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Did you know that nearly half of the online population reads blogs? In 2020, we can only expect that percentage to hold steady, if not increase!
That means for any brand to strive online, having an effective content marketing strategy in place is key. And that means keeping up with any blog writing trends that develop.
With our ever-changing attention spans and online habits, the way we as consumers prefer to read and absorb blogs is evolving and if you don’t keep up as a brand, your company will get lost in the crowds.
Keen to learn what the blog writing trends in 2020 will involve? Read on to discover all.
Long Form Content is King
The idea that the optimal length of blog posts should be around 1,000-words long is dying out. Instead, long form, information-packed articles spanning between 1,000 – 7,000 words long are becoming popular due to the high rate of traffic they attract. In fact, blog posts that are over 3,000 words in length tend to receive the most internet traffic.
These blog posts aim to be evergreen, in-depth yet easy-to-read articles that are almost like mini e-books.
While they require longer sitting and more attention, long form blog posts are informative and reward readers with high-quality brain nutrition – aka valuable material!
A quality long form piece of writing will keep readers on the page – and your website – for longer and will help them relate your brand to being a helpful source of information. Next time readers are looking for similar advice, they’ll turn to your brand for more knowledge.
As well as treating readers to helpful content, there’s another reason for the popularity of long form content.
Google favors long form blog posts, with the average word count of a blog post on the first page of search results coming in at 1,890 words. That means in 2020, shorter posts won’t cut it when it comes to hitting the top spot in Google’s search results.
Long gone are the days of keyword stuffing in a 1,000-word post – instead, Google is optimizing its search engine to offer users more informative and useful content.
While you should strive to write content that’s longer than 1,000 words, you must do so with direction. There’s no point rushing to write a 3,000-word article if the content isn’t going to be well-organized, relevant, or useful for the reader. Regardless of length, make sure it’s a quality piece of writing before publishing.
More Time Is Spent on Content
Linking in with the popularity of writing long form content, another of 2020’s content marketing trends is the rise in time spent on producing content.
Brands are no longer happy with quick and poorly researched content that’s bashed out within 30 minutes. Instead, companies are happier to invest in quality research and writing that will result in a longer, more informative blog piece that will provide real value to consumers.
A survey has revealed that 56% of bloggers receive better results from spending over six hours writing a post. While it may sound like a long time, an evergreen, data-rich piece of writing is worth the investment if it ranks highly in search engines and draws readers to a company blog.
As well as spending time on research and writing a blog article, time will need to be spent analyzing the audience of a blog to determine the audience their blog posts will need to attract.
Brands will need to work with buyer personas and psychographic targeting to personalize content to cater to the right audience. After all, you can spend hours and hours planning and writing a quality blog post, but if it doesn’t interest your audience, then what’s the point?
Snippet Reads Are Successful
While long form content is king and should take priority, you shouldn’t leave short form content out of your editorial calendar.
With many people skimming through content on their mobile devices on the way to and from work, short form content that can be quickly absorbed is also a popular content marketing trend of 2020. Apparently, Facebook updates make for the most memorable writing in the content-rich world of the internet.
Mini-blog posts can be quickly consumed by readers like fast food. While they aren’t rich in nutrition like long form blog posts, they give readers the essential information that they crave.
These snippet reads should range between 300 – 1,000 words and should provide quick, to-the-point material. While readers will appreciate such posts, don’t expect these blog posts to rank well on Google and certainly don’t rely on short form blog posts as the key part of your editorial plan.
Add value to such posts with the incorporation of quick videos and attention-grabbing graphics which can be as easily consumed. And we’ll get to the importance of including visuals in a bit!
High Frequency is Fantastic
Once you’re creating both long and short form content for your blog, it’s important to keep up momentum and frequency of posts. If you post regularly – daily if possible – expect higher traffic to the website.
While it may seem like a lot of time, money, and effort, if you post content regularly, you’ll soon become a recognizable source of valuable information within your field.
With time, consumers will become more dependant on your brand for providing them with the information they’re seeking. Becoming a regular source of information to consumers puts you ahead of your competitors that aren’t posting as frequently.
Likewise, many internet users are interested in time-relevant topics and seek everyday access to update-to-date news and information. If consumers know you’re top of the game when it comes to posting fresh, new, and updated content then they’ll turn to you, especially if you post regularly on breaking stories.
