If you were an 80's kid – like me – you've probably seen the 1984 movie called "The Karate Kid" starring Ralph Macchio and the late Pat Morita.
It inspired a following because of the movie's timelessness. The theme and lessons this movie brings clearly resonate to this day.
Remember the "wax on / wax off" scene?
Daniel – played by Ralph Macchio – asked Mr. Miyagi (Morita) to teach him Karate.
Daniel's excitement quickly wore off when instead of learning some cool Karate moves, Mr. Miyagi assigned him to house chores.
But when the actual lessons began, Daniel soon found out Karate was easy to learn. He discovered the movements he was doing all along were actual Karate drills.
The Karate Kid taught me a valuable lesson: even the basic stuff can make a difference if we practice them consistently.
Most businesses today are much more committed to their social media presence – which is the right step in today's setting. But I believe there's still a place for blogging; which, along with email marketing, should be the cornerstone of your inbound marketing strategies.
Blogging has been around since the 90's. Some find it "old school". It’s not hip (Facebook 360 is cooler). Some say it's boring; Periscope is better. It's not as sexy or buzzworthy as social media marketing.
But it does serve a purpose for you and your customers.
In today's article, I'll talk about 5 reasons why blogging is important to marketing. Plus, I'll give you a list of companies that used blogging as a way to improve their marketing strategy.
Now, let’s see how big name companies use blogs to market their business.
Work Shifting (Citrix) - A blog for professionals and employees who work remotely. Instead of focusing on their products, Citrix decided to put their audience's needs in the forefront.
Marriott - If you want to learn about thought leadership and how to be an expert in your field, then corporate blogger Bill Marriott should be on your list. He writes his own posts and shares his views on sales, business, technology, media, the government and more.
GE Reports (General Electric) - Great storytelling, beautiful photography and diverse topics designed to capture your imagination and encourage curiosity. This company is more than just light bulbs. Do you want to put your product in a different light? Learn how GE expertly weaves their product in every story without being salesy.
Blog Southwest (Southwest Airlines) - Blog content doesn't mean you have to write. There are ingenious ways to get your message across than just a wall of text. They mix and match their content – from articles and polls to videos and photos. The blog was created to build a strong relationship by showcasing stories from employees and customers.
Find a problem and blog about it.
I hope you learned a lesson about the value of blogging in your marketing strategy. Platforms come and go (remember Friendster? MySpace?). The rules of the game frequently change to cater to business-interest (Facebook Zero, anyone?). And gambling on something you can't control seems unwise (banner ads, I'm looking at you).
The only thing you can control is something you already own: your blog and your content. Why not begin from there and start bringing value to the marketplace?
Daniel learned the fundamentals of Karate and mastered it. In the end, he won the tournament and earned the respect he deserves.
Blogging will bring the same benefit to you.
I regularly get emails or messages from subscribers saying they enjoyed a recent post.
A great example is when I wrote a blog post about 19 tools to easily manage your inbound marketing (http://ashleyidesign.com/19-tools-to-easily-manage-your-inbound-marketing).
One of my subscribers even sent a "Thank You" note:
"Hey, Ashley. Hope you are doing well. Just wanted to drop you a quick note and thank you for this great article."
I've also had requests to repost articles on the subscriber’s site.
For example, my blog was translated into Spanish and posted over here:
http://www.mediaycom.es/blog/por-que-el-dise%C3%B1o-web-de-siempre-ya-no-sirve
If you're curious, here's the original post: http://ashleyidesign.com/modern-web-design/
Do you want to see the same results?