Business to business (B2B) companies or Business to Consumer (B2C) often neglect a relevant content strategy for their website. There is often a huge focus on creating a visually appealing website without serious thought put into the main reason people use the internet, and that is to retrieve information.
With a content strategy, businesses can clearly communicate their services but also convince people to use them. I’m no marketing guru but I do know that websites without a clear content strategy are useless. Content strategies can take many forms but there are common patterns that many organizations follow.
Content strategies often take the form of simple blog posts to extensive market research. These are effective ways of attracting new customers and provide an obvious reason for customers to want to use your product or service. Some other examples include:
E-Books
Case Studies
Videos
Podcasts
News Articles
Testimonials
Without at least a couple regular content services, websites receive less traffic and almost never generate any leads. No innovative “technical website features” or “amazing service listings” will generate leads. Although they can be great addon’s with a clear content strategy.
Content strategies are one of the ways to improve your website’s organic search results which is often referred to as Search Engine Optimization. This is true but is not the only way a content strategy increases the likelihood of new leads. Simply having your website’s pages indexed by a search engine will not result in a successful B2B website.
Oftentimes, people do not stumble upon your website simply by making a Google search. According to SEO for Dummies, it is much more likely that they will input your website's domain name directly in the search bar or be redirected to your website from a different website. Therefore, it is critical not to rely on organic search results to generate new leads.
Further, simply having content on your website isn’t enough. The content needs to be directly relevant to the service or product you aim to deliver. If you are selling shoes, then you need a clear marketing strategy accompanied by a good content strategy that is about shoes.
Using Nike as an example, they have multiple pages that list each of their products and each product has a clear description. Additionally, they have a content strategy called Nike News that provides a way for fans to keep up to date with their latest products and the lifestyle they offer. Lastly, they make regular social media posts which link users directly to their website to buy a new pair of shoes. It’s clear that the Nike brand invokes sporty feelings in their consumers.
We all must start somewhere and overwhelming yourself with the details of your content strategy will result in you being discouraged. It’s better to start small and grow gradually. In that spirit getting up and running with a website is your first move. This often includes a page describing your business that is often referred to as your “about page”. Next, is a product or service listing followed by a solid landing page.
I provide web services if you have yet to find a developer. I start with a solid website foundation which can be easily expanded, and I help you explore content strategy. I encourage you to contact me directly.
Once you have a basic website up and running you are prepared for the next step. Depending on the time and resources you have at your disposal you now need a good content strategy. Find out what kind of content you want to provide and decide if it is realistic for you to deliver it. It may be necessary to hire a third party to take care of your content strategy if you do not have the time to do it yourself.
If you do not have time to do it yourself, list out the manpower you have or are willing to retrieve. These individuals can pump out regular content on your website to keep things fresh.
Here are some good examples:
A Content Writer
A Marketing Consultant
A Video Producer
Content strategies can be difficult because they are something consistent that needs to evolve over time to keep things relevant. One thing that should not be difficult is getting set up with a desirable website foundation. I encourage you to contact me if you want to bounce some ideas around. Of course, if you think you are ready to start your website, I can be of assistance with that too! Later when you are ready to implement your content strategy, I can take care of the technical details, so you do not have to 😊.