media offered. However, blogs are well and truly back, and back in new and exciting ways. The traditional art of blogging, that was almost a stream-of-consciousness type flow of a person’s thoughts, ideas, interests and day to day activities, is pretty much gone for good. In its place is the blogging format that dominates the web today: organisations giving tips, highly categorised offerings of ‘feature products’, how-to lists for everything under the sun and curated, carefully crafted, search engine optimised content that is all about promotion. It begs the question: is blogging the new advertising?

As a leading Digital Marketing agency in Brisbane, we at Hype Creations believe blogging provides far greater advertising potential than traditional online ads, and does so in a more genuine way. Advertising is all about generating loyalty to your brand, giving your products and services meaning and connecting with your audience. What’s more likely to do all those things – a well-written blog full of helpful content or an intrusive ad?

Traditional online advertising models just don’t cut it on their own anymore. Banner ads, pop-ups, and other paid formats are more annoying than lucrative these days. Online consumers know they’re there, know where to look for them and know how to ignore them. Now that blogging has well and truly entered the domain of companies and corporations, advertising possibilities are diverse, far-ranging and exciting! This is because blogging isn’t just advertising. Blogging is a way to connect with your audience, give them something back for interacting with your company and strengthen ties with your brand at the same time. What’s more, blogging is free!

While blogs have more benefits to the consumer (they’re receiving your valuable information), they have a whole host of benefits to the company as well. Blogs can incorporate several different types of content, be it video, images or an infographic. When was the last time you saw a paid online ad that offered any valuable content? Further, blogs are great in terms of search engines. A well-written blog that incorporates important keywords will get a good indexed search result, something which can’t be said for other online ads. What’s more, people looking at your blog are likely doing so because they’re already interested in you content, services or company, so they’re more likely to interact further (and to turn that interaction into sales). Blog posts can also help get your brand message out there, as they’re easily sharable and can spread like wildfire on social media.

Today’s savvy consumers simply aren’t interested in intrusive advertising. Blogging lets you actually connect with your audience, generating leads, spreading your brand and converting customers along the way. So, if your company doesn’t have a blog, you definitely should – after all, it’s the new advertising!