The best digital marketing blogs all offer: insights, news, tips and strategies you can emulate to achieve similar results to what the pros do. Whether your focus is SEO, analytics, PR, social media, organic or paid, blogging, e-Commerce, B2B, or you just want to keep up with industry trends, there’s something for you to learn here.
These blogs are skimmable, scannable, readable, and even deep-diveable. They have all proven their worth to marketers many times over.
As you read, keep in mind ways to apply lessons shared here for your own brand or business.
As you will learn, creating content doesn’t have to be difficult, because you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you tweet. SEO doesn’t have to be hard, you can tread a path heavy with web traffic. PR, communications, analytics, even the logistics of constructing a blog are all covered here for you.
You have the power, and below, the resources, to not just learn these concepts, but master them. If you feel an impactful and insightful blog is missing from this list, let's hear it in the comments!
In no particular order:
Hootsuite | Social media tools and other important news you can use
Why it’s great: Hootsuite is one of the most important leaders in the social media space. The Hootsuite tool is a social media scheduler and analytical dashboard that can help boost your brand’s presence (and make your life easier once you find out your ideal posting time is 1:30am). All that’s great, but if you don’t have a clue about what content to post you won’t have many results to measure. The Hootsuite blog provides a wealth of important information from facts (like what size photo is ideal for Instagram) to suggestions on ways to reuse content and jump on trends in a timely manner.
What you'll get:
- Deep dives on single features within social media platforms help make you a more well-rounded expert. This guide to creating Instagram Stories Highlights cover photos will make any Instagram profile pop.
- Did you know there are best practices to live-tweeting an event? If not, the advice contained here will help you become an authority in your industry and in the eyes of your followers.
HubSpot | Digital commerce and marketing software, plus so much more
Why it’s great: HubSpot offers software for inbound sales and marketing, largely through social media marketing but also general ecommerce. Its blog covers all the topics you need, plus just about anything else under the sun that’s partially related to the field. They are thorough and informative, offering guides, ebooks, courses and certifications, reports, and original research. If HubSpot doesn’t cover it, you’re asking the wrong questions.
What you’ll get:
- From the very basic to the very niche, HubSpot does it all. This is a beginner’s guide to blog posts.
- And this is a look at the variety of tests you can run on Pinterest to increase ad conversions. If that’s your thing.
Convince & Convert | Jay Baer can teach you how to sell online
Why it’s great: Jay Baer is one of the most authoritative voices in the digital marketing field, and he offers his consulting services for whatever marketing problem you might face. But he also offers his blog as a place to answer your own problems, and it’s helpfully broken down by category.
What you’ll get:
- The content ranges from content marketing and customer service to customer experience guides.
- Digital marketing and social media marketing are all the rage, but make sure you incorporate older forms like word-of-mouth marketing into your strategy.
NealSchaffer.com | How to grow personally or as a business, using influencer marketing
Why it’s great: Neal Schaffer literally wrote the book on influencer marketing. Besides having a wealth of experience in influencer marketing, he shares ideas that are both creative and common sense when it comes to getting started in the world of digital marketing and ecommerce. Especially with the quickly changing landscape of influencer marketing, there’s something at NealSchaffer.com that will help you keep up. You just have to find it!
What you’ll get:
- What concerns the brand concerns Neal Schaffer’s team, and this blog post about giving influencers creative freedom while protecting your brand is an important lesson in trust, influencer identification, and engaging with a community. Brush up!
- Learn how to boost your Instagram engagement, the marketer’s holy grail metric, by writing better Instagram captions. Sometimes we all need a gentle reminder that if you’re going to take 25 shots of the same thing in order to get the “perfect” one, maybe you should spend more than 45 seconds on the caption too.
Trust Insights Blog | Data science for the digital marketer
Why it's great: Chris Penn and the team at Trust Insights are the fount you didn’t know you needed when it comes to data. Most surprising is that for a small team they sure do make big data accessible.
Chris Penn and Katie Robbert lend their expertise in the field to marketers who often face unique problems. They have insightful and creative tips on how to use your data, and they share that knowledge on their blog. They are also master recyclers, turning a single piece of research or other content into a dozen or more different formats including ebooks, blogs, podcasts, webinars, videos, reports, guides... the list goes on. You can learn that skill from them very easily as well.
What you’ll get:
- This blog argues that content is a commodity, but as marketers we aren’t looking for people who view it that way. We’re looking for the connoisseurs who value quality in content. It’s an important way to look at yourself and the work you do, as well as where you source your marketing “beans” from. Read the post, then you’ll understand.
- This isn’t a blog, it’s a podcast! But what’s really crazy is how many brands don’t have a YouTube strategy. These are the kind of Trust Insights you need. Plus, if you listen closely, you might be able to hear me rustling papers in the background.
Buffer blog | Social media tools and analytics
Why it’s great: Buffer is another social media scheduler, but this isn’t a blog post about social media schedulers. What makes the Buffer blog great is their thorough and consistent breakdown of the science of social media. There are algorithms at play, and shifting. Buffer helps you stay up-to-date on the fast moving landscape.
