Your web content strategy
It’s happened before: an owner of a new website thinking that the job is done once the site goes live. However, it doesn’t take long for most content to go stale, out-of-date — not a good look if your site is purposed to market what you do with good audience engagement. Bring on a content strategy.
Maintaining relevant, useful and current content requires an effective strategy to ensure fresh content presents in a timely way to inform and promote what you do. We’re all keen to find new stuff online that’s relevant to the here and now — whether it’s about a sale you’re running for 2 weeks, a new product that’s just been launched, or an idea that’ll go some way to make a difference to the community you live or work in.
In a perfect world, a content strategy is in place before your site goes live. But it’s never too late to put one in place. So, what is a content strategy?
Content strategy refers to the management of written, visual, downloadable media on your website. Developing a web content strategy takes into account:
Who is your audience?
What problems does your content solve, or what questions does your answer?
What channels will your content be published?
How will you manage your content creation?
A content strategy includes:Coordination and direction of meaningful content creationTimely delivery of relevant content to people who are looking for it — so it’s in the right place at the right timeDecision-making about what content is relevant and for how long.Content generally has a shelf life or at least it needs editing from time to time. A website is never finished, the work is never completely done … for long anyway. Websites are dynamic, they have to move with the times, and this is what makes them so interesting.
What products, services or ideas are you selling or publicising?
Who is your target audience?
What will your website offer — maybe a solution to a problem, or products to buy online or in a physical shop?
Who are your competitors and how can you differentiate yourself from them — what is your point of difference?
What will your online presence consist of, and what functionality will help you achieve your goals?
What platform will work best for me (Wordpress, Squarespace, Shopify, Weebly etc.)?
What expertise do I need to achieve my goals?
There are plenty of decisions to be made and business expenses to be paid, so time management and budget needs to be considered.
Free hosting?
There are free hosting solutions out there for your website but will this help or hinder your presence? By building your site on a platform that offers free hosting like Wordpress or Weebly, it’s likely you’ll be limited with your choice of domain name (not good for a professional presence) and website functionality. So, if you're running a business, it's best to integrate domain name registration and hosting as part of your tax-deductible costs. However, not-for-profit organisations — say, your local community-run tennis club — may decide that a free hosting option could be the perfect solution to balance the books.
Will Facebook, Ebay or Etsy be enough to promote a business?
All promotion is good, having a Facebook business presence widens your audience and stands to drive traffic to your website, or your sell your products on Esty or Ebay.
If you create arts and crafts, Etsy is a great platform to sell your work. Ebay gets lots of of buying traffic. Platforms like these may suit your style of selling and managing your products to sell online.
But there's so much more functionality and content you can provide on your own website. Your own website offers the opportunity build your brand. Having your own website will give you a professional edge.
