Website content…
If you’ve had an online presence for any length of time then you’re unlikely to have missed the hordes of marketers, gurus and search engine optimisation professionals telling you that you need to invest in content. Content is, they say, king, and the key to your online success. But what exactly do they mean by content, and are all forms of content created equal?
Content for content’s sake?
According to a recent survey by Econsultancy (https://econsultancy.com/blog/65109-which-types-of-content-are-most-important-for-ecommerce#i.22jgfc6bodduyr), 6% of in-house marketers say that they are creating substantially more content now than they were 12 months ago. But of these marketers, only 38% said that they had an actual defined content marketing strategy.
These statistics suggest that many companies may well be wasting their marketing budget, simply by failing to define the type of content that will work best for their website and their overall goals.
Matching your goals to content types
To help you make sure that you’re getting the most out of your online marketing, here are a few ideas that should help you match your business and its goals to a type of content.
Blogs
All businesses can benefit from blog content. A regularly updated blog will not only help you to keep customers informed, but it can also enable you to develop a deeper relationship with them and encourage brand loyalty. When blogging, try to offer added value – ie. useful information, tips, news etc.
Articles
For some businesses, particularly those in technical fields, publishing online articles can be an effective way of widening your exposure. Articles allow you greater depth and detail than is generally the case for a blog post, and can be posted on respected sites related to your industry to help build your image as an authority.
Social content
Tweets, Facebook posts and other social animals are all good ways of getting your brand out there and encouraging users to engage. Be careful to choose the social platform that is best suited to your type of business, though.
White papers
White papers involve a considerable time investment, not just for you, but for those who read them. If they’re well researched and written though, they can provide a substantial boost to the way your company is perceived.
When constructing your content strategy, it’s also important to work in a balance of topical content and ‘evergreen’ content. The former may garner more interest in the short term but later lose relevance, while the latter should continue to provide value to web users for as long as it’s online.