What you’ll get:
- This post discusses the science behind the best Instagram bios. You want the best for yourself, don’t you? Use science to help you get there.
- This blog dives into marketing psychology with 6 easy examples you can apply right away. If you’ve ever run ads on Facebook or Instagram, you probably have an inkling of how important psychology is in getting people to see your ad. If you don’t have an inkling of that, you probably didn’t run very successful ads.
Cassandra Daily | Gen-Z marketing: it’s more than “OK Boomer”
Why it’s great: Gen Z marketing. They do the research, and their insights prove it. They offer daily updates into the world of Gen Z (and before that, Millennials) and brands. How brands are reaching the demographic, how they’re failing, what is cringey and what is successful. And they’ll be the first I’m sure to offer the brand insights for Gen Alpha that marketers are waiting for (you know, like, in a few years. Let the kids be kids for now).
What you’ll get:
- Marketing to this generation may be more than “OK Boomer” but before we get there, why don’t you give yourself a full refresher on that meme and what it means.
- Experiential marketing is one of the best ways to engage Gen Z. It shows them the brand is meeting them on their level, they have to opt-in to participate, and there’s very few rules you have to abide by. This look at “Choose your own ad(venture)” experiences may be all the inspiration you need in order to build your own experiential marketing activation for Gen Z.
Contently | Content marketing agency for everything
Why it’s great: As the name might imply, Contently is a content purveyor. Their blog is actually divvied up for two segments. Marketers should check out “The Content Strategist” to keep abreast of the trends of the moment in brandland. Freelancers have their own space dealing with freelancer specific issues like pricing, tax season and other problems that are unique to freelancers, like taking time off.
What you’ll get:
- How R/GA became the best Twitter account to follow.
- Consumers hate digital ads, so invest in better content. Honestly, the logic tracks. If there’s one thing I hate more than digital ads, it’s a pop-up telling me to disable my ad blocker. If you are part of this problem, maybe you should invest in better content too!
Duct Tape Marketing | One of the best digital marketing blogs for small business owners
Why it’s great: Duct Tape Marketing is aimed at small business owners who have to do everything-- including marketing. John Jantsch created the blog to help entrepreneurs become better marketers.
What you’ll get:
- SEO can be tough to do well. It’s also completely necessary. Here’s a great place to start on your SEO journey. Remember, you don’t have to learn everything, just enough to give yourself a chance to compete.
- Is organic social media dead? Betteridge’s law would say no, and John Jantsch would agree. Here are helpful tips on how and why you need organic social to complement your paid outreach.
Daily Carnage | Thought leadership and news, for digital marketers
Why it’s great: Carney is a full service digital agency, who happen to run a successful and very digestible daily newsletter, Facebook Group, and social media conference. Their success at winning clients helps inform the topics of their content which generally focus around informing you, the reader. The Facebook Group is also a tremendous resource for those who come across a digital marketing dilemma, with peers eager to lend advice and opinions on tools, strategy, best practices, and even career advice.
What you’ll get:
- How to Catapult Your Career in the Real World. Goal: be a marketer. Sign of success: Open your own agency. Take the advice of people who’ve done it.
- This entry is all about the benefits of spacing out your lines when writing. For SEO. For skimming. For results.
Need help with digital marketing? Get the guide.
Animalz | Content marketing agency, with a blog that's an excellent resource
Why it’s great: This is a blog firmly aimed at content marketers. It’s an easy read, iconoclastic, and informative all at once. The examples below only scratch the surface at the breadth of topics covered here but suffice to say that they’ve thought of everything from career advice to SEO to sales enablement and then some.
What you’ll get:
- An explanation and indictment of why all blogs read the same. It argues that SEO has killed creative writing in the name of ranking. I was convinced by the argument, then I read the comments. Now I’m not sure. What do you think?
- Content and sales should march in lockstep and this post does a great job of explaining why. The only problem of course is you need a content guru who’s also a master of the sales cycle. Hard to find, but solid advice.
ShareThis Blog | Products to make sharing on websites easier, and great content to inspire you
Why it’s great: There’s something for everyone here, and by everyone I don’t just mean social media marketers. The blog is broken up into 3 sections: Best Practices, Thought Leadership and Engineering, where you can learn how to squeeze the absolute most out of your data.
What you’ll get:
- Twitter best practices, because we all make rookie mistakes. It’s also how we learn.
- The first time I was told to schedule a gated and dark post, for all the retirees in the whole state of Florida, I freaked right out. What does that even mean? I wish I knew about this blog explaining dark posts back then.
Spin Sucks | Public relations & communications for the digital world
Why it’s great: Gini Dietrich is one of the most respected voices in the social & digital marketing world. She brings her expertise of PR and communications to the digital realm in her blog. I love that she is not afraid to call out mistakes made by brands so others can learn from them. The Spin Sucks blog is divided into four categories - social media, communications, entrepreneurs, and marketing.
What you’ll get:
- Here’s a deeper look at pop-up ads than you ever knew you needed.
- This a very helpful explainer of what metrics to track, and why, in the PR field. Pulling from a variety of B2B and B2C marketers, anyone can benefit from smarter measurements.
