Website Content: Make it Work for Your Business

TIP: In this article the consumer, customer and the audience is essentially the same person. Don’t confuse them as three different sets of entities.

It has been stressed often- content is the king. The art of great content has always been shown as something beyond the means of everyone and that only a chosen few can excel in it. But WE are here to debunk that- writing great content can be as simple as A-B-C. No great art required.

Our consumers come across plethora of information-each worth a billion applause. But our consumers are well aware of their wants and search specifically-they have to disseminate the desired information from the gamut of mediums spread across here. That is the reason why content has to be top notch, memorable….. “A cut above the rest”. And believe us, you deserve the best that can be got.

As it has been stressed time and again- a great content can make or break a brand. So let us tweak the famous quote by Uncle Ben:

“With great content comes great responsibility”

TIP :   Understanding what web content exactly is and how it is beneficial for you is the first step to conceptualizing great content. Like the building of a house/bridge/building, strong foundation is a must.

So craftily written web content can do wonders for website, garnering the buzz that your venture needs. But before we delve into the finer points of writing web content, let us first clear out what exactly web content is.

Web content 101: What is web content?

Web content is the big boss. It is the sole reason why people visit your website. The meat of the website. The SEO and the guidelines are the skeleton; web content is what fleshes up the website. Designers and developers should keep this in mind- content is what makes people keep visiting and generating traffic. It is not a byproduct- it is the breadwinner of the website.

Content is the combination of text, words and animation which form the body of the website. Without web content, the page will lose its salability/value as pretty layouts cannot make up for slipshod content. Effective content ensures putting across the desired message in the visitor/consumers mind and hence leads to increase in conversion. After all who will avail your services if you don’t have the apt content to back it up?

Website content types and kinds:

People generally make a mistake of thinking that web content consists of only text. Web content includes text, picture, videos, sound etc. – whatever helps in explaining the intent of the website and the solution/services it offers.

Tip: A good content is the balanced amalgamation of texts, with visual and other contents to make the website more interactive. No one lingers around a flat website.

What is Good Content for the Website?

A good content is a pleasure- to both the consumer and one who’s generating it.

CASE 1

Ever wondered what goes into a your McDonald’s meal? McDonald’s Canada decided to base their social campaign on this itself. By answering their customers question and sharing the facts and figures amongst their consumers, McDonald’s have successfully killed two birds with a single stone- included their target audience into the mainfolds of McDonald’s, thus increasing loyalty and generating a buzz that would ensure that those who are not even McDonald’s core audience,talk about them.

CASE 2

 

Lorna Jane is known for it’s activewear so their campaign on fitness and active lifestyle has hit the sweet spot of content- healthy recipes, soulful meditation tricks and fun ways to turn your chores to your benefits, Lorna Jane’s blog exemplifies what women of this generation are- multitaskers. And it also breaks the clutter where all the other fitwear remain stuck in- it tries to build a connection with the audience.

CASE 3

The third example of a good content strikes the similar chord that we were stressing about– audiences connect. This time using the “PERSONALIZATION” card. To make the COKE and non-COKE fans turn into COKE loyalists, Coca Cola decided to show how much their consumers mean to them-by having their names on the bottles. This little act of personalization hit the jackpot- an increased sale on Coke which simply shows even the simplest strategy can make a difference.

What makes a Content Bad for the website?

What makes a content bad- Insensitivity? Lack of prior Intel? Let’s find out.

CASE 1

Inane strategies don’t add up to a good content. And this is as inane as one can get. Godiva is a premuim chocolate brand,which has no connection to Thanksgiving. This tweet was a miscalculation on Godiva’s part leading to alianation of the audience. One should always keep audience in mind while strategizing the content

CASE 2

NewsJacking is something of the 21^st century phenomenon and is a good tool for content,if utilized well.

Here is an example of an awful NewsJacking where clearly AT&T took a huge back-step. Irrespective of the message here, the whole picture and the tone is of insensitivity in epic proportions. Wish AT&T would have thought this out clearly before going forward with it.

Tip: Think through the content and the message carefully. Think once twice thrice- the many no of times you want to think before you can be sure. You DON’T want to be the subject of merciless trolls, do you? Also a little sensitivity and empathy goes a long way. Leave the radical sensationalist tricks to those “breaking news” journalists. You never know how your audience may interpret it, so restraint works.

