The benefits of providing informative content

When it comes to designing small business websites, it is no longer good enough for them to just act as a digital brochure that advertises a company’s products or services. Thanks to social media, consumers now expect a more engaging website. They want content with which they can interact, whether it be sharing it with their friends or leaving their own comments or questions.

This has significantly raised the importance of creating high-quality content. As Email Marketing Reports recently asserted, engaging and valuable content enables brands to socially engage prospects, differentiate themselves from competitors and boost customer loyalty and awareness.

“The ‘content is king’ concept is as old as the first commercial website. But there are good reasons why email marketers – including retailers – should give their content strategy closer attention in 2011,” suggests the source.

Social engagement

In the past, the only way for small businesses to get any sort of public attention was to either launch a new product or announce new sales and promotions. However, it simply isn’t sustainable to do this everyday – it takes time to develop a meaningful product and frequent sales will negatively affect the profits generated by a business.

With content, however, brands