When it comes to business blogging, how much time do people put into creating posts? How long are their posts? What goes into them? How often do they publish new content? How do they promote it? Do they measure the results?
The answers to any and all of these questions deliver interesting insights on the state of digital marketing, and thanks to the work of Orbit Media Studios, this information has been collected and made available for all to take in.
For three years running, Andy Crestodina -- the web design and development company's co-founder -- and his team have surveyed 1000+ bloggers to find out about how they create content. They've then compiled their findings into various blog posts, infographics, and SlideShares.
Let's take a look at some of the key trends their research has identified over the years.
Business Blogging: A Look at Trends From 2014, 2015 & 2016
2014
In their 2014 research Orbit established some baselines and concluded:
- The majority of bloggers spend two hours or less on a typical post.
- The typical blogger published several posts per week. 5% published daily.
- 80% were creating content of 1,000 words or less.
- Social media was the most common promotion tactic, typically used by 94% of bloggers.
Andy told us that for bloggers, blogging isn't a job; it's a lifestyle. His research indicated bloggers were writing and producing posts everywhere, all the time.
2015
In 2015, Crestodina and I collaborated on an infographic to present the key findings, which reported:
- Average time writing blog posts increased to 2.5 hours.
- The number of bloggers publishing daily (or more) increased.
- Blog posts of 1,500 or more words increased by 72%.
- The use of images increased.
The research indicated more blogging was done during normal work hours. The findings at large inspired Andy to conclude, "Blogging is becoming a more serious, formal discipline." He also said best practices were emerging.
2016
The 2016 results came together in November, and you can find a detailed analysis of the findings here. And once again, we've created an infographic, making its debut below.
I'll allow it to reveal the findings, which have evolved to include the tactics that business bloggers believe produce the strongest results.
Note: This post and graphic originally appeared on the HubSpot blog.