If you’re wondering how to get more out of your internet marketing, consider...how important is website content?
In my experience, business owners are often unsure about content. But it’s really not their fault. The website design/development world has made it difficult for them to expand their thinking beyond internet technology. Beyond the media delivery systems.
But the internet is changing the marketplace. It’s happening so fast confusion is natural. The basic idea of the internet, the visitor centric nature of it, is rarely discussed. A website isn’t thought of so much as a communications and relationship building tool but more an online brochure.
Thing is, companies are no longer driving the buying process. The interactive nature of the internet has shifted the power of commerce to favor people over companies. Website owners are perplexed and unsure how to react, much less take advantage.
So they focus on the bells and whistles of website design and development. But what about the words?
It’s like hiring a great looking salesperson, dressing him in an expensive suit and sending him out into the marketplace with no idea as to what your company does, the ways it can solve your customers’ problems, or why people should do business with you.
I call it internet marketing’s “empty suit syndrome.” And what’s more, I think that what you say is so important that I’ll often write all of the content for a website before a developer/designer is even hired!
(I have always marveled at the way beginning golfers will spend a thousand dollars on new clubs when they can barely hit the ball. If they spent half of that on lessons from a good pro, they’d break 80 with a used set from their neighbor’s garage. Same with website content. Fancy bells and whistles don’t do all the selling any more than a high-priced golf club makes the swing.)
5 Reasons Why Your Website Content is Important
So let’s look at the reasons why you should take a whole new look at your website and its content.
Everyone Searches Online Before Buying, Even if Your Business is Local
Studies show that 81% of consumers research online before buying (Retailing Today) and 94% of B2B buyers do (Accenture: 2014 State of B2B Procurement Study). That’s how important your website content is.
And people are searching for exactly what you offer when they’re ready to buy. They’re alert, interested, and poised for action. I call this the web’s natural tailwind. To ride it, you must get found with quality SEO text (search engines don’t recognize graphics), gain interest with attention grabbing headlines, and engage with conversational, visitor-centric messaging.
Powerful Websites Establish an Emotional Connection
Shopping is usually justified as a logical approach to solving a problem. But it’s also an emotional journey for people. As we see above, it most often starts with their search for information. But it’s also a search for justification. People seek the emotional triggers that validate their desires. If your sales messages can connect with them on that emotional level, you will get lots more customers.
You Own Your Media So Think Like a Publisher
Don’t forget that the media delivering your sales messages is yours…you own your website. You don’t have to pay to rent airtime on TV or radio. No costs to print ads in the newspaper or trade journals. No printing costs for thousands of sales flyers.
The downside is that without quality content, your owned media won’t get found amongst the 1 billion websites vying for attention. And if it is found but doesn’t engage your prospects with text they understand and relate to, they’ll click away.
It turns out that success with your owned media is all in the content. Start thinking like a publisher. What content does my audience find useful? What kinds of messages resonate with them. What can I say on my website that will foster trust? How can I move them to a sale?
People Can Easily Click Away
Used to be if you heard good things about a store you had to get in the car and drive out to see if you liked it. So even if the place looked shabby, the sign barely visible, you went in. After all, you’ve driven all this way, might as well give it a try.
Online people just click away. That means your headlines must grab their attention. Your copy must establish a relationship with conversational style writing. Your About page establishes trust and your product pages not only describe what you offer but trigger your buyer’s emotional hot buttons.
Your Website is the Hub of Your Content Marketing
What is the purpose of organic social media? To get valuable attention for your firm. What about your blog? To inform, entertain, and move your audience to your way of thinking. Email? To keep in touch with people who have opted-in, saying they want to hear from you.
So what do you do with that attention, affirmation, and contact? You get people to your website. It’s the hub of your internet marketing campaigns. If you want to get leads and sales with content marketing, you’ll want to coordinate all of the media available to you. And the hub of your campaign should be your website.
It all comes down to this, to succeed online, you must redirect your focus from web technology to online conversations. Concentrate on what you say to your marketplace and how you say it.
What You Can Do Today To Get Your Website Content Front of Mind
Starting now, think like a publisher. It's your job to provide the information that your audience requires to make a purchase. Tell them about your product but also create content that connects with them emotionally. Remember, people buy for emotional reasons and then use logic to justify their purchases.
So how important is website content? I hope I’ve convinced you of the answer, website owner/publisher!
Until next time,
Nick
PS. If you think you need help, let me know. Find out more about my NKB 6-Step Website Content Optimization Method here. You’ll get individual attention as I plan, write, and publish engaging, client attracting content unique to your company.
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