What does “content” mean? Yes, as a marketer, you should care. Here’s why.

If you’re in business, you need a website. A website is composed of three essential components: Design, Build (programming) and Content. Content is what your visitors will respond to. Content is what will bring them back. Content will drive online and marketing success.

Content marketing is tied closely to today’s digital strategies, building attention and traffic to your website. Remember, your website is the heart of today’s marketing.

With a content marketing strategy, you will position your online brand, your organization to be a source of help for those who are looking for what you offer. With the right content, great offers and well-positioned information, you will establish a position you can “own” in the market, in your niche and in your category. The content strategy builds your visibility and reputation with your audiences.

What does content mean?

A definition from the Content Marketing Institute

” Content marketing is comparable to what media companies do as their core business, except that in place of paid content or sponsorship as a measure of success, brands define success by ultimately selling more products or services.” — Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute

What does content mean on your website?

When you’re developing content to fit your strategy and your position, start from your audiences’ perspective. What are audience perceptions about your industry or category?  What do audiences know and what do they need to know? What are commonly asked questions? Or what are mis-perceptions you could address?

Content can be in multiple forms, choose what fits best:

• You Tube videos that tell your story, demonstrate a product, or entertain
• Downloadable guidelines, checklists, white papers, e-books or research reports
• Answers to frequently asked questions
• Infographics or charts that make comparisons or demonstrate features
• Wonderful photos that show off your work or products
• Side by side comparisons of features and benefits
• Testimonials and customer stories
• Excerpts of information, stories, research, explanations curated from other sources

In today’s “get it done fast and cheap” world, especially for small businesses that don’t have time or budget for a new website, many owners and managers will contract with a low-cost web developer or programmer. The business person ends up providing old brochures or other information pieces to the programmer, who plunks the same long, non-focused copy into the page. This will kill the effectiveness of your website fast.

The toughest part of web development, and the area that demands the most attention and thought, is content.

 Content is the lifeblood of an effective marketing website.

Without optimized content, your website will fall in rankings and you won’t get the traffic you’re looking for. If a visitor finds you and your content doesn’t engage them or deliver what they’re looking for, you’ll lose them.

As the chart above shows … content is essential to your online brand. In a web rebuild, it’s where you must devote the most effort.

“Content marketing is about delivering the content your audience is seeking in all the places they are searching for it. It is the effective combination of created, curated and syndicated content.” ––Michael Brenner

One more reference, an excellent overview

What is the right content for your organization?

That will depend on your audiences and what your message is. Just keep in mind, visuals are very powerful. The more visual you can make your website, the better. Yet be sure you also have something available for different audiences who may be at different stages of a decision. That could be pages devoted to comparisons, a download of a checklist, or videos that show a virtual tour or demo of the product.

More articles and ideas are compiled in my Flipboard magazine. Click below to read more.
View my Flipboard Magazine.

This is a big conversation … much more to consider. Here are some additional resources.

• A website rebuild requires more than an SEO audit 
• Why is your website an essential point of choice?
• Message first for your online brand
• Download our website scorecard to evaluate your site as a business asset