More Blogging Equals More Sales: A Case Study Roundup

By Scion Social Content Marketing Strategy May 13, 2013

We have rounded up some of the strongest case studies that demonstrate how blogging for business can lead to sales for your business. Check out the findings on content-based conversions.

Hubspot: Correlation Between Inbound Marketing & Lead Generation

This past February, Hubspot released its latest ROI report and presented the inbound marketing world with some powerful statistics that reinforced what we all (hoped we) knew to be true. Let’s hit the highlights:

93% of companies use inbound marketing to increase their traffic and lead generation.
40% of those companies saw at least a 75% increase in traffic.
56% of those companies saw their lead generation increase by at least 50%.
85% of companies that use inbound marketing see that bump in traffic within the first 7 months.
Blogging for business is the #1 method for increasing traffic.

Tresnic Media: Blogging for Business Sends Lead Generation Through the Roof

If you’re looking for more recent figures, this case study from Tresnic Media was released just a couple of weeks ago. It examines how blogging for business increased lead generation for Log My Calls, a Utah-based call-tracking company. Blogging for business 3x per day for 50 days resulted in:

210% increase in overall traffic.
514% increase in organic search traffic.
901% increase in referral traffic.

But how did that translate into leads?

Log My Calls generated more new customers in that 3-month period than any other 3-month period in company history.
Inbound leads increased 400% from one quarter to the next.

Marketing Sherpa: Targeted Blogging Increases Sales Leads

The Marketing Sherpa found that carefully written, audience-tailored blog posts led to a 124% increase in sales leads for Skytap, a self-service provider of cloud automation solutions. The other results?

210% increase in North American site traffic
55% increase in organic search traffic
97% increase in leads from online marketing
124% increase in leads from all channels (online as well as offline events and programs)
73% increase in opportunities from online marketing

Traffic Generation Café: Blogging for Business? Just Get to 20 Posts!

Our last example comes from Traffic Generation Cafe, who cracked open a HubSpot survey to discover that monthly lead generation is pretty stagnant until you get past 23 or so blog posts. The study found that once blogs index 52+ posts, they enjoy 77% higher lead generation than blogs with 0-23 posts. If you’re feeling discouraged about your lack of content-based conversions, the problem might be that you lack enough content. Let’s look at five essentials of blogging for business that can help you get back on track…

The 5 Essentials of Blogging for Business

The number one, absolute-most-important thing you can do is create content that is truly valuable. This can be accomplished by cross-checking your work with the five “value factors” I’ve shared in the past. Ask yourself these questions before posting:

Does this blog post reveal true insider knowledge of my industry? If you want content-based conversions, your content should demonstrate that you actually know something your customers don’t.
Am I regurgitating/adding to the noise? Your blog post should say something original, or it should condense and direct other content into a new, meaningful format. Don’t waste readers’ time by adding to the noise.
Do I have valid and varied resources? Unless you’re one of the top leaders in your industry, you should make a special effort to include plenty of quality resources in your blog posts.
Am I targeting a specific audience profile? Use common sense when creating blog posts, and try to imagine exactly who is reading the post you’re writing. Are you writing for a brand new lead or is your ideal reader late in the sales cycle?
Do I have a clear call-to-action? Every blog post should end with practical steps. Your reader should have no doubt about what you want him/her to do.

Isn’t it time you got to blogging? What other blogging-for-business essentials would you add to this list?