These days if you want to record any success in whatever you are doing, you’ve got to keep up with the trends. Almost everyone who has a business venture or some kind of enterprise or something they handle and is serious about it thinks of various ways to improve. One of the ways is staying current and bloggers are not left behind. Blogs have been rated as the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information. (,2016)
Over the years, blogging trends have evolved and with each evolution, many bloggers who have diligently flowed with the blog trends have recorded success. According to Statista, 28.3 million internet users updated a blog at least once per month in 2015 and it is believed that by 2020, the number of bloggers in the US is set to reach 31.7 million users. Looking at these statistics, it is safe to say that a lot of people have benefitted and are still benefitting from having blogs. A closer look will reveal to you that following blog trends have become the major way to record success in the blogging world.
Blogging Trends You Need to Know About:
Since blog trends more often than not, increase productivity, we have put together a few blogging trends that you need to know about so that you can become a successful blogger.
#1. Increasing Word Count 
In 2015, the average word count for blog posts was noted to be 887 and has risen to 1,054 words in 2016. (Orbit Media). If your aim is to be useful to your readers or potential customers, you want to give them what they’re looking for. A few words about that topic is not going to help you especially since there are over a thousand blog posts on that topic apart from yours.
When someone checks out your blog post you can be sure that he or she will check about five more blogs before deciding to do business with your company. According to Demand Gen Report (2016), 47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. What will make a reader stay on your site is the amount of information you have to offer and you cannot achieve that with less than 1,000 words in this dispensation?
It is also imperative to understand that you cannot deliver quality content and increase your word content without spending a lot of time and effort. According to Orbit Media, 33% of bloggers saw solid, measurable results when they put in six or more hours into writing their blog posts. Spending enough time on your blog cannot be overemphasised. You cannot compare the amount of time you would spend on a 1,000 words post to the amount of time another blogger would spend writing about 3,000 words on the same topic.
The reader would most likely spend more time on the one with the highest word count because he feels that he would get more information from there and his decision will most likely also be based on what he gets from that post. This blogging trend has reflected in most blog data. Be willing to spend more time, while increasing your word count and writing quality content.
#2. Quality, Engaging Word Content 
The future of blogging depends greatly on the importance bloggers attach to having quality content. It is not enough that your word count increases. You also have to put excellence and quality into consideration. Nobody wants to spend time reading a post that will add no real value to them or provide what he or she is looking for.
To beat this you should have a personal, documented strategy for developing your word content. It doesn’t hurt to have a pattern that guides your writing, and constantly ask yourself these questions, what do you want your blog to be known for? Who is your target audience? What are your aims and objectives for creating the blog?
Having a systematically arranged write up, with interesting or informative topics will go a long way in keeping your target audience longer on your site. Also, you should be careful of grammatical blunders as this could completely discourage a reader from reading to the end. Nothing puts people off than a poorly written post, it suggests mediocrity and you wouldn’t want your blog to be associated with such.
Also, apart from watching out for errors, you should also not leave out creativity and fun. These are a no-brainer for engaging your audience, it also suggests to them that you’re confident about what you’re saying. Always proofread before posting. You could have an editor proofread for you to prevent such errors.
On the other hand, you could give a try to dissertation help service or freelance writers. You can be sure to get the best of writing from them since it is their area of expertise. This way, you have one less detail to worry about and have more time on your hands to carry out other activities. Most writing agencies have specific writers for different fields to ensure that the best is delivered. They do all the necessary research and based on the requirements you give, they help you express your thoughts clearly without leaving out creativity.
Don’t just increase word count, improve the quality of your word content and watch your blog become popular.
#3. More Visual Content; Videos and Pictures 
One of the best blogging trends so far is the integration of more images and videos. 71%of marketers report using visual assets as part of their content marketing strategy. (Blogging Statistics, 2017). This has improved the quality and productivity generally in the blogging world. Nothing draws audience attention than good, compelling, high-quality videos and images.
