In my 23 years of marketing, there have been astronomical changes in this field. The advent of the Internet and smart phones alone are simple representations of those changes. Simple is the operative word however.

Marketing has evolved into a complex set of channels boasting tens of thousands of vehicles that you can create an infinite number of integrated marketing strategies within. Where businesses only needed one marketing person they now need a whole team. Many “marketing experts” are seen as generalists as there are thousands of marketing titles out there that have a specific expertise and deep knowledge of a specific channel or vehicle, such as blogging.

Why should we be thankful to blogging? 

Let me explain how I used blogging in my position as a marketing executive during my career. One of the best ways to attract and engage an audience is by using education-based marketing. I’ve used blogging as the linchpin of this strategy.

Here are some ways I’ve used a corporate blog:

1. Launch and integrate social media platforms.
2. Feed an enewsletter.
3. Establish a quarterly print publication.
4. Syndicate content.
5. Gain interest of industry publications and carriage.
6. Provide a valuable call-to-action in direct mailers.
7. Use it to entice digital advertising click-thrus.
8. Build an opt-in direct marketing database.
9. Generate a large community of target audience followers.
10. Win third party awards for the value within the content we shared.

All of these tactical instruments were an integral part of big picture strategic objectives. Blogging was the powerhouse that allowed us to:

1. Being seen as an expert.
2. Establishing a more audience engagement and rapport.
3. A stronger conversion of suspects into prospects.
4. Driving traffic to our web site.
5. Raising our ecommerce revenue by 16%.
6. Expanding our brand awareness and within that brand equity.

Just think about what you can do with blogging. Maybe you’ll end up being as thankful as I am. Share your stories in the comments section on how you’ve wielded blogging in a unique way.