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Content Creation: The key to your websites’ success

Every decent website revolves around the same thing: content. A Unique, relevant and up-to date content is highly influential in how successful a website and marketing campaign performs. However, many find that content creation is very challenging and it is one of the most common issues in a business. Often this is due to a lack of time or resources, or simply that people don’t know where to start.

In order to create content and use it for marketing purposes, a business needs to consider how the content will be shared on their website and various online marketing platforms. It is also important to consider the frequency of content and who the intended audience is. There is a wide range of options for online marketing, such as social media, email marketing, website content and blogs. There is plenty for a business to choose from!

Many studies have been conducted into the effectiveness of having a content strategy. These studies have found that higher levels of content on a site can have an impact on the business’ marketing strategy and overall search engine ranking. These are just some of the benefits of having a steady stream of fresh, targeted content:

Increase levels of traffic to a website
Increase amount of enquiries/ leads received via website
Build up followers on social media
Enhance brand awareness
Become trusted within your industry by writing content to showcase abilities and knowledge

Sounds great! But how do you create content?

Content creation doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Every business has something to talk about, whether it’s a new product or service, an upcoming event, or an opinion on a recent industry related story. Not forgetting the most important (and easiest!) source of unique content; customers!

Creating stories around customers and the services/products they have received is the easiest form of content to write. Start by asking the customers for their feedback. The comments that they provide can be used to as the focus point of your content, and this can be shared throughout all of your marketing activities. After all, word of mouth and referrals are the greatest sales tool!

Our top tip for new content creation is to include as many targeted keywords and phrases as possible. This will help towards search engine rankings and help sites such as Google to understand what the content is about. But remember to keep it natural and don’t stuff keywords in randomly. This could be seen negatively by Google and other search bots.

Once you’ve got some content and keep going! Set yourself a target and allocate some time for putting together more. Try to keep to a regular schedule, even if it’s just a blog post every month. It all helps!

Leave a commentBlog, Marketing, Websitescontent creation, content marketing, email marketing, marketing, small business, social media, website content

5 Social Media Strategy Tips For Local Businesses

Whether you’re a multinational corporation or a one-man band, using social media is a powerful and cost-effective way to grow your business. If you’re looking to target customers local to you, here are a few things to consider.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY CONVERSATION

It’s one thing posting and tweeting to keep followers updated. But wherever you’re based, there are guaranteed to be online conversations taking place in your community about the things that matter to you. Identifying the most relevant and adding your voice to them is a great way to build valuable connections.

As it’s a conversation and not a sales pitch, being open, friendly and not too “salesy” always helps. As do tagging, @mentioning and using local #hashtags.

CONTENT IS KING

There are loads of interesting tools out there to make social output more interesting and engaging. Most are pretty simple to use. Emojis, Vines, Snapchat filters or even the simple act of posting a tweet with an image is proven to significantly increase engagement vs. those without.

Landscape gardener? Try creating gifs that showcase before and after shots. Restaurant? How about a Twitter poll to pick a new dish on the menu?

To see what works, test a few out and stick with the ones people engage with most.

KEEP GOING!

Social media never sleeps, so it’s vital to be prepared for the long game. The relatively small pool of a local area means that once people become aware of you online, they’ll expect to hear from you and talk to you on a regular basis.

Having someone permanently dedicated to it is the simplest approach. Though I have other duties at READY, one of my tasks is to manage our social channels. I devote time to it every day, and we’re significantly growing our following as a result.

HAVE A PLAN, AND STICK TO IT

It’s important to set a long-term strategy complete with goals and measurable results. Otherwise how do you know if what you’re doing is working

It can be done alone, or with an expert’s help. However, we’d advise keeping day-to-day management in-house. Your staff know your products and the community you’re targeting better than anyone outside your business.

Do ensure they have clear rules and governance to follow, particularly in terms of what’s appropriate to post and what isn’t.

THINK ABOUT CAMPAIGNS

As mentioned, regular maintenance is essential for building your business’s profile. But consider dedicated campaigns too, like competitions, promotions or celebrations around particular occasions or local events.

To maximise impact, it’s essential to plan them well in advance and set clear objectives, such as capturing data or generating an uplift in sales. Social platforms offer plenty of nifty tracking options, which you can use to measure performance and identify improvements for future campaigns.

Did you like this post? You might also be interested in Choosing The Right Social Media Platforms.

Leave a commentBlog, Social mediafacebook, local businesses, marketing, snapchat, social media, twitter

8 Essential Branding Tips For Small Businesses

If you think that branding is just something for big businesses with big budgets, think again. Branding is just as important for small businesses, maybe even more so. If you don’t have the budget to hire a big branding agency (and not many small businesses do) here are 8 simple steps you can take to keep your brand in check.

Remember – It’s not all about your logo

Your logo is important, but branding is about far more than just that. Your logo is a badge that will represent you to the world, it’ll help distinguish your business from your competitors and it may even help customers to understand what you do. But it’s just one small part of a much bigger picture and even the best logo won’t build a successful brand on its own.

Know what you stand for

What values and ideals are at the core of your business? What motivated you to start and what keeps you going? If you’re unsure of where you’re going and why your customers will be even less sure. Keep a list of at least three core values and make sure that any new products, services and marketing campaigns are true to them.

Know what value your business provides

Whatever type of business you run, one thing is guaranteed your customers are not interested in just buying your products or your services. What they’re interested in is results. It’s the real life benefits that your products can offer them that will really get them engaged. A lot of businesses make the mistake of focusing on the features of their products and wonder why they’re not getting results. By taking a step back and communicating the benefits they offer you can give customers a really compelling reason to part with their money.

Get inside your customers heads

Knowing your customers inside out is crucial. Forget about your taste and your preferences and focus on the people you’re trying to serve. Who are they? What are they looking for? What gets them excited? Keep your focus very narrow to start with; just think about your ideal customer.

Keep this profile in mind whenever you’re planning a new piece of marketing and build it just for them. This will really help to keep your message focused and effective.

Keep a close eye on the competition

Identify your closest competitors and make sure you check up on them regularly. Who are they targeting? How are they doing it? What messages are they putting out? Where are they falling short? By doing this you can stay ahead of the game and fill gaps that they’re leaving. Remember, they’re probably watching your every move too.

Find something unique to offer

Every business has something unique to offer, but many don’t take the time to identify it and use it to their advantage. Strong brands clearly stand out even in a crowded market. You might sell the same products as everyone else but that doesn’t mean you have to offer exactly the same service. If you’re struggling to find something that makes you stand out, go back to your customers, think about what they need and where your competitors might be falling short.

Be consistent

Whatever direction you choose to take your brand in, make sure you’re consistent about it. That means keeping an eye on every tiny detail from how your logo looks, to the colours and fonts you use right through to your website and the kind of language you use when you talk to your customers. All this will build up to give the impression of professional, credible and trustworthy business.

Keep it simple

We all lead busy lives and few people have the time to unravel complex messages. Simple, well thought out communication is more likely to get through and be remembered. This applies to your logo, your marketing material, your customer communications – even your business processes.

Leave a commentBranding, Design, Marketing, Small businessesbranding, marketing, small business, tips