While there is a lot said about the importance of content development, many small businesses still fail to see the relevance of developing an online presence as it relates to the growth of their business. They are still stuck in the mentality that their website is there because everyone else has one and they need one to compete and most of their business will still come from people coming into their storefront.

Local Search and Content Development

However, what they fail to realize is that more and more internet users are turning to the internet and local search to find small businesses that are in their area. This is why small businesses need to have an effective content development strategy in place for both their website and social platforms. Content is a key factor in creating engagement, building relationships and starting a buzz online that will attract new customers.

Take a Synergistic Approach to Content Development

Everything is becoming more and more intertwined when it comes to a company’s online presence. Website content, social media presence, internet marketing strategies and PPC all have an impact on SEO and a website’s ability to achieve a first page ranking. Therefore, small businesses that don’t have the large marketing budgets need to focus on a synergistic approach and incorporate all of these strategies and use them to their advantage to boost their organic search rankings.

5 Approaches for Generating Content to Engage Customers

Here are five sure-fire approaches to content development that will enhance your small business websites presence:

  • First and foremost, know your audience: When it comes to content development, the first thing that companies need is to have a good sense of what their audience wants and needs. This should be the basis for the content, platforms and formats that are used as part of content development.
  • Content is more than just text: When most people think about content, they often make the assumption that we are only talking about written content. However, with the growth of photo and video sharing online, even small businesses need to have a good mix of content to engage their customers. Photos and videos are more likely to be shared, liked, viewed and posted on social media profiles.
  • All content must be created with SEO in mind: Blogs, webpage content, anchor text, directory profiles and social profiles need to include targeted keywords. Failure to do so will only result in a wasted opportunity to enhance your SEO effort and boost your search ranking.
  • Educate, entertain, inform, engage and then sell: One of the biggest mistakes made by small businesses is being too pushy. Often small businesses take a sales first approach to the web. However, while this may work in a traditional sense, this will have a negative impact on your customers and could turn them off. You don’t need to push sales copy down your customers’ throats. Work on entertaining, educating and informing your customers first, then sprinkle in your marketing messages. You need to gain their trust first before you can sell them on your products/services.
  • Be dynamic: Fresh and recurring content will keep people coming back to your website. A static site that does not change does not incentivize people to come back and share your content through social media. Make sure to create new articles, add new videos, provide informative resources and create ways to include customers in the conversation. The more people can be involved, the more likely they will come back to your website.

Following these tips will help get your small business’ content development strategy in order. And, with an effective content strategy, your business will be in a position to evolve online and expand your online presence.