Here at Vallis Marketing, I am often asked how do you create content for websites regularly?
Content is not only useful for enticing new clients and demonstrating your expertise, but it is also vital to help your website rank well on Google - and that’s all what we are looking to do when we're marketing our business right?
So, I wanted to give you some top tips and inspiration on how to create content, whatever your audience to create quality and engaging content.
Comment on Trending Topics
Find articles in newspapers, relevant industry websites, forums even social media posts that are relevant to your industry and comment on them. You can agree, disagree and have your say. This is the quickest way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise in the industry and get a two way conversation flowing with your target audience. But, always be mindful of the writer, polite and above all engaging - no keyboard warriors here please.
Answer Commonly Asked Questions
These can be found on forums, social media even on specific websites themselves. Whatever your industry there will always be a forum that is relevant.
This angle is slightly more time consuming but not only does it give you the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise; it also gets your brand out there to a relevant targeted audience who are actively asking for help. As a result, they are further down the decision making process so more likely to convert into a sale.
Not only does this highlight your business; it also helps with your Google ranking. If you are able to add a link to your website and provided the forum you are posting on is legit, then this acts as a backlink to your website- which Google loves!
Write About Your Team
Behind every business is a great team! So why not let your audience find out more about them. Give your team the opportunity to write a blog post that is relevant to their job role. For instance, an IT Manager could write about cyber security or a Graphic Designer could write about design trends.
However it doesn't have to always be business related, it can be more light-hearted. This can be more about your team's passions, their hobbies and interests, even reviews of places they’ve travelled to! This is your opportunity to really go behind the scenes and make your business more personal.
One of the big marketing trends this year is that audiences resonate better with businesses that show a more personal and human side, so why not give it a try?
Guest Content
Why not utilise your network and invite guests to write blog posts for your website. This gives a huge variety of content and is of mutual benefit as you can also include a link to their website too. Guest writers could include your suppliers, any businesses you partner with or even promoting other local businesses. Your business blog can be a mix of content and that includes both professional and more conversational topics.
Evergreen Content
Although it is essential to focus on trending topics; we would also advise adding a mix of Evergreen content - this type of content will save you time in the long run so certainly worth taking note of!
Evergreen content is content that is relevant to your industry but will never date. This can be in the form of FAQ’s, frequently asked questions, case studies
Evergreen content works well if you would like to send out newsletters or post on social media at any time and act as filler content between other posts.
Case Studies
This is a huge opportunity to really demonstrate your expertise; show exactly what work you're doing!
This type of content is a great example of ‘evergreen content’ and arguably one of the quickest ways to generate content and shout about all the great things your business does!
Case studies don't have to be about every project, but they can be about the ones you are most proud about. If privacy is an issue and you don’t want to give away trade secrets, you can create case studies without mentioning specific companies but still give details on the work you carried out.
Reviews
This isn’t necessarily related to blogging but worth a mention!
Recommendations are worth their weight in gold, so why not add client reviews to your website and get them to sing your praises. This is a way of creating content without having to write it - definitely on to a winner with this one!
What If I Don’t Have The Time?
More often than not, Businesses are so focussed on the day-to-day tasks that marketing often takes a back seat.
But, I’ll let you into a little secret so you can get on with your activities and also marketing…..let me introduce you to the power of scheduling!
Almost every social media platform we have ever worked with has a scheduling feature, so you can schedule your content to be posted when your audience is most active online. Then you can still focus on your daily activities knowing content is still going on and marketing doesn't stop once your work picks up.
I recommend the following scheduling websites that will help you manage posting content
Buffr is currently the only free site that you can post to up to x3 social media channels at the same time. However there are other Social media platforms scheduling tools but they do come at a cost.
Summary
Here are just a few ideas to ignite your inspiration and create content for your website.
Utilise your connections and get creative to produce a range of content that will engage with your audience.
Find out more on my website here: https://www.vallismarketing.com/blog