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Why Content is the Life Blood of Your Business

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The internet is the answer.

The internet has now become, hands down, the go-to resource for people looking for answers.

Online visitors, your future clients or customers, are looking for quality information that’s going to solve their problem.

Your product or service can probably do it. Are you telling people about it? Online? If not, you’re missing out on a HUGE amount of business.

Here’s Why

Content provides the answers. This can be in the form of blog posts, videos, articles, white papers, photos, podcasts, and more.

By producing content that addresses the main concerns of your visitors, you’re proving you know your stuff.

The result?

You’re going to be the one getting the phone calls.

What About Google?

Let’s not forget the mighty search engine (and those other less-used search engines too).

By producing quality content that answers real-life problems, you’re not only going to be discovered by your future clients but also Google too.

In fact, it’s kind of an upward spiral. The more you get found in Google, the more people see you and the more people see you the more Google ranks you higher and so on.

When you’re producing content, you’re really doing it for two groups. One, the people you’re trying to help with your business. And two, the robots at Google who are scanning your stuff.

Without Content, Your Business will Die

That’s a bold statement. But it’s true.

Online visitors, your future clients or customers, are looking for quality information that’s going to solve their problem. If it’s not on your website, they’ll quickly bounce off to your competitor’s website.

Without content, the end result is that your website does little more than to act as sort of a digital business card.

Sure, it provides your hours of operation and business address, but is it providing the content that your visitors are looking for?

And don’t forget Google. If you’re not supplying content that Google can find, your website will get buried!

Being that over 90% of consumers in the U.S. are now looking online for their next service or product, this is kind of a big deal.

The conclusion then is if you’re not marketing online through good quality content, you’re not going to be in business very long.

Start producing content. Start sharing your knowledge. Create a blog. Do videos. Start a podcast. Your business and your pocketbook will thank you!

Naturally, if you need help with content or anything online, we can help!

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7 Ways to Modernize Your Website

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Chances are if your company’s website is over 3 years old, it’s already outdated. In the “olden days” (olden days being late 90’s/early 2000’s) it used to be enough to have a website. For the most part, it acted as a place holder online for your company giving some basic info and maybe a way to contact you.

Nowadays, having a simple website isn’t enough. Your website must engage. It must share your knowledge. It must sell. And it must do it all quickly. To do this, it’s got to have an up-to-date feel or you risk losing your visitor before you ever got a chance to woo them.

So here are 7 ways you can modernize your website:

Add a Blog

There are a number of reasons why adding a blog helps your website. It helps with your SEO and discoverability, demonstrates your expertise, and pre-sells your customer. A blog also helps you to prove to everyone that you’re active on your own website. And being active means increased customer engagement.

Add Social Media

Social media is still relatively new and by adding all of your social media links to your site, you’re showing that you’re on top of the game. It also adds multiple ways for your visitors to get in touch with you and learn more about your business. Add as many social media outlets that you have a strong presence on.

Add Video

Few things are as powerful as having video on your website. It’s one of the best ways for people to consume your content. By having even just a short introductory video on your homepage, you’ll increase the time visitors stay on your site and the likelihood they’ll want to learn more from you.

Add an Email Opt-in

Online there’s a saying that the “money is in the list”. This refers to building your database of potential customers by getting their name and email address. You can offer something of genuine value in exchange for their name and email. Then you can go to work turning a random visitor into a possible customer by setting up a drip marketing campaign.

Change to WordPress

Many of the older websites out there were built using good old fashioned HTML. Not that this is bad, but there are much easier ways now to build (or rebuild) your website. WordPress is one of those ways. You can pick a template (they call them “themes”) and have a new, professional looking site up within a day. And you can do it with little to no web design skills. The result? A modern looking website that’s aesthetically pleasing.

Make it clean

Many of the older websites are jumbled with a bunch of text and photos with poor choice in colors. When you go to upgrade your website, be sure you make sure it’s clean and easy to look at. Use light, pleasing colors, great images, and simple, concise text. Many of the most successful websites are highly minimalistic. Just look at Google or Craigslist. Simple. Effective. Clean.

Make it sell

This is one of the most important aspects of your website. You’ve got to make it work as a sales tool for you. Instead of just listing boring information about your products and services, show your visitors (like through video) the benefits of doing business with you. Then, have a clear call to action placed prominently so visitors know what to do next.

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7 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

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OK, great. You’re online. You’ve got a fully functional website that shares everything about your company and what you do. Question – is your website attracting a loyal following? Is it establishing you as a leader? Is it interacting with your target audience? Chances are, it’s not.

Fear not. There’s a super easy solution. Four letters: B-L-O-G. Yep, it’s time to implement your company blog if you haven’t already.

Why? Check out 7 reasons here:

  1. Expertise – people aren’t online looking for your website. People are online looking for solutions to their problems. A blog gives you the ability to demonstrate that you really know your stuff. Be the solution and people will be loyal to you and tell others about you.
  2. Leadership – closely related to expertise is leadership. Having a blog establishes you as a authority in your industry. Why? Because you actually have a blog while others don’t! That means that you’re regularly pushing out great content and contributing to the pool of knowledge. There is more competition than ever and you need to stand out as a leader and a blog is the perfect way to do it.
  3. Search engines – search engines like Google or Bing love fresh content. Most company websites have the basic information that explains who, what, why, and so forth but once they’re built, that’s it. Every company needs a website but this is only the start. If you want to get discovered in the search engines, provide them with new keyword rich content updated on a frequent basis.
  4. Commenting – if half of blogging consists of publishing great content, the other half would be building great relationships. Every good blog allows readers to comment and add their own expertise. You can then interact with those readers in an uplifting way and grow your company community. This also goes hand in hand with the concept of giving and that’s next.
  5. Giving – by sharing your expertise online for free, you’re showing to the world that you’re willing to give without expectation of return. Yeah, this is a little new-agey but it’s true. You never know who might be on the receiving end of your information. They might be someone with a lot of influence and your generous nature was just the thing to turn them on and champion your company to their people.
  6. Company Culture – people like knowing that the business they’re dealing with is run by real people. Using vernacular and ridiculous industry jargon is barely ok for printed materials but not online. People want real information from real people. Talking about your latest products or services is good but also try throwing in some stuff about the funny things your dog does or fun things you do at your office.
  7. Social Media – of course I had to mention social media because I love it so much! Having a blog is the perfect way to launch your social media campaign. Why? Content! Really, how many times can you tweet out your contact info? But if you have a nice, juicy article that helps someone out in some way, you can spread that thing across the social media universe as fast as someone can hit “retweet”.

These are just 7 reasons of why your company should have a blog. Hopefully it’s now a bit more clear on why you need a blog for your company. Happy blogging!