CONTENT IS KING - But Why Is So Much of It So Bad?

Almost two decades after the first websites went live, you might think most businesses would know what they’re doing when it comes creating an effective website.

Unfortunately, this frequently isn’t the case.

Let’s Be Honest

Too often, websites resemble a confused amalgam of half-baked ideas and incoherent packaging that probably arose from an equally confused and possibly politically compromised development process.

Go see for yourself. Visit a few sites. Did they really meet YOUR needs? Or are they little more than quivering heaps of low grade cyber schlock that leave much to be desired?

Some people (read customers) have simply resigned themselves to wading through the cyber schlock. Those who won’t, however, will simply take their business elsewhere. After all, a better site may only be a single click away.

Now consider your own website. Be honest. Think from the perspective of a potential customer. Your  foremost thoughts should be: 1) Does this website actually meet my customer’s needs, by helping them take an action?  2) Does it support our specific business objectives?

If you can’t answer these questions with a definitive (and honest) yes!, then you’ve got a problem.

Content Is King
In real estate, the enduring mantra is: Location! Location! Location! For websites it’s: Content! Content! Content!

Content is the driving force behind all successful online efforts. Good content boosts sales, boosts credibility and boosts loyalty. Good content gets things done. But don’t all websites have content? Yes. It’s just that most of it is poorly conceived and frequently irrelevant and too often useless.

One  problem is that content is treated as a low priority in the web development process. Why? Because creating good content takes time, discipline and forethought. Thus, it can seem vague and daunting at the outset of a web project. Remember, quality content always provides value to your audience while simultaneously delivering on your business goals.

Another problem is many people mistakenly view content as a cheap commodity, something to just “fill out the pages”  and of relatively little importance. Thus, it becomes almost an afterthought and a breeding ground for mediocrity or worse.

Finally, if your company has multiple stakeholders, then everyone is going to have their ideas and demands about what qualifies as essential content. Meetings will be held, surveys taken and lists created. And then the real fun begins as these same stakeholders battle it out for their slice of the pie.

A Few Helpful Guidelines
So, if you want better content for your website,  it’s helpful to keep a few critical points in mind:

1. Ask the all important question — Simply asking “Why?” focuses minds on exactly what it is you hope to accomplish through your website and the central role that content plays. As the process unfolds, this question forces a stricter examination and, hopefully, a higher standard of content.
   
   
2. Don’t tune out — There probably are several stakeholders in your business with an interest in delivering web content. Listen to them, be open to their ideas, but don’t rubberstamp them in the interests of simply getting along. Their ideas and content must align with the overall objectives to be realized.
   
   
3. Bigger is not better — dial back on quantity of content. Too many sites unleash a virtual avalanche of material, most of it useless to the end user. Be brutal when it comes to deciding what is important, and what accomplishes defined objectives.
   
   
4. Designate a content czar — A website project with a content czar is like a chicken without a head. This doesn’t mean that no one else contributes content. A content czar is simply empowered to ensure that all content, from whatever source, meets the litmus test of 1) meeting end users’ needs and 2) achieving clear business objectives.

Next month, we’ll take a look at how to develop a strategy for better content. 

Time To Hit The Dance Floor

Don’t Be Shy When it Comes to Social Media

Five years ago, tweeting was something only birds did and the words “face” and “book” didn’t go together unless you fell asleep reading a particularly dull tome. Today, these words have taken on new and powerful meanings as social media platforms exert an ever-growing influence on the way business is done.

Remember your first high school dance? There were those who stood along the wall, desperately trying to summon up the courage to cut a rug. Then there were the ones who hit the dance floor without a second thought about boogying the night away.

Today’s social media environment, at least from a marketing perspective, is not too different from this classic scenario. On the one hand, you’ve got some companies that already are gung-ho about social media, jumping headlong into the latest developments. On the other hand, there are those that are the equivalent of cyber wallflowers. They remain uncertain, and even skeptical of the value social media offers.

But Does It Work?

The big question on everyone’s mind is: Does social media participation lead to more business? Some argue yes, but there are no hard numbers yet to corroborate a growing chorus of anecdotal claims. One thing, however, cannot be denied — the huge phenomenon that social media has become. Over the last five years, various social media platforms have lured half a billion people into this brave new world.

