Blog Trends for 2015

Blogging and I go way back—all the way to 1998 and my freshman year of college, in fact. Back then, I dug into blogs on some of my favorite, geeky things.

My how things have changed.

Yeah, blogs have changed quite a bit over the past 16 years (although I still enjoy reading some of my favorite geeky ones!), and they have incredible power as a

marketing tool for your business. As part of my job, I have the fun task of following awesome blogs and keeping up on the latest trends. Here’s my breakdown of some fun

blog trends and how they’re impacting businesses today:

Designs are getting funky (yet oh so mobile friendly). Remember the olden days

when your blog page had the posts in the middle, then a right column with “recent posts,” “authors” and “categories?” Me too. I also remember begging my dad to

buy me safety pins to pin my jeans and pick up PacMan cereal. Some things are really awesome at the time, but now they just…aren’t. The most engaging blogs are

taking design to another level—and not just for design’s sake. It’s all about usability and conversions. I love the clean look of the Portent blog. You’ll notice that it’s

actually not far off from that old format I mentioned above, but it’s cleaner and more visually appealing (including icons in the sidebar and bringing in great blog

post images to create a dynamic, visual vibe for the page). It feels fresh and

modern, and that inspired design inspires me to instantly offer more credibility to their brand. The Yoh blog also takes design to another level – it’s incredibly visual

(like Pinterest in blog format), and with great use of images and headlines, you can’t help but want to click and read their content.

Blogging is getting personal(ized). Your customers aren’t one-size-fits-all, so your blog probably shouldn’t be either. Clever companies are figuring out ways to

personalize content for its audiences to keep visitors engaged and ultimately get them to act (whether that’s downloading a free resource, signing up for an email

newsletter, contacting their company…you catch my drift). Hubspot does an incredible job of this—and they should, since they’re the inbound marketing

masters (ClearEdge Marketing is actually a Hubspot partner agency…it is a fantastic tool, if you haven’t tried it). Visit their blog, and you’re immediately asked to choose your path – are you in marketing or sales, or are you an agency? Magically, relevant content for each audience is found in the relevant section. They also

(wisely) make it super easy to sign up for email subscriptions to their blog. It’s impossible to get lost or confused on this page—choose the path that’s most relevant to you and your business, and you open a world of awesome, relevant

content.

Reading is cool, but we really want people to act. I’ve mentioned this a few times, but as much as we like to think we’re all blogging for philanthropic benefit to our customers, we want them to act. We want them to connect with our brand so that we can ultimately, you know, sell them stuff. That’s what it comes down to for every business, and your blog should provide crazy valuable content while also building trust and inspiring people to act. The Salesforce company blog does a great job of using its space to inspire action. They use their sidebar area for visual calls to action (including more relevant content!) and to encourage further engagement with their brand. In fact, give me one second while I go download some of their ebooks (I go crazy for free ebooks!).

I love tracking how brands use blogging as a tool to connect and engage with their customers. As technology and our creativity continue to evolve, even more fun ways to connect with start emerging. What blogs have you seen that grab your attention and compel you to act? Or some that just look really cool?

In the meantime, take a peek at your own blog. Want to step it up a notch? Give us a call!