Investing in Your Blog in 2024

AI-Assisted by Claude.ai; Edited by Franny Harold

In today's crowded digital landscape, building trust with your audience is non-negotiable. One powerful channel that’s sometimes overlooked by marketers is the blog. 

A well-executed blog can position your brand as a trusted, authoritative resource while allowing you to test content ideas and build relationships with your customers. Just ask the team at MyFitnessPal.

The popular fitness app recently underwent a massive blog overhaul, relaunching in April 2024 with a refreshed design, updated content strategy, and SEO optimizations. Their goal? To transform their dated blog into a destination that cements MyFitnessPal's reputation as the go-to source for nutrition and weight loss expertise.

"Right now, a lot of people see [MyFitnessPal] as a tool, but we also want to be known as a helpful and trusted resource, and a blog can help with that," explained Lauren Joskowitz, Editorial Director at MFP who spearheaded the relaunch. "People don't give out their trust to brands very easily, especially in 2024, and having a blog from 2010 wasn't helping our case."

So how did MyFitnessPal successfully relaunch their blog? And what can other brands learn from their investment in this content marketing channel? Let's dive into the key tactics of an effective blog revamp.

Start with a Comprehensive Audit 

The first step involves taking a hard look at your existing blog through various lenses: content, SEO, design, and performance metrics. As Joskowitz explained, "The first thing we did was a medium to high-level audit of the actual content itself — aside from a UX perspective."

MyFitnessPal's audit uncovered outdated science, content cannibalization issues, and SEO opportunities. To better understand their users’ needs, they enlisted partners like Compose.ly and Cleo to thoroughly evaluate their content and technical SEO. In parallel, they conducted a competitive analysis and involved internal teams like customer support.

"Fresh eyes fade fast," Joskowitz noted. When overhauling something you've looked at for years, it's critical to get new, unbiased perspectives. If you’ve been in the same position at your company for a long time, keep an open mind and try to remind yourself that you might have biased opinions.”

Test Low-Risk Ideas

One of the symbiotic aspects of a blog is the ability to quickly test content themes, topics, and even product feature ideas in a low-risk environment. "The most expensive resource at a company is engineering, but a tool like a blog can help you test experiences before you test them elsewhere (like in the MFP app)," said Joskowitz.

For example, MyFitnessPal published a macro calculator on its blog to gauge interest. The high engagement signaled that it was worth developing as an in-app feature down the road.

Align Across Channels

At MyFitnessPal, the blog now sits at the core of their content marketing ecosystem. "Our blog informs our newsletter strategy, which informs our socials, which informs our paid media..." explained Joskowitz. An integrated blog approach allows you to capitalize on successful content by spanning campaigns across multiple channels. 

For instance, top-performing blog content gets repurposed into newsletter stories, organically promoted on social media, and used to guide influencer campaigns or paid ads. This interconnected system is a fantastic way to maximize your blog's impact.

Double Down on What Works

Of course, a successful relaunch is just the beginning. MyFitnessPal is already planning to continuously iterate based on performance data and audience feedback.

"Did we launch it 100% right? Probably not, but you gotta launch good, better, then best," admitted Joskowitz. "And then in the following quarter, we'll regroup and do sentiment research and figure out how people like it and how people are using it, and then move into phase 2."

Within the first month, they were already seeing promising results like a 9% increase in overall blog traffic, 25% higher engagement rates, and 53% more visits coming from their app's newsfeed. But they know there's still room for improvement when it comes to solidifying their brand voice and their blog’s value proposition.

By investing resources into relaunching their outdated blog and treating it as a core content marketing channel, MyFitnessPal has cultivated a solid foundation for building trust and stronger customer relationships in 2024 and beyond. Is it time for your brand to make a similar investment?