Most businesses have their own blog since they want to boost their SEO, build authority and trust, and engage with their consumers. Blogging is no longer just a way to share opinions and ideas or keep cross-country relatives up-to-date; it’s a business and marketing tool that helps companies build their brand and connect with consumers. Businesses use blogs to educate customers about their products, connect with their audience emotionally, and provide other value. Zig Ziglar said, “If people like you, they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.”
Despite being around for nearly three decades, blogging has just recently picked up momentum and made its way into most marketing strategies. According to Hubspot, businesses that published 16 or more posts per month received 3.5 times more traffic than companies that published between zero and four. Those companies that published at least 16 posts per month also got 4.5 times more leads than companies that only posted a few.
Hosting a traditional blog means your business can draw more organic traffic through SEO since there will be more information relating specifically to you and your products online. It can also help convert visitors into leads through well-placed calls to action and set your business apart as a thought leader in your industry. But even with all the good a traditional blog can do for your business, I’ve found running a Medium column can do even more.
Medium versus a traditional blog
Medium is a third-party platform based on the premise that good ideas need to be consumed and discussed. It’s more social platform than traditional blog, and it makes it possible for lesser-known businesses and individuals to attract attention by enabling them to reach readers both in and outside of their network.
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Unlike a traditional blog, Medium tailors suggested content to each reader’s preferences based on newsfeed highlights, engagement with other content, etc. This means readers see interesting, relevant, provoking articles without having to sift through pieces they don’t want to see. Similar to a traditional blog, though, Medium can help build an engaged following and establish authority in your industry. It can also help your SEO, so there are a number of benefits to publishing a Medium column.
The benefits of publishing on Medium
It gets tons of exposure (which means you could, too). According to SimilarWeb, Medium received over 182 million visitors last month alone. When you run a column on Medium, that’s 182 million visitors who could potentially come across your content.
It ranks well in search results. Medium is a trusted resource since it focuses less on who you are and more on what information and ideas you share. For this reason, it ranks very well in search results, meaning that publishing on Medium could help your content rank on the first page of search results through boosted SEO.
It edits for an optimal reading experience. Medium is focused on user experience. When users check out an article on the site, they are given an estimate of how long the piece will take to read and how well-liked it is based on “claps” from other readers. The site’s format features the perfect amount of whitespace, the ability to highlight interesting sections, and an easy-to-read layout. As a publisher, all of that work is done for you, so you don’t have to worry about the aesthetic details.
It lets you easily import existing content. Rather than re-submitting posts you have already published, Medium makes it easy to import them directly into their platform. If you have been running a traditional blog, you can import your posts right away and start your column without creating or transferring new content to start drawing traffic.
It inspires real engagement. On Medium, you don’t have to ask family and friends to go like, share, and comment on your publications to inspire more engagement. With so many monthly visitors, it’s easy for your content to be found, and Medium regularly updates how many people saw your post, read to the end, and made comments.
It lets you focus on your content. Because Medium’s platform is consistent across the board, there’s no need to worry about aesthetic or design details that distract you from generating quality content. Medium handles it all for you, letting you focus on what you’re writing so you can make it as engaging as possible.
Final thoughts
Although hosting a traditional blog has a lot of benefits, in my experience, running a Medium column will do much more for your company. Medium handles all of the minute details so you can focus on what’s important, and with their high amount of traffic, recommendation algorithm, and other great features, it’s a reliable resource that can significantly boost traffic and draw more attention to your business.
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