Is 2022 the death of the written blog?

Posted 04.05.2022

By Bethany

In the world of Tiktok, YouTube and mindlessly scrolling are blogs a dying art? Do we still read blogs? Is there even a point of having a blog? Let’s find out. 

There’s multiple types of blogs, and the type of blog that comes to mind when you think of blogs, is in my opinion, dead or at the very least, it’s on the edge of extinction. The majority of personal blogs have been replaced with social media, instead of reading a carefully crafted 2000 word blog on what your favourite influencer is doing, you can simply watch a 1 minute TikTok, or a 10 minute YouTube video, or a 30 second highlight reel on Instagram, there simply isn’t the appetite anymore to read through a personal blog. 

So, what’s replacing them? 

It’s really simple – helpful content. 

Whenever you google a question, you end up on helpful content. Whether that’s what to eat tonight, and you find a food blog. If you were to google what to wear at the races, chances are you’d end up on some form of fashion blog. 

The big shift that we’re seeing is taking blogs from being about the writer to them being about how they can help or inspire the reader. The bloggers that we’re seeing succeed are the bloggers creating problem solving content and recommending products that will help solve said problem. 

This shift is also seen on the way people access blogs. As I said above, we’re now choosing to read blog posts that answer questions that we have or help us in some way and they’re ranking high in the search results for being useful content.

So, are personal blogs dead? 

No. 

They’re just more reader focused and they’re looking a little different from the blogs of yesteryear. But what about company blogs? Does anyone even read them? 

The short answer is yes. Again, the focus on a company blog needs to be on helpful content, but also needs to be backed up with a strategy. For example, a web designer may blog about why you need a brand photoshoot, which is helpful to their audience but if that web designer doesn’t offer photography, it’s ultimately not going to convert to a sale. Writing content in your area of expertise is a surefire way to get the right audience in, plus, it’s easier!

When I first began writing blogs for a different company, my manager would read them and throw them back at me with a flippant, “so what?” Being a creative, my ego was crushed, but 10 years on in my career, I realise she was right. Every blog post a business writes should focus on growing the business. Now, growing the business doesn’t have to look like sales, it could aid in recruitment and brand awareness too. 

As a writer at heart, you might think I would be biassed toward the written blog, but I actually think video content should be a key part of your blog and overall content strategy. Not everyone likes to read and listening and watching content can be much more preferable if time is short. Using platforms like YouTube can open up your reach to a whole new audience as well as increase the amount of time people spend on your page (ideal for SEO!) 

So, we’ll answer the question that we started in the beginning paragraph; is the written blog dead? 

Not at all. 

But, to be successful and ultimately profitable it needs a careful strategy behind it. A blog should focus around growing the business in a way that is beneficial to its reader, offering advice, instructions and of course, entertainment! In the long run your SEO team will thank you for putting thought and strategy into your blog! 

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