What's The Difference Anyway: Blog vs. Article
Although many people use the terms interchangeably for blogs and articles, they are not identical. Understanding their role in your marketing plan will help you create better content, boost your SEO and reach more customers.
Why writers and business owners get confused
You're not the only one who doesn't know how to differentiate between blog posts and articles. Many companies have blurred the lines because they don't understand the differences.
Blog posts are seen to be less expensive and less time consuming. In marketing strategies they are often over-emphasized, and content that should be an article, is instead written as a blog.
This undermines the appeal of blogs and the authority of the articles they publish.
What is a Blog?
This question can be answered by looking at the etymology of the word. blog, as it turns out is a portmanteau word, formed by two older words: web, and log.
It's useful to think of your blog as a log or journal about your business. It is a personal statement, a collection anecdotes or updates that helps readers connect to your business.
A blog is narrative. It allows a company to tell their story in an engaging way.
What is an article of a newspaper?
A formal article is more formal. It's informative, and it focuses on proving a claim made by your product.
A well-researched article should follow a logical structure, not a narrative one. Deductive Reasoning is often used in articles. They begin with a series of premises and conclude with a logical conclusion. Your goal is to give your audience hard evidence that supports your arguments.
Blogs and articles: 6 differences
It's important that you understand the difference between articles and blogs, whether you are writing your own articles or buying articles from writers.
1. Point of View
Blog posts are often written using I or we. This is a good way to fit into the narrative of a blog. You're describing an event in your brand's life, and you are having a dialogue with your readers.
The third-person singular (we) is used in most articles, but scientific articles can use the first person plural. The author is able to demonstrate their objectivity by presenting facts and arguments.
2. Voice or Tone
Blog posts are informal, conversational and casual, while articles tend to have a formal, professional and discursive tone.
Blogs are a great way to establish a relationship with the audience. They can learn more about the who and what, while also displaying your company's personality, goals and interests.
Articles are written in a neutral, passive voice for a technical audience. This removes the author's name from consideration.
3. Where is it published?
The two main goals of blogs are to attract new customers by appearing on search engine results and to strengthen your relationship with your existing customers. Most blogs are published on the company website. This serves both of these objectives.
You may publish articles on your site that provide information and evidence. However, they are more likely to be spread out across the website than to be in one feed. These articles may appear in other publications, such as newspapers, magazines and periodicals.
4. The word count or length
Although the length of each post is hotly debated in SEO circles, it's generally agreed that blog posts tend to be shorter than articles.
Blog posts usually start out at 300 words, and can go up to 2000 words.
An article that is well researched, with all the evidence and a logical argument can be 5000 words long or more. It is for this reason that articles are not appropriate on blogs: no reader will be interested in reading through so much information.
5. Research
Blog posts are less rigorous in their research requirements than articles. Think about a blog article 10 unusual ways to work comfortably at home as opposed to an How crises and quarantine have changed global trends in the workplace.
Both articles deal with adapting to new professional circumstances. However, one piece would require more research and an organized argument. The blog post might provide some anecdotal stats, but the article will make a claim that requires extensive research.
6. Reader engagement
Blogs are meant to be shared and discussed. They are short, punchy and subjective, which makes them ideal for social media sharing. Readers are encouraged to ask questions and leave comments.
Only in technical and academic circles are articles discussed. Only experts have the motivation and knowledge to criticize articles if the author has done a good job.
What all writers should know
You should now be able to tell what kind of content is best for your blog, and what should go in articles.
It's not always easy to strike the right balance when writing your content. If you hire unskilled writers you may also find that they do not understand the differences.
Eleven helps your business publish blog posts that are worth sharing and relevant articles.
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