In the world of websites, content is—and always will be—king. Finding a site designer, working on the format, getting it live … these are relatively easy, but if you don’t have a plan to generate consistently good content and update the site on a regular basis, then much of the effort that has already been put forth is for nothing.
That said, too many website owners and in-house administrators see a site go live without really having an agenda in place, the result of which are often stale, static pages that do little to encourage repeated visits from casual users and, more importantly, customers looking to buy your products or services. Whether you’re a non-profit seeking supporters and monetary donations or an e-tail outlet looking to strengthen your bottom line, it’s vital you initiate a process that will guide your content and help you hit your target goals and build an audience. Consider these tips.
- Try to understand how, why and when people interact with your site. Experts call it the “business cycle,” and it really does chart how your customers and supporters use your resources. Of course there are obvious times when you want to roll out new content, such as when you debut a new product or product line, want to promote an enhanced service or during times of the year when people shop and buy more. But to delve deeper, try to understand the questions a person looking for your site may have, and be ready with a solution. In certain situations outstanding video documenting of your product may fit the bill, while advertising discounts or bonus add-ons might work at other times. And of course be sure your keywords are on target and being indexed well by search engines: if a customer can’t find you, they can’t support you, so do your research and know what words they’re typing into search engines.
- Build your content around the demographic base of your visitors. What are their jobs? What are their values? What sorts of sites to they visit regularly? The answers to these questions should absolutely guide the sort of content you post and how you approach updates, especially those based on current events and trends. Consider crafting a short survey on your site and encourage visitors to fill it out: you can even offer an incentive for doing so, such as a discount on their next purchase or a special gift.
- Find the right mediums for your site, or use a variety of all of them. This can and should include infographics, the aforementioned videos, podcasts and most certainly a blog component that is updated at regular intervals. Likewise, once you determine the sites your potential customer demographic visits often, make a push to get your content there and draw them back to your homepage. This could mean having a significant presence on Facebook or Twitter or a dedicated channel on YouTube. And one nice thing about cross-channel marketing is that, once you’ve developed your content strategy, you can use it across all the various social media platforms. Just be sure that, as previously noted, it doesn’t get old and tired: provide fresh alternatives as often as possible, and you’ll see more traffic being driven to your site.
