It’s official, everyone. We are quickly approaching the end of the first quarter of 2020. This is an exciting time: a new year, a new decade, a time to take your business (and your marketing strategy) to the next level. But even in this new era, some marketing trends are sticking around – and blogging is definitely one of them.
Blogging continues to be an effective way to promote your business online. The very best blogs get your website placed on the first page of Google searches, attract customers to your brands, and lead to increased sales over time. The fact is, blogging is indispensable to today’s business owners… so if you’re not blogging to market your business, start NOW.
While we do insist that you start blogging (or keep at it, if you already are), there’s more to content creation than simply writing up a paragraph or two about your business. In fact, effective blogging is a true art – and it’s only getting more complex as the internet fills up with more and more content.
Today, let’s talk about some blog writing trends you can use in 2020.
Why Does My Blog Matter?
Before we can talk about blog writing trends and how they can benefit your business, we need to discuss why your blog is important in the first place. After all, blogs can sometimes seem like an afterthought: rarely updated, sloppily written, and barely promoted (if at all).
You might think that your blog is unnecessary. People visit your website because they want your product or service. They don’t want to read your ramblings… right? Well, we hate to break it to you, but your blog is a vital digital marketing tool! If you’re not making the most of it, you’re simply selling your business short.
What Readers Want
How do you “make the most” of your company blog? The answer is simple: give your readers what they want. Most people today use the internet to find answers to their questions. A great blog can give them the answers they seek – and best of all, the answer can be your business! What exactly do readers want from company blogs? Here are a few qualities all content must have – the coming decade’s “words that sell”:
Knowledge
Your target audience has a problem. Maybe they don’t know how to keep their swimming pool water clean. Maybe they’re not sure which superfoods are best for their workout routine. Whatever the problem may be, they’re probably turning to Google to discover the answer – and your blog can be the knowledge they’re looking for.
Readers want blogs to provide them with relevant, essential content that helps improve their everyday lives. Your blog is the perfect platform to showcase your industry knowledge and expertise! Each post is an opportunity to solve your audience’s real-world problems, proving to them that you are a real industry expert.
Authenticity
Have you ever seen a tweet, blog, or YouTube video that just seemed… “branded”? Sure you have; this kind of content is everywhere online, trying its hardest to disguise itself as harmless, lighthearted online fun. But try as it might, this content can’t shake that fact that it’s an ad – and viewers can tell right away.
Today’s internet user is more opposed to advertising than ever before. While this trend has been around for a while – a YouGov report from 2016 stated that 61% of Americans disliked online ads – this hatred has become even more pronounced with the dawn of the 2020s.
What do people want instead of ads? Authenticity. The “real,” conversational kind of content that makes you feel like you’re talking to a friend, instead of being sold a product or service. The best blog writers and content creators (think about those upper-echelon YouTubers) are experts in authentic communication, and their brands and business have thrived because of it.
Originality
In addition to authenticity, today’s readers want to find originality in their online content. The internet is a vast and deep well of information, and readers don’t want to spend their time wading through 100 blogs with the exact same content!
Therefore, it’s very important to look for innovative and original ways to communicate on your blog. Create a consistent brand voice across all your platforms (your blog, social media platforms, newsletters, etc.), and make sure it’s the kind of voice that ONLY YOU can create. This will help you attract new customers, win over your target audience, and make more sales.
Structure
While originality is a very important 2020 blog writing trend, today’s blogs do need to adhere to a certain kind of structure. Today, bloggers favor long form blogs (over 1,000 words) that feature short paragraphs and headers to outline the material. This structure is essential for readability – and readability is essential if you want to communicate with your audience.
According to research from Hubspot, about 43% of readers skim online blogs rather than reading every word. This statistic proves that structure is a must-have for any blog writing in 2020. After all, if your audience can’t navigate your blog with a quick glance, they’re not going to glean any of the information! Making your blogs easy to read is sure to help you better communicate with your customers.
Consistency
If you follow any content creators online (bloggers, YouTubers, etc.), you might notice that they have a pretty consistent schedule for posting their work. There are a few reasons for this: consistency gives your audience something to expect (and keeps them coming back to your website), and a steady stream of content can boost your status in the Google algorithm. Make sure you’re always creating content!
What Blog Writers Should Do
Now that you know which words will land you a successful blog, it’s time to incorporate them into your writing. Your marketing strategy needs to embrace these qualities, regularly creating structured, authentic, original content that showcases your industry knowledge. With this magic formula, your blog writing will be hugely successful in 2020.
