Both blog posts and video content are solid choices for marketing your business. But what’s best?

When it comes to your business, you want what’s best, or at least best, as far as you can tell.

Marketing your business involves many options to choose from, and you want to ensure your choice perfectly reflects your audience’s needs.

One of the critical questions you will need to ask yourself is what medium you want to use to reach your potential clients and other interested parties.

Do you want to follow a well-known system of posting content online?

Or opt for video content creation on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and the like?

Maybe both? This post will explore the benefits of each so you can make the most informed decision possible.

Blog Posts: A Well-Known Path

Blog writing is the most common way to reach potential clients online, especially if you run an online-only business.

As of 2022, nearly 600 million blogs are online, and 77% of internet users read them.

Blog posting has been a sustainable source of client generation for many businesses worldwide.

Indeed, according to a survey from Marketing Charts, 62% of business-to-business marketers view content creation as the highest ROI-producing channel for businesses.

Blog posts and articles were more frequently cited than other types of content for their effectiveness in lead generation.

So, it seems blog posts work well for companies. But what are some of the specific benefits they bring?

Benefits of Blog Posts

Generally speaking, using a company blog post as a lead-generation tool has three significant benefits.

• Build trust – Clients can see your expertise shine through your blog posts when you answer critical questions they are looking for online. This will allow you to reinforce existing relationships and create warm leads for other forms of outreach, such as emails.
• Drive viewership – Blog posts are one of the most efficient ways to bring eyes to your website and, by extension, your products or services. Assuming you follow best SEO practices and create content your audience needs, a blog can exponentially increase your website traffic.
• Differentiate you from the competition – If you’re an online business, it is easy to get lost in the ocean that is the e-commerce market. A blog post is a reliable way to make your brand stand out from competitors. It shows a level of expertise and commitment to client connections that other businesses that don’t have a blog lack.

Disadvantages of Blog Posts

As with all things, blogs also have their drawbacks as a marketing technique. Here are some common pitfalls.

• Cumbersome – If you are a small business owner generating profit during the day and writing during your off hours, you’ll quickly run out of steam. Creating content ideas to procure 1000+ word blog posts is difficult, especially if you’re the only one doing it.
• Technical – One of the most technical parts of a blogging endeavor is SEO. Understanding technical SEO, on-page SEO, optimal word count, and other factors can be time-consuming and tedious for the average small business.
• Long-term Strategy – As any experienced blogger will tell you, blog post writing is a long-term content strategy. You may have to put in hours and/or large sums of money before seeing a substantial return on investment.

Video Creation: Another Option

Video marketing will be booming in 2023. From TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, this medium is becoming more of a marketing staple for new and older businesses.

There’s a good reason for that. According to a study done by Wyzowl, 87% of marketers stated that video marketing strategies gave them a positive return on investment.

With the number of people watching online videos doubling since 2018, you could miss out on profitable leads if your business doesn’t have a video plan.

Benefits of Video

To further highlight some practical features of using a video medium for attracting clients, here are some of the most common benefits of utilizing videos.

• Simple – In the age of smartphone ubiquity, you can easily create a video that reaches thousands of viewers in minutes, with no professional team required. That means low overhead for you and less marketing stress.
• Improves Search Optimization – With videos being able to rank higher on social media platforms without needing to delve into SEO technicalities, it’s an attractive option for those looking to increase their online footprint without spending much effort.
• Personal – In contrast to the written word, videos allow your customers (both current and future) to connect with you on a personal level. For a small business that prides itself on being connected to its community in a personal way, video marketing seems like a no-brainer.

Disadvantages of Video

Though video marketing can appear to be a solid strategy with few drawbacks, there are some possible issues to consider.

• Low Retention – Only 37% of video content fully retains viewers. If you aren’t working hard to keep your content relevant and engaging, you might have high views with low conversion rates. Views alone can sometimes be an unhelpful vanity metric.
• Costly – If and when you decide to start creating high-quality videos involving professional production, the costs of videos increase substantially compared to other tools.
• Updating is Complex – Written content can easily be updated if statistics change or a significant change occurs in your business. Video, on the other hand, is not so straightforward. Videos will need to be re-recorded, or at least heavily edited, and this can take up quite a bit of time–or money.

Choosing What’s Best for You

Each business is vastly different. Even though some of the benefits of blogs or videos may directly correlate with your business’s goals and vision, there is one key component I have not touched on yet: knowing your audience.

Understand Your Viewers

When it comes to retention rates, conversion rates, views, SEO, and other marketing statistics, the best way to increase the ROI of your efforts is to understand your viewers clearly.

This will allow you to create content that connects and engages in driving sales further. For example, creating video content for niche-market services like landscaping/lawn maintenance services will connect with potential clients much better than a written post. Because it shows them what they want: a job well done.

On the other hand, if you operate a less practical business–such as accounting–showing clients your expertise and knowledge through well-researched blog posts may work better than a video explanation.

The Best Option isn’t Either/Or

Both methods can work well, and both can flop. It all depends on who is at the marketing wheel. Ensuring you are well-informed on your client’s needs is a step in the right direction.

If you have that knowledge, using blogs or videos effectively is a matter of creating solid content.

If you’re looking for a seasoned professional that intimately understands the struggles and benefits of running a small business, contact New Horizons 123.