Any company looking to promote itself and stand out from its competitors knows that good content is king. Anything from a well-written website to a topical blog to engaging social media can reach a company’s customers and target potential new clients.
In the visual world we live in, combining interesting written content with relevant images can also help to present a well-thought-out brand identity. When you think about a good website, it is the combination of the wording and the imagery that makes you click further and explore what a company has to offer.
So, what are the key areas of content that a company must get right and how can you best make these content must-haves work for you? The measure of success being more clicks, new business enquiries and satisfied customers who are likely to remain loyal to a brand.
There are five areas of content that can make a real difference regarding brand perception and success. These are written website content, website imagery, blogs, written social media posts and social media imagery. Get these things right and you’re on your way to being a successful brand with a contemporary identity.
Let’s explore each of these five areas and discover the keys to making them work for your company.
When considering written content for a website, there are a few key things to remember. Written content needs to be engaging on each page of a website. The wording should deliver your message quickly and avoid extending beyond a few paragraphs on each page. This is for the purpose of keeping readers interested, but content should also be succinct from a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) point of view.
When thinking about each page, the homepage is key. This is where most customers land on the website and they will want to understand what your brand is about and what services you offer in a few short, well-crafted sentences. You can go into further detail on ‘About Us’ and ‘Services’ pages. The homepage is for that perfect introduction to your brand – it’s like your shop window!
As well as using engaging and well-written sentences that read well grammatically, you also need to think about SEO. This means using keywords in your written content that will help your website be found by search engines. Think of keywords that are relevant to your business or research them online, then use them sparingly in your sentences as you don’t want to make them too obvious to the reader.
The imagery on a website is just as important, if not more so, than the written content. It can also work alongside the written content, creating one cohesive message. Using imagery in marketing, as well as design, takes your brand to the next level. Images on a website should be relevant to your brand and of high quality. Commission a photographer to take some images for you or use high-resolution stock images that don’t look staged.
Remember that images can help with the navigation of your website. They can be clickable, leading visitors through to a relevant page. Visual imagery can also be used as “call to actions.” For instance, a symbol of a phone can be used on the menu of a homepage to encourage visitors to click through to a contact page.
Thinking about the layout of images on a webpage is important. Call-to-action symbols are often placed at the top right of a page, as this is where the eye tends to fall. The photographic images on a website can also contain meta tags, enabling improved SEO and links between pages.
Perhaps you are a company with a wealth of industry knowledge, but you don’t have an outlet to share it. This is where blogs can come in handy. They are a great place for industry chat and reactions to recent industry developments. You can use one person to create blogs or get several people to contribute. Put the link to your blog page on the home menu of your website and you’re sure to get some clicks.
Well-written blogs can be a good way to present your company as an expert in your field. They are also good for SEO and navigation purposes, allowing you to link back to web pages and link between blogs to allow readers to find more of your expert opinions!
Blogs also help to fill your website with up-to-date content and allow you to engage with your customers, who may get in touch based on the insightful content you share via your blog. But remember to keep posting blogs regularly. Website visitors do not want to discover that your last blog post was a year ago!
No company can compete in the world of modern business without a social media presence. Different platforms are right for different businesses, but there is always one that will help to promote you and get your name out there. The key to social media success is the content and relevance of your posts. First and foremost, they need to be well written.
Being brief with words is generally the rule but what you say is also important. This depends on who you are trying to target: new customers, loyal clients or social media influencers? You can tailor the wording of your posts to different audiences. For example, you can offer discounts for new customers, a loyalty bonus for long-standing customers or a free gift to influencers.
The written content of your posts should also contain relevant hashtags that can be found by your target customers and may lead them to your social media profile. The key to success with social media is engagement. Think of creative ways to engage with your customers and adopt a writing style that is relevant to your brand and can help give visitors to your social media pages a flavour of what you’re about.
So much can be said with a strong image. This is why social media sites like Instagram have been so successful, as they rely on quality visual content. Your company offers great products or services. Be sure to show customers and prospects these solutions via social media. Get your products photographed professionally and post pictures of your products being used in real-life situations.
These kind of lifestyle shots are really popular and help potential customers engage with your brand, as they imagine themselves using your product or service. Combine your images with engaging copy and you’ll see your number of followers continue to grow and consequently, your number of customers increase. Social media reaches so many people and is the modern way to get your name out there.
If you would like advice and help with your social media posts or your website content, Mulberry have many years of content marketing experience and can help steer your brand in the right or should I say ‘write’ direction! Contact us today to find out more.
Kate Fox is a Copywriter at Mulberry Marketing Communications. An award-winning full-service B2B communications agency based in London, Chicago and Melbourne. She has extensive experience creating written work that finds interesting ways to make B2B content, personal.