What does this mean for companies that already have donned their social media dancing shoes? At the very least, it means they enjoy increased exposure to a customer-rich environment at a very low cost (If you’ve got an Internet connection and a handful of hours to spare each week for maintenance and updates, you’re pretty much looking at your overhead). And, by making a strategic commitment to social media involvement, they could be increasing their actual business volume.Chances are high that your existing customers, and potential ones, are engaged in some form of social media. This translates into new channels through which you can communicate with them. Social media also can offer you priceless insight (business intelligence) into your customers’ tastes, attitudes and behaviors, keep you up to date on trends, provide you with a venue to offer solutions and answer concerns, and allow you to build networks of friends and associates.

Define Your Goals

First, however, you’ll need to devise a social media strategy. Think about business sound reasons for participating in Facebook, or LinkedIn, for example, and the kind of exposure you and your brand can expect through those platforms. Most importantly, think about what it is you want to achieve. What are your main goals? Simple awareness? Building customer/client networks? Responding to customer concerns and feedback (reputation management)? Steering eyeballs to your website, blog or bricks and mortar location? Answering these questions will help you focus your social media participation in the most effective way and keep you from wasting time with platforms that don’t suit your aims.

So, if you’re willing to get on the dance floor, where do you start? The following are relatively quick, inexpensive and effective ways to get your social media efforts up and running. But don’t feel obliged to do all of them. Remember to shape your efforts around your time, objectives and audience.

Blogs — Technorati.com, a blog tracking service, has indexed 133 million blogs since 2002. An estimated 70,000 new ones are created each day. You may have hundreds or thousands of blogs in your own community. The problem is finding ones that are active and relevant to you and your business. Once you come across one that fits, begin to participate.Make sure, however, that your contributions are relevant and remember that you are participating in a conversation, not a sales pitch. It is bad form to show up on someone else’s blog and start advertising. Create a list of blogs and monitor them for references to your products and services.  Even better, start your blog, using a service such as www.typepad.com or www.blogger.com.

Through your blog, you can share updated information with your customers and provide them with a forum for feedback. A blog will also allow you to perform reputation management when necessary, responding to false or uninformed claims about your business. Sure, the number of blogs is mind boggling, but, according to Universal McCann research, 73% of online users read blogs. Yours could be one of them. Above all, the key to a successful blog is regularly updating content — and not just any content, but interesting, relevant stuff that keeps people coming back for more!

Facebook – Facebook has truly become a phenomenon. Just three years ago, it was a little known network for college students. Today, Facebook has the world at its feet with nearly 300 million users. Women are the fastest growing group of users, and nearly half of U.S. Facebook users are 26 years or older. Facebook has a more relaxed, conversational format than other platforms, and while primarily social in nature, it does offer easy-to-create fan pages. You can create a fan page for your business, allowing other users to promote it to their own network of Facebook friends. It is important to keep your fan page content fresh and to provide updates that keep people interested. To set up a profile for your business on Facebook, click here.

LinkedIn – This is a more business professional form of social media, connecting more than 35 million businesspeople from around the globe. Although used by some as a place to post a glorified online resume, LinkedIn is actually much more, offering participants the chance to interact with and learn from business professionals in their respective market sectors or industries. It may also help you to network with vendors and consultants who can build your business.

Twitter – As of this writing, Twitter users have “tweeted” more than 5.7 billion times. That number should be well over 6 billion in just a few days time. What is a tweet? It’s a simple 140 character message you can send to a group of friends via your cell phone, computer, instant message or other application. Basically, it’s you telling your friends what you’re doing. So what could be the business application of such a platform? Basically, it gives you a presence in a very large and active community. By building a following (be sure to add as many “friends” as you can), you can give them updates on your activities and point them to other content rich resources that promote your business, such as your own blog.

While social media marketing may seem like a dubious endeavor to some, it is far simpler and less costly than you might imagine. Remember, it’s about initiating relationships, strengthening existing connections and increasing awareness of your brand. With a little courage  — and the commitment to be active, timely, and relevant — you’ll be surprised how quickly you learn the steps to the social media samba.

written by Scott Wigton