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As a local business owner, you know that creating content for your business website is essential. But beyond that, how do you know what type of content your target audience will want? There are plenty of options out there, from articles to videos to interactive contests. But when it comes to marketing your business, how do you know what type of content will work best for you?
First, it’s crucial to identify the goal of the piece. That may seem obvious, but if you’re creating pieces with multiple goals at once (for example, entertaining while also informing and trustworthy), then one piece could have several audiences in mind. That being said, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t really connect with anyone. If your goal is to create interactive content, such as a contest or trivia, it’s a good idea to make sure that the content is high quality and engaging. You can’t just throw something together and expect people to be right there clicking. Instead, you need to make sure you give them what they want—whether that’s an entertaining video or a multi-tiered contest.
Informational and Entertaining Content
On the other hand, if your goal is to simply inform your business users (examples include “About Us” pages or informational pieces like this), you must provide the most valuable information upfront. Of course, you want to make it fun to read or watch, but you should also be sure that you’re giving users the most important details first. That way, they can get right to the information they’re looking for and not have to spend too much time looking for it.
Informative content informs the reader and engages them with information that is relevant to their understanding of the topic. It can be used as a form of entertainment, in text or video form, or as an educational tool. Informative writing often contains immense amounts of detail and is essential for providing services such as health and legal advice to the public.
Another type of content is entertaining content that intends to entertain the reader or viewer. This type of content aims to engage the recipient somehow, particularly when creating content for a business website. This type of content can relate to either video or written form, depending on the venue. Written form entertains by using humor and other methods that are tied into entertainment and laughter. Videos engage by using humorous scenes, funny characters, music, and more that are entertaining for the viewer.
At the end of the day, no matter what your business might be, there are always ways to keep users entertained while still providing them with good information about your business. So, don’t be afraid to throw a little bit of that into the mix! Just make sure that your readers are engaged and entertained. There are plenty of ways to succeed at both at once.
[bctt tweet=”As a local business owner, you know that creating content for your business website is essential. But beyond that, how do you know what type of content your target audience will want?” username=”ThatCompanycom”]The Importance of Trustworthy Content
Trustworthy content is a significant asset for any business. It can raise your visibility, gain new customers, and increase customer loyalty. Trustworthy content can be delivered in a variety of formats and can be tailored to a variety of venue formats (blog, social media, trade show display, etc.). Creating trustworthy content is not easy.
To build reputational trust with your users you must:
– Deliver the truth—especially in a digital world where it’s easy to fool people. The Web is very unforgiving of what people might call “BS”—and you can’t get away with being less than truthful as users can often fact-check your content quickly.
– Provide consistent content—consistency builds trust as users rely on familiar information and regularly scheduled posts. Your audience must be able to count on your business and blog/social media/site update schedule. Don’t be too quick to post and then disappear.
– Be responsive—the best way to build trust with your readers is through personal engagement. Although this can be done using a community manager or assistant, the CEO or owner should respond directly to comments on social media and comments on blogs. This will help reinforce that your business is personable and cares about its users.
– Provide value—when your users receive valuable information from your content, it helps build trust in your company. This could be a free whitepaper, a case study, or an article or infographic on a topic that relates to your business.
– Offer transparency—don’t hide the fact that you are promoting a specific product, brand, or company. Your users will appreciate the openness and, at the same time, will be more likely to trust you. It is better to promote a specific brand while being transparent about it than to talk about the brand without being open about it. For example, if you are reviewing a new car brand, then state that you received that information from the dealer for free if your review was favorable.
Content Marketing as a Strategy
Content marketing is a vital aspect of any digital marketing strategy. It is crucial to have high-quality content that provides value to your users. If you have that, then you will be on a fast track to building trust and credibility in your organization. In the end, a piece of entertaining and educational content will probably be more successful for local businesses than just one that is entertaining because there is something of value to the reader.
That doesn’t mean you can’t be entertaining, though. A lot of people don’t like to read, but they do like watching videos. Although this is not evident on the search engine results page, YouTube content creators are ranked according to their popularity on YouTube, and Google uses this information in its ranking algorithm. A video on your business website could also be an excellent opportunity to go viral, which will help you gain recognition and even drive traffic back to your site and increase conversions.
While videos may indeed be a great way to provide information, they can also be used to inspire people. They are considered one of the most powerful forms of marketing because they allow the viewer access to an experience not typically available. Videos that are entertaining and informative can be a great way for people to connect with your business and see your personality. Your website should also include articles that will repeatedly drive people back to the same piece of content. This is a great way to get more time onsite and build trust with your company.
What type of content do you need (or want) for your site? What type of mood are you trying to create? Do you want to make your site entertaining and fun or professional and informative? It really depends on your goals. If you’re going to educate or inform people, you need content to help them do that. If entertaining is the goal, then be sure to make your articles and videos interesting enough for them to want to share with others. As always, don’t forget about trust; if they find your content entertaining but they can’t trust it, they won’t come back.