The disparity between the first world nations and the third world nations has been a bone of contention and the fodder of many racist and capitalist jokes since ages. But in this 21^st century, where cultural appropriation is all in rage and the spending power of third world countries are in par with that of the first world, the above tweet came out as crude and again insensitive. Opening a shop in Cairo AND trivializing the attack of Cairo was not what Kenneth Cole had it mind. The wittiness was forced and not so witty, after all.

1. WRITE FOR EVERYONE:

Many come on board thinking that content writing is all about the Queens’s English, with a lot of pompous words and show-off-y tone. But NO!!! The audience gets alienated by heavy words and a boring tone, which kills the purpose of the website. Aim it for the larger audience and write in clear lucid language that all can appreciate and decipher. Don’t go into the finer details of grammar and tenses, leave it for your school teacher.

2.CREATE ORIGINAL CONTENT:

Original content has a charm of its own- it grabs people’s attention and keeps their interest on . Plagiarized content adds no value to your page and in fact adds more value to the competitor’s page from where you have picked your ideas. You can get inspired from the other blogs, but don’t lift word to word. It simply shows you have put it minimal effort and do not care about your audience. Besides GOOGLE has finally decided to crack down on plagiarism-plagiarized pages would be penalized hence forward. Now ,that’s a bad reputation you don’t want.

3.CREATE CONTENT THAT URGES PEOPLE TO ACT:

We come across various types of content on our daily life- some that make us go “ho-hum” and click to the next search engine page and those that make us wonder “hey! That makes me want to act upon it”. Try to be the one in the latter; it will increase of conversion rates. Upbeat posts act as a booster and leave a mark on the audience’s psyche- they believe in those that make them think and feel. So like those famous Dora the Explorer Episodes- get your audience involved.

4.USE VISUALS TO BREAK MONOTONY:

Remember those childhood books with visuals- fun, weren’t they? In fact even the textbooks had visuals. But as we grew older, our books started becoming drearier and drabber- no wonder teens would complain about studies! It’s like the fun was taken out of studies. Well, the website works on the same principle as well. Visuals have many benefits to it:

• It helps in making things easier to understand.
• Doesn’t put strain in the eyes of the audience.
• Helps in proactivity-engages the audience.
• Increases the aesthetic appeal of the website.

Visuals are our friends and they help us in making our content and our websites crisper and smarter. After all texts and no pictures make website a very dull boy!

5. PUT INSIGHTS- PERSONAL OR STALWORTHS OF THE INDUSTRY:

The heart of a powerful content is a good insight. The audience wants something to relate with. Something that makes the wonder “ I have thought about it too!” It’s all about commiserating. That is why we tend to gravitate towards human interest stories. So adding insights is a key to a fleshed out content. Be it a personal insight or one from an eminent person in the industry- it adds to the humaneness of the subject. Make the audience believe in the website.

6. PROVIDE SIMPLE SOLUTIONS:

True knowledge lies when you take up complicated thing and spin them in such a way even a child can understand. Solutions need to be simple. Your audience is here to find the best way to solve their problem ,not plod their way through use less information. Nobody has the time to go through unending process of drudgery .Don’t bog your audience down with unnecessary plotline– keep it simple silly.

7. BREAK IT UP INTO MANY SUB POINTS-NOT TOO MANY:

This adds to the aforementioned point. It’s all about keeping things easy for the audience to comprehend. A huge word heavy paragraph is a sore thing to look at- breaking it down signifies that the person who has writing it hit knows what he is talking about– but beware of too many sub points! It may leave the audience confused and waylaid and may hold down the browser capacity of the website.

8. WRITE CRISP AND ELUCIDATE POINTS:

A crisply written, well worded article is a beauty of its own- it shows how exactly the person writing it wants the information to sit in the mind of his audience. The correct pauses give a breather space for the audience to assimilate the information in their minds. Write it in the way you’d want to read the content/article. Elucidate points, where necessary. It would be a great help to the audience as an appropriately elucidated content is always shared on social media.

