As a business in the digital era, you have to have an idea of how to write for your online consumers and visitors. But, there are always lingering questions during and after the process of writing site content for a new web initiative. Whether this is your business’ first site, or tenth remodel, you should constantly be thinking of better ways to display and organize content to provide the best user experience.
However, it’s not uncommon for those folks tasked with creating and managing content for a B2B site to run into a roadblock…or five. In my role at emagine, clients often are curious about how they can continue to adapt and change their content after their site launches. Here are some common questions our team has encountered:
“What if I decide to change my existing content?”
Content should always be changing and updated at regular intervals as your site grows. If your industry requires you to be constantly updating product information, where customers can seek support, or even something as small as normal business hours make sure your site stays as up-to-date as possible. It shows your site visitors that you care about your online presence!
Another good way to keep your content current and interesting is to introduce a blog on your site. Introduce topics on industry trends, consumer concerns and insider knowledge… anything relevant to what you do. However, if you’re not up to the task of maintaining a blog (or simply don’t have the time to write posts at regular intervals) you could also regularly feature new and existing products, services, or deals on your site to make the site feel fresh – even if its just a blurb of content and a new photo on your home page.
“It’s going to be hard to keep up with all the new changes and events our company is having, can I prime posts/content for the future?”
There are always options for updating content – no matter what your time constraints happen to be. Think about what concerns you will have with current sections of your content that can always be added to like: events, press releases and job postings while you organize and develop your content.
Most content management systems (CMSs) like WordPress offer options to “schedule” posts automatically to your site. Scheduling content makes it easy to load up relevant changes (when you and your content team actually have some down time) and offers your business a leg-up on presenting internal and industry information in a timely fashion.
“Why can’t I reuse content elsewhere on my site?”
Content has to be consistent, but consistency cannot be confused with repetition. When creating content, think about what your main focus points are regarding your business, how you work, and your overall story. This can be as simple as associating your press releases with your about us page to give viewers more insight into how you operate as a company, as opposed to including your mission statement on each press release.
Be sure you and your team are able to break up relevant messages throughout your site to give people a reason to explore your content. (Do not become the B2B site that falls into the rut of reusing and reissuing the same information about a product that was created in the 90’s.) Remember: your users and future customers want to get the full story, not the same pre-packaged message.
Resources are Key
The most important part of your content evolution should be identifying a resource and using it. If your company is has a third party web firm, like emagine, an underwriter, or SEO service, consider using them as a sounding board and guide on best practices for writing and engaging audiences on the web. Using your vendors to guide your writing process and additions to your site is especially important if your company is considering a major content rewrite that is site-wide.
However, if your web initiative is a completely internal effort, you are not out of options! Many web firms and vendors offer free webinars on how to expand upon your existing site through content additions. Also, do not be afraid to reach out to other businesses in your industry through social media about their experiences with new web initiatives and the responses they have received. LinkedIn groups is an great place to start, and you can easily find forums on WordPress-specific questions and crowd-source ideas. Happy writing!
