Consistent, high-quality website content is an excellent way for a small business to connect its brand with its ideal audience.
By far, content is the most effective way to target your audience.
Using strategic SEO and keywords to generate leads and ensure your brand is recognisable.
How to solve your content writing needs
Content writing is one essential sales tool available to a small business that is under utilised but capable of making your business and brand stratospheric.
How do you solve your content writing needs and why aren’t you doing it regularly?
The main problem is small businesses don’t have time to plan and write content for their website.
Good content aims to be straightforward, written in plain English unless it is scientific or technical, and engaging to read.
Well written content for the visitor interested in finding out more about your services while conveying your brand and tone is a sure-fire way of creating a potential customer.
Aim to strike a balance between engaging content that fits your business’s style and persona while educating and helping the reader.
An example of this is, writing in a formal business tone when your website sells multi-coloured bunting and flags for all occasions might leave your visitor confused.
Consistency is a critical element of driving engagement to your website and helping your brand stand out.
People familiarise themselves with your regular updates and posts, and while they may not follow you straightaway, there will be a time when one of your blog posts or updates drives them to your website to find out more.
And that’s what many small businesses want.
Sadly for many small businesses, any content marketing is short term, and they see little or no return on the investment they put into posting updates or hoping that the one-off blog will pay off.
Content marketing requires a longer-term approach; it takes time, thought, consistency, writing, and producing good quality content relevant to your audience.
Informative and educational content answers questions that your customers ask.
It can also be a helpful resource that improves your brand’s reputation, one of my main goals.
Creating good backlinked content is another excellent way to send traffic back to your website and social channels.
It doesn’t have to be your content.
Why not link to another blog or case study with a link to your website that endorses what you have shared or backs up your case.
How do you structure your content?
Firstly you need ideas, and this is where many businesses fall short and give up hope of any marketing approach.
I recommend you do a brain dump of ideas that come to mind on to a piece of plain paper.
Are there any similarities?
Group them into segments; for example, you might have a few ideas for case studies and testimonials.
How to’s and why’s are a great way of sifting through the ideas and separating them into different categories.
What about annual industry events or regular webinars?
Is there anything you can distill and make into a workable blog post or a series of social media updates?
Awareness days are also a great way of linking your product and service with a particular awareness day.
If you have current website content, how about refreshing it and bringing it up to date? Google loves updated content.
Don’t forget to add a COVID-19 statement, are your employees working from home are your offices open (essential workers only)
Share what measures you’ve put in place to support your business and that of your customers.
When was the last time you updated your social media profiles?
Probably some time ago, what about updating your profile avatar and the accompanying bylines?
Optimise and add them to your email signature.
Drive traffic by adding some text at the foot of every email.
Let people know you have a blog or you podcast weekly maybe you have a YouTube channel?
What about collaboration with someone in the industry or a similar niche that synergises with you and your business?
For example, a local artisan breadmaker collaborating with a local cake maker?
A guest blog post or a dual podcast Q & A? Or a joint YouTube how-to video?
Creating alliances are a great way to elevate your business, build trust and deepen trust and authenticity.
They are also content generators and reminders of your existence in the internet stratosphere.
When looking for a new product, prospective clients will take notice if you post regular social media updates or write informative posts.
It shows them that you are not afraid to talk about your business and how you’ve helped other similar companies.
One client came to me as a direct result of the above.
My regular updates prompted the business to start a conversation about producing content for their website.
People buy people first and foremost, and if they understand and believe what you are selling, they will eventually make that call to you.
Are you ready to start writing?
One Woman’s View offers creative content and copywriting services.
If you are looking to add content writing to your marketing strategy or need help with a content plan then call One Woman’s View.
We write engaging words that connect with audiences and build future business relationships.