9. HIGHLIGHT IMPORTANT KEYWORDS-BUT USE THEM WISELY:

The sign of a great content lies in highlighting the keywords. These are the SEO words, which typed in a search engine, will land your audience up to your page. Just a small piece of advice- keywords are a gift that should be used where needed. Most of the content in web are found to commit the key word stuffing mistake- most of which are not for the benefit of the audience but to mislead or get them lost. Overload of information is too difficult for the audience to assimilate-you cannot go stuffing on a full stomach, can you?

10. EDIT AND RE-EDIT AGAIN:

The final missing puzzle to a rock star-like content is the constant checking. Check innumerable times. Re-check. Change the unnecessary points. Spell correct it. Fine tune it till it reaches the desired result. The value of editors is great these days. Don’t overpass the importance of a well-edited writing. Making mistakes is human but keeping them as they are is punishable. Find your weaknesses- channelize your strength and aim for the gold.

FURTHER TIPS ON MAKING YOUR CONTENT ROCK!!

• CONTENT SHOULD BE EASILY SCANNABLE-The audience has to no time to go through the article at the first glance. Make the content scannable so that the audience can find their topic of interest and proceed further.

• SOCIAL MEDIA FRIENDLY- It should be having Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin share option-helpful for visibility and buzz.

• SYMBOLS SHOULD BE USED WHEN NECCESARY- “AND” can be replaced with”&”- little things to make your and the audiences lives simpler.

• USE OF HASHTAGS JUDICIOUSLY: So many content around us are slayed with meaningless But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use hashtags at all! #nohashtag is a great folly but #meaninglesshashtags is career suicide!

• RESEARCH TOPIC WELL-GET A GOOD UNDERSTANDING: Remember attempting the Pythagoras theorem without having any knowledge of the scheme of 90 degree angles? Your content shouldn’t be like that. A well-researched content sets a benchmark for others to follow.

• SHOULD ANSWER THE 5 W’S AND 1 H- The content should be always prepared to answer the who, what, when, where, why and how– the crux of every question that arises in the minds of the audience, without which-why would someone visit your site?

• SHOULD BE RELATABLE: AUDIENCE CANNOT BE ALIENATED- No jargons. No mumbo jumbos. Clearly explained. To the point. Precise. Audience should go with the flow alongside you, not left on his own to be adrift.

• SHOULD HAVE ITS OWN STYLE:INDIVIDUALISTIC- What do leaders have different from the rest of us? Nothing! They have the same view as most of us- just a different way to convince is. Having an own voice is what grabs attention. It’s that inimitable style that keeps the content fresh.

• SUMMARIZE- End it with a good summary, else the whole purpose of the article would be lost in the clutter of thoughts. Every good story has a summary. No unending saga going around here.

• USE DICTONARY.COM: ALWAYS- It’s good to keep the dictionary handy-helps from committing avoidable mistakes and gaffes. Never use words unless you’re clear about the context in which it should be used.

• HYPERLINKS: MUST– Unless you want to be called a thief/plagiarist- remember to hyperlink the sources from where you have borrowed your content.

• SHOUT OUTS TO FELLOW BLOGS: HELPS IN TRAFFIC- Like in every other industry, support your fellow content writers/bloggers. Nothing better than spreading goodwill that would ensure the good coming back to you.

TIP: You can play around the rules but these are the basic foundations. But before all this is a simple golden term- VISUALIZE. Visualize how you’d want to put your content across. Make a graph of it. Ponder around on it. Converse with yourself. Convince yourself on the validity of the content

TIP: This is something that has been stressed upon time and time again. Be the consumer/audience/customer. Imagine how you would like to be approach, how would you interpret the content. Work accordingly.

CONCLUSION: TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS

Like in every story, there shouldn’t be any cliffhangers to keep people guessing.

So to work up on the actual statement :

CONSUMER IS THE KING.

And keeping the consumer in mind, content should be graphed. Be in the shoes of the consumer. Visualize how the consumer would want the website to be like. Focus on what the consumer wants, not what you can give. Forget the sales pitch, treat the consumer like royalty. A well written content is like a necklace, it can be the talk of the town.

The world of content is yours to take.

If you have further queries or just want to chit-chat with us on the finer points of content, give us a shout-out at our blog page and well get back to you as soon as possible