How can writers make sure that their content has the qualities we listed above? By following these simple rules:
Do the Keyword Research
“Keyword research” is a phrase that might make you cringe. We get it: keyword research can be overwhelming and confusing.
Worst still, building blogs around keywords can make your writing very stiff – hardly the authentic content readers want. However, keyword research is still an essential part of content creation, and that’s not changing anytime this decade.
Keywords are a great resource because they tell you what your customers want to know. Once you know what they’re asking Google, you’ll be able to give them the answers they need! Then, with the help of a few strategically placed SEO terms, your audience will be able to discovers the answers they seek AND your business in just a few mouse clicks.
Write a Great Headline
Remember that blog structure we talked about earlier? Well, headlines play a big role in creating an eye-catching blog. Your headline needs to grab the readers’ attention in a sea of search results – and that means, it MUST be good.
What makes a headline good? It should be snappy, clear, and to-the-point. It also doesn’t hurt to toss in a few numbers; according to a 2019 report from IMPACT, 36% of people prefer blogs with lists in the headlines (for example: 5 Things You Should Do to Market Your Blog). A number in the headline helps readers more easily skim the blog for the info they want.
Know Your Audience
This blogging trend has been around since well before 2020, but it’s just as important as it’s ever been. Whether your target customers are Gen Z young adults, working moms, motorcycle enthusiasts, or anything in between, it’s important to know your audience inside and out. Research your audience demographic, find out what makes them tick, and use your blog to reach out to their specific needs.
Solve Your Readers’ Problems
Finally, every blog you post on your company website needs to do one thing: solve your readers’ problems. Remember, people search online for the answers to their questions. Useful knowledge is worth its weight in gold – and the more helpful you can be, the larger your audience will become.
You might be thinking, “But if I give my readers TOO much info, they’ll take my advice and handle their problems themselves – or worse, go to a competitor!” That’s just not the case! When you use your blog to help your audience solve a problem or give them advice that improves their lives, you are proving your value as a business owner. This will lead to a better brand image for your business and more sales over time.
What Writers Should Avoid
As marketing changes, there are always trends and strategies that fall out of favor. Blogging is no different! Now that you know which blog writing trends to follow in 2020, let’s talk about the trends we need to let die out.
If you want your blog to succeed in 2020, make sure you never make these content creation mistakes:
Not Proofreading
Firstly, let’s get this out of the way: your copy NEEDS TO BE CLEAN. If your blog post is riddled with typos and other errors, you’re likely to lose credibility with your audience – and once you lose that credibility, it’s hard to regain your readers’ trust.
Luckily, there are plenty of options you can choose from to create clean, well-written copy these days. Download a program like Grammarly, draft your blogs in Microsoft Word, or even have a grammar expert give your blog a quick proofread before you hit “post.” Trust us, this extra step is DEFINITELY worth it!
Keyword Stuffing
“Keyword stuffing” refers to the process of writing content with as many search terms as possible. In the past, this was a popular way to boost your ranking in Google searches – but it often resulted in awkward, unintelligible content. These days, Google no longer rewards keyword stuffing, and it is a sure sign of an outdated marketing strategy.
Instead of building your content around your SEO, focus on creating quality blog posts. Make your blogs authentic, original, and full of expertise – and then, sprinkle a few keywords throughout your finished copy. As long as your keywords are in your meta descriptions, title tags, and URL, you’ll be good to go.
Getting TOO Technical
Remember when we talked about your content being “authentic”? The goal there is to make your blog (and your brand) relatable. Readers should feel like they’re engaging with your brand in a friendly way every time they read your posts. One easy way to do this is to simplify your language when you create blog content.
Avoiding overly technical jargon (or, if you have to use some industry lingo, defining the terms clearly) will make your blogs easier to understand. Ultimately, this offers a greater benefit to your readers and helps improve their lives – which is exactly what your blog should do!
Focusing on Paid Search Results
You might feel like the best way to get at the top of Google searches is to pay for a sponsored ad. But in actuality, research suggests that paid results may not be worth the investment; 70-80% of search engine users admit to ignoring paid and promoted suggestions completely! It’s clear that in 2020, working on high-ranking organic searches is the best option for your business.
How can you get your blog to climb the ranks of organic searches? By doing everything we’ve talked about so far! If your copy is personalized to reach your audience; if it uses keyword research to provide answers your readers are searching for; if the copy is clean, relatable, and easy to read; if your blog meets this criteria, it’s sure to attract readers and rank higher on Google searches. This year, take your company blog to the next level with these useful content creation trends. If you do, your blogs will quickly become more valuable to your target customers – and that can be hugely beneficial for your company in the long run.