Better Website Content in 4 Easy Steps
That old adage “if you build it, they will come” simply isn’t true for businesses or brands looking to create digital visibility. There’s a lot of noise out there, and it takes more than slapping up a website to find your foothold in the market. The quality of your site is a huge performance driver – and that means more than just the design or functionality, though those certainly have their place. If content is king, then you should be chasing the crown.
Not sure about the best place to start? We’ve got you covered. Below we’ve compiled a few key tips for how you can get more miles out of your site:
1. Tell a story
Narrative is an important tool for communicating well with your audience. In a 2014 piece for Forbes, David Amerland explains, “Narratives are meaningful, remarkable storylines that contextualise your values.” The “contextualisation” part of that definition is exceptionally key. Consumers want to be engaged. They’re looking for transparency and reliability that helps them connect to the products they’re buying and the brands they’re supporting. For two organisations that do this especially well, look at Chase and Microsoft. Find your story — people want to hear it.
2. Aim for quality and concision.
When you’re building narrative content for a site, you aren’t getting a license to be long-winded. Less is really more where site building is concerned. The Content Marketing Institute’s Joe Pulizzi shares that there was a time for more, but that time has passed. What should concern businesses more than packing content full of keywords and writing four new blog posts every week is producing clear, concise, and quality content – writing that matters.
3. Show your personality
Site content can be professional and meet the expectations of your target market without being dry. Hubspot’s “about us” narrative is one stellar example of this – it feels like someone from the company is telling us an original story over a round of beers at our favourite pub. The best way to earn the trust of consumers is to relate to them, so keep language conversational and reflective of the spirit behind your business.
4. Keep content fresh
Remember, less is still more, so this doesn’t mean that a company’s blog has to be updated daily. Businesses should, however, cultivate community engagement through their website and social media platforms, and that means staying on top of relevant industry news, sharing meaningful updates about company happenings, and introducing key employees or products. All new content should have a clear objective before it’s written, and there should be some careful discerning taking place about whether or not certain news is better shared in a press release or monthly newsletter versus a blog post or site update. The litmus test for new content, according to Pulizzi, is that it should feel “epic,” with a real focus on quality. If it doesn’t – it can probably wait.
By following these steps, your business can start producing better content and connecting more meaningfully with consumers. We can’t wait to see what you’ll put together.
Of course, if you need some help with getting your website words working more effectively, you can always contact us at Wordsworkers.com and we would be very happy to assist you!