It’s important to stick to a routine when it comes to posting content too. If you plan to post weekly, it isn’t wise to stop posting for a couple of weeks. If you have loyal readers that return to the blog weekly for new content, they may look elsewhere for a more consistent brand if you decide to stop posting as usual.
Outsourcing Writers Is on the Rise
Many companies can’t afford a full-time in-house copywriter, and even if they could a lot of the time they wouldn’t have enough writing work to provide a full-timer.
That’s where the popularity of outsourcing freelance writers comes in for 2020. Brands can save time and money when it comes to keyword research, topic generation, content creation, and social media marketing by outsourcing writers from companies that do all the hard work, like us here at ContentFly!
Our standard package allows you to request 4,000 words a month that can be divided into as many pieces of content as you like, and it only costs $250 for each month. Instead of spending long hours finding and interviewing freelance writers, instead, you can sign up to a monthly subscription and submit your content orders on the dashboard.
Our service is super-speedy too. Your premium-quality content will be delivered from our team of talented writers within a mere five days!
Blogs Are Highly Mobile-Optimized
Did you know that mobile devices account for 48% of web page views worldwide?
With this figure expecting to grow, writing blog posts with mobile viewers in mind is more important than ever.
In 2020, blog posts viewed on a mobile device are expected to be structured in simple, easy-to-read formats featuring bite-sized chapters so people can read posts anywhere. This is whether they’re skimming through their phone during lunch break, sitting on the train home after work, or waiting around for an appointment.
Likewise, plenty of white space is important for the mobile-responsive blog post design so the writing can be absorbed from a small screen.
Video Content Is Key
Think about it – how often do you watch videos online? If you browse the internet regularly, the likelihood is that you watch many a day.
It’s a video-saturated internet world out there and 87 percent of online marketers are already using video in their marketing strategies. Plus, mobile consumption of video content has been rising by a whopping 100 percent annually.
If you’re not jazzing up your blog posts with visual content like videos, then you’re being left behind in the world of blogging.
While written content is still crucial to communicate with your audience, in the online world, video is becoming one of the most popular ways to engage browsers and build an audience. After all, as mentioned, in today’s saturated internet world of blogging, people are busier and attention spans are shorter.
The inclusion of a video with a blog post helps to deliver ideas more successfully in a quicker amount of time whilst striking the viewer’s emotions through visual and auditory elements. Paired with organized and informative written content, your blog piece is on to be a winner.
While using a professional videographer for your brand may seem expensive, the best part about incorporating video content into your editorial strategy is that you don’t need to be a video producer to create a successful blog video.
All you need is a smartphone with a decent camera and voila, you’ve got your filming equipment. From how-to-videos to product reviews to comedic material, all these work wonders merged into a blog post. Not only will videos entertain browsers, but it will also add some variety to the blog piece.
Interactive Content Increases Engagement
Following on from this, another of the blog writing trends of 2020 is the inclusion of interactive content within a blog post. Interactivity increases engagement and in 2020 more and more brands are expected to jump on the bandwagon.
Interactive content can include anything that can get the reader involved in the post. For example, quizzes, surveys, and infographics.
Fun activities like these can keep the reader engaged and can help them understand the topic better. And if a reader feels more involved in a blog piece, they’re likely to feel more valued as a consumer too.
Marketing Your Blog Brings Results
You’re writing quality content with great momentum. Well done!
However, planning and writing blog pieces are half the work. This is especially true in 2020, where more and more blog content is being created. If you aren’t marketing your blog articles, then they’re only going to be viewed by those that happen to be browsing your website.
To gain real traffic, you need to engage with readers by other means to give out brand presence.
Assuming your company already has its own social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, this is a great place to start.
Post your blog articles regularly across these platforms to entice readers to read your piece. If budget allows, you can even create a paid advertisement on Facebook, for example, which will guarantee clicks. You can even cater the advert to your target audience, so you know that you’re only paying for the right people to click onto your website.
This way, you can encourage new browsers to visit your website and view your content. And if they like what they see, maybe you’ll even get lucky and welcome a new loyal customer.
Keep up with the Trends
When it comes to blog writing, it’s important to understand that the process is constantly evolving. To keep up to date and to consistently produce written content that will build engagement and rank highly in search engines, it’s important to stay connected with the trends in the world of content marketing.
While the effort you need to invest in blogging is rising, so are the results! Keep these blog writing trends in mind and if you practice them properly, you’re sure to welcome results with your content marketing strategy in 2020.
Want to learn more advice on creating quality content for your blog? Check out our five best practices for content creation and management.