Reflection: Why would you start a blog in 2023?

“Isn’t a blog so 2010?” I hear you ask. 

“Aren’t all the cool kids on TikTok, Instagram and Be Real?”

“Why would you start a blog in 2023?”

In some ways, yes, a blog would be considered very “old school” - and some marketers may be of the opinion that it’s better to chase the latest shiny, new platform.

However, when it comes to content marketing, a piece of advice was shared with me many years ago and it has guided me time and time again: don’t build a house on land you don’t own. 

Don’t build a house on land you don’t own

Ok, so what does that mean exactly? In a marketing context, while growing a large social media following is valuable, don’t rely solely on these platforms to fulfil all your content marketing needs. 

Social media is very important for distribution, promotion, awareness, engagement and, increasingly for e-commerce, sales. But if your brand exists only on social media, then you are at the mercy of the Mark Zuckerbergs and Elon Musks of the world. 

The platforms and their algorithms determine which of your content will surface, to who, and when. Or, tech execs may decide to change their business model and stop sharing your content or shut your page down (as we saw with Facebook in 2021).

So, my preferred approach to content marketing is to own the website where you host key content, which helps mitigate risk and helps drive traffic to your website (also known as inbound marketing, but more on that later). 

If content is king, distribution is Queen

Creating great content can be incredibly valuable for your business or brand - but only if people see it. 

A distribution strategy for your content is important and will vary for different brands depending on their needs. Distribution could include:

eNewsletters:

Some may consider it old-school, but building an email list is highly valuable, as it offers data you own and can control. Many easy-to-use and affordable platforms offer personalisation, automation, desktop/mobile previews, etc.

Social media:

Understanding your brand or business and your social media goals will help you determine which platform is most appropriate for you and your content.

Paid advertising: 

This could be in the form of pay-per-click advertising, sponsored content, or paid social ads - but all seek to achieve a similar result: targeting content to a particular demographic.

So - why start a blog in 2023? 

As a marketing and communications manager, I am starting a blog to: 

1. Follow my own advice (as per the above!) 

2. ensure my skills stay sharp and across industry best-practice, and

3. most importantly, share my learnings with you. 

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