Focus on Content to Keep Your Website Relevant
With more and more marketers focusing on inbound marketing campaigns to drive and deliver new business opportunities, content marketing (producing valuable, engaging content tailored to a specific audience) is bigger than ever because it builds your brand and keeps your company top-of-mind during the decision-making process.
Your content marketing bag of tricks most likely includes a little bit of everything — from newsletters, case studies, technical papers, press releases and feature articles to blogs, videos, social media and your company website. Because you have so many options and opportunities with content marketing, having a good content plan is essential.
Then, review your current inventory of content to identify what you already have available and what you need to create to respond to these questions. Of all the content marketing tools available to you, your company’s website is one of the most powerful. It helps potential customers find you, it keeps current clients knowledgeable about you, it helps you establish credibility in your markets and it leaves an impression about what kind of company you are. And because the internet is a platform that is always changing and evolving, your content plan needs to include regular website updates.
Notice I said updates, not overhauls…this blog post isn’t meant to leave you with the impression that you need to regularly redesign or revamp your website. That can be very costly and time consuming…and let’s be honest, the challenge, especially for small business owners, is that you want to do it, but you are also very busy running your business. It’s just not feasible to regularly redo your website.
Instead, I want you to focus on making small, constant updates with content to keep your website fresh and relevant. This tactic should include:
Incorporating a feed from your blog and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
Keeping your news section up-to-date with the latest company news
Linking to recently published news and articles
Rotating case studies and technical papers every few weeks
Archiving older content
Getting Started With Content Marketing
The best way to get started with your content updates is to make a list of questions your customers might have (or problems they may be trying to solve — issues that your business can address). Then, review your current inventory of content to identify what you already have available and what you need to create to respond to these questions. Finally, develop an editorial calendar that plans out when you will post new content to your site.
You don't need to post new content to your website every day, but regular updates (weekly, monthly, quarterly) based on a questions-driven editorial calendar will definitely create more opportunities for you to communicate with your key stakeholders (customers and industry influencers). And, regular content updates will help increase your site’s search ranking so people can more easily find you!
As you may have noticed, Todd and I practice what we preach. Our weekly blog posts, which have prominent positioning on our website, are on topics we chat about with our clients all the time. And, we are constantly tinkering with our messaging to make sure it most accurately portrays who we are and what we do. We do these things because the success of our business — connecting with clients, being found my industry influencers — relies on it. When you think about it that way, you can quickly realize the huge importance of regular website updates.
If you’re ready to update your website but don’t know where to start…or if you’d like help with your content updates, get in touch with us. We’d be happy to help!
*Image courtesy of tiramisustudio at FreeDigitalPhotos.net