Content marketing sounds like quite a scary term for what’s really quite a simple thing. It’s simply the skill of producing engaging, original content that will draw audiences to engage with the brand. Successfully managing a good social media campaign is great, as is improving the user experience of your website, but everything comes to naught if the content on it is sub-par.
There are tons of reasons why having good content is important, and the overarching one is about reputation. Your company’s reputation is integral to gaining leads and driving sales; if people don’t trust your website they’re certainly not going to buy from it. Having irrelevant, misspelled or (heaven forbid) stolen copy looks hugely unprofessional and will dissuade potential customers in their droves. On the other hand having well-written, original copy not only makes you look more authoritative and abreast of your industry, but also gives the overall impression of a better-maintained, better produced website.
Achieving this is simple; write content that people will want to engage with. We’ve all seen bad content on other websites, so you don’t have to be DH Lawrence to spot it on your own. Think of questions that new or returning customers might have, and do your best to address them clearly and prominently. This sort of tailored communication can pay dividends in increasing customer trust, because people feel far more comfortable buying from companies who make the effort to listen to them. Generic, cut and pasted content is worthless to a customer, and it does nothing to differentiate your site from your competitors.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is naturally a significant cog in the content machine, but the operative word here is Optimisation – that is, you’ve got to already have your content before you can optimise it. Write for humans first, and then worry about the technical implementations. This includes keywords! Keyword stuffing (cramming as many keywords into a sentence or phrase as possible) not only turns human customers off your website, but is now also recognised by search engines too, which will penalise your site accordingly. Making your copy coherent is just as important a factor in your search engine rankings as the relevancy of your keywords.
Some final things to bear in mind while producing copy are to avoid jargon, keeping your words clear and concise for any new customers. There are few things more frustrating than having to Google every other technical or obscure word when reading a company website, and only a few will even get that far. State clearly who you are and what you do. Keep your website free of any spelling or grammar mistakes, and make sure you’re updating regularly.
If you need any expert advice, a website appraisal or want to take advantage of our own acclaimed copywriting service, you can ring us on 01625 453 050, or email us at info@cobaltcatmedia.com. We’re always happy to take your call!