Banana Data | AI & data science, but also jokes and memes
Why it’s great: It’s the only site on this list that is a Tumblr, so enough said really. As marketers it’s extremely easy to get too caught up in our work, and take ourselves too seriously. As data practitioners, well, let’s just say it’s an even bigger problem for data practitioners. Banana Data is a blog and unobtrusive email newsletter on AI and data science that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s the only resource you need if you want to stay informed on the world of data science without really knowing any algorithms or code.
CampaignLive | The marcomms water-cooler (Subscription required)
Why it’s great: The US offshoot of the longtime UK standard-bearer for the marcomms community is a great resource for the marketing and communications industry in the US. Keep up with the latest campaigns and comings and goings from the major agencies and brands. It offers a place for marketers to gather and discuss the industry. It also has some cool features like “One Word Answers” and “Agency of the Year Awards” that help you as a marketer think differently.
What you’ll get:
- Hot gossip from agency-world where the rumor is several major agencies will jointly reject ABInBev’s new payment terms. Does this matter to you? Maybe not, but it’s always worth paying attention to where the leaders in this space are drawing lines.
- Coverage of ANA’s “Marketing word of the year”. This year the word is “personalization”. There’s lots of these type of year-end awards or other events that try to summarize a year that was, and look forward to the next year. Why this one? 2019’s word was “brand purpose”, so obviously they are on to something.
SEMrush | The main SEO blog everyone should read
Why it’s Great: SEMrush is an indispensable tool for content marketers. It makes sense then that their blog is an excellent resource for anyone needing help with their SEO, SEM, PPC, or content marketing in general. When staring into the black box that can be search engine land, SEMrush has as much access and insight as anyone in the game, so you know their advice will deliver the goods.
What you’ll get:
- A summary of a #SEMrushChat (happens weekly on Twitter) around pillar content. You know pillar content when you see it, because it often makes you want to click through to other resources, or dive deeper into a certain niche. In short, pillar content is content you can build around, and that’s valuable for every marketer.
- For the SEOs in your life, and the people who love them: How to find low competition keywords to drive up traffic without tons of time and effort.
Madalyn Sklar | Twitter tips for building communities
Why it’s great: Madalyn Sklar is a Twitter whiz who can teach you how to get the kind of engagement that matters--quality and community-driven discussions.
What you’ll get:
- This guide to using custom GIFs on Twitter is a perfect place to start if you want to drive unique engagements.
- Here’s a few easy things you can do to generate more conversations on Twitter. You just have to show people you care a little bit, and then let those replies roll in.
Social Media Examiner | News, but for social media professionals
Why it’s great: The team that puts on Social Media Marketing World also has a deep website that covers organic and paid on just about every social media platform. If you prefer it in podcast form, their content comes that way too.
What you’ll get:
- A read through and podcast about writing Facebook Ad copy that converts? Yes please! Everyone should know the basics on this.
- Why should everyone know the basics of these things? Because artificial intelligence is coming and you need to keep up.
Moz | SEO products, advice, and thought leadership
Why it’s great: Moz is the SEO leader when it comes to innovation and insights. Their blog is a tremendous resource whether you’re an SEO beginner or a pro who just wants to keep up with the industry.
What you’ll get:
- If SEO has you scared and you don’t even know where to start with it, how about finding out why SEO is necessary in the first place. You don’t need to learn everything to make SEO work for you.
- For example, do you need that location card to come up first for your local business? Here’s how to master local SEO.
Talkwalker | Social listening and marketing insights
Why it’s great: Talkwalker is a social listening platform. As such, two things inform all of our blog posts: data and listening. Having this wealth of data at our fingertips allows us to provide unique insights into trends and cultural moments that goes way beyond our personal opinions or experiences. Listening is more than just social media, and that’s reflected in our blog posts. In addition to pulling data from blogs and forums, we allow customers to enter their own data into our powerful AI engine. Listening is about engaging in a positive way. It’s about a reaction that steadies a reeling brand. Or better still, it’s about eliminating the need to react because listening has foretold these trends to you and you were ready for them. It’s about measuring your successes while identifying ways to improve next time. It’s one step towards enacting a digital transformation for your organization.
All of that is important, because what the Talkwalker blog offers you is a way to emulate those successes.
Our blog is filled with guides, ebooks, reports, templates, calendars and more - all designed to easily help you prove that what you do matters. We have a tremendous and diverse team from all over the globe and our content reflects that.
Big brands turn to Talkwalker when they need a truly global solution: one that reflects local market realities and idiosyncrasies while respecting companies’ global processes.
What you’ll get:
- We know the steps your brand needs to take to make it better and avoid the situation next time. Get your PR crisis template here.
- It’s time, once again, to prove that social media matters to the overall brand health. Here’s a quick explainer on how to write an end-of-year marketing report.
So there you have it, a look at the best digital marketing blogs in the US. Hopefully you’ll be able to use at least one of these sites as a resource and inspiration.
Did I miss one? Feel free to leave a link in the comments.
If you still feel stuck, and aren’t sure where to even begin, we have one last piece that might help you: How to go from marketing strategy to marketing plan: a complete guide.
