If you’re doing business in 2016, having a website is mandatory. But having an online presence that conveys basic information about your business isn’t enough. If you’re serious about growing your business and improving your brand, your website can be your most effective tool. Not only does it convey your brand vision and personality, but it also helps you build a community and develop goodwill.
Build Content Diversity and Personality
In addition to a basic website, you have a variety of online content options, including
- Blog articles, authored by various sources within your organization
- Videos, both top-level and user-level generated, available for on-demand viewing or download
- Live video webinars (and downloadable archives)
- Chat functions
- Downloadable content like eBooks, white papers, and case studies
These different types of content allow you to reach out to diverse groups of potential customers with a variety of needs and interactive styles. Some of your audience may respond best to video demonstrations of your services, while others enthusiastically engage with your brand via social media. Still others may prefer to compile research about the solutions you provide via downloadable eBooks or blog entries.
Your web content can work for you at all hours 365 days a year. It can be your hardest working employee, reaching out to audiences in global markets on their schedules rather than yours.
Goals of Your Web Content
Good web content is engaging, interesting, and useful for your audience. It has numerous more specific functions, however. Taken as a whole, your overall web content offerings should
- Answer specific questions for visitors
What does your company do?
What products or services do you offer?
Why would someone engage your business?
Where are you located, and what are your hours of operation?
How does your business fill a need I might have?
How do I contact you?
- Give direction to your audience
How do I place an order or request service?
What’s new or innovative in this industry?
Where can I get more information about a problem I’m having?
How do I determine what products or services I need?
- Make appropriate suggestions
If I order this item, do I need additional accessories or parts?
I’m interested in this service. Are there other related services I might want?
After reading this blog post, where can I find more in-depth information?
- Represent your brand well
Professional layout and style that suits your business.
Easily identifiable with your organization or brand.
Consistent colors, logos, themes, and fonts throughout.
- Tell the business story & promote the brand
Show your brand’s personality.
Help people connect in a community.
Share experiences, values, and common issues.
Because of the nature of this kind of useful, engaging content, you can’t just “set it and forget it” – you need to make sure your content stays new, fresh, and up to date in order to stay relevant and competitive.
How to Successfully Manage Web Content
Successful brands use web content to
- Interact with customers, suppliers, and potential connections at all hours of the day or night
- Post topical and timely content that is clever, relevant, catchy, and often humorous
It’s often impossible or impractical for small businesses to hire an employee solely to create, monitor, and maintain your web presence, but it is often too much work to task a current employee to do in addition to his or her regular job. Plus, since so many users now browse web content and access business services from smartphones and tablets, it’s also necessary to optimize your web content for mobile devices.
Web content management systems (WCM) help businesses implement workflows, scheduling systems, and automation to create, manage, and respond to online content. WCM systems can help you streamline and integrate your web content on your website, social media, and mobile applications without having to know how to write code or hiring a full-time employee for the job. PulaTech can help you figure out exactly what is web content management and find the custom WCM solutions that work for you, tailored to your company’s size, marketing goals, and business needs. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your organization, or download our free WCM eBook by clicking the button below to learn more!