They are most times used to drive home your points. The average person spends at least one hour every single day consuming video content. HubSpot State of the Inbound report (2017) tells us that many marketers have taken to video blogging as it has improved their sales and given them better results because it gives more detailed information about their products and services.
Videos integration is done with the intent of getting readers or audience to respond, this is a method of engaging the audience. You could have a little write up to go with your video. You need to take a lot of precaution when creating your video. You should also have a pattern or outline of what you are going to be saying.
You do not have to create a video of yourself if you are not comfortable with it, you could post popular videos or video contents that have gone viral. This will draw an audience and keep them engaged. Do not also forget that the more audience you draw, the more traffic your blog site gets and the more you move up the search results scale. This is a two-in-one package any blogger wouldn’t want to miss out on.
On the other hand, blog posts with images get 94% more views and this has helped their numbers. Audience and readers have increased drastically and traffic on their sites has never been this good. The posting of pictures and videos is the beginning of better results from your blog. This trend is one of the ways of preventing your blog post from being buried under a pile of other thousands of blog posts.
It is no longer a friendly advice, it is compulsory. The moment you start putting up more images and videos, your blog is on its way to becoming viral. Get ready!
#4. Blog Posts Frequency and Consistency 
The ideal number of blog posts you’re supposed to hit is 16 per month. Having this target at the back of your mind helps you track your progress. That’s why having pattern is also necessary so you don’t get overwhelmed.
When you post only about once or three times a month, it suggests inconsistency to your readers. You might come off as being unserious and you wouldn’t want your readers to think of you that way. If you haven’t been consistently posting on your blog, now is the time to do so. Get serious with it if you really want to achieve something.
It boils down to the reason you started the blog in the first place. What are your aims and objectives? How useful do you want to be to your audience? The future of blogging cannot be left in the hands of people whose hearts are not really into it. Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to achieve a positive ROI on their efforts.
Consistent and frequent posting increases your visibility in search results when keywords are typed. For example, when a keyword or phrase is typed on Google, the first page shows some sites. These sites belong to people who have met certain requirements one of which are frequency and consistency. There are other criteria of course but these two also play a major role.
#5. Self-Promotion
In case you didn’t know, bloggers have amplified their use of promotional methods to drive traffic to their websites. This use of promotional methods has increased by 93% in the last two years. So, yes. Social media is more powerful than you think! Bloggers have taken to several social media platforms to promote their blogs. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter have become useful tools in promoting their blog posts.
When your blog post is interesting and highly informative, you are sure to receive many likes from friends and friends of friends. People who are looking for the information your post is offering will definitely flood your page. You could tell your friends online to follow you, like your page and so on. The more the likes, the more the awareness.
When you upload your blog videos on YouTube you could direct your viewers to your blog site for more information. As discussed earlier, your video should be compelling enough to make the viewer visit your blog site. Emails have also become important in the promotion of blog posts, they have evolved from just being used to send and receive messages to advertising and business promotion.
Don’t just put your blog posts on social media and leave them there, share with others to share with others. In no time your blog posts will be all over the place and this will drive traffic towards your blog site. Yes, it really is that simple. You could also make use of paid ads which shouldn’t cost much compared to what you stand to gain.
Using these mediums require little or no cost at all. Plus, they are fast and reliable. They can also reach a large number of people in a short time. All you need are personnel that can handle your social media accounts with the expertise required. The fact that it is social media is the more reason why it should be trustworthy. You never know who is going through your posts. You could either win them over or drive them away for good. Start optimizing social media to get the best results.
Conclusion
Bloggers who have applied these blogging trends in recent times have started gaining ground. Join the companies receive 97% more links to their website today. If your blog is for online marketing of your products and services, be ready for an increase in sales. Also, get ready to retain customers because, with the prompt application of these blog trends, you’ll have more traffic on your site. Likewise, if your blog is for entertainment, information or any other purpose, be ready for a larger audience and greater results.
One thing you shouldn’t forget is that trends change. So while applying these blog trends, pay attention to changes and learn to flow in the direction of the change if you want to keep on making progress. If all bloggers would apply these blogging trends, then the future of blogging would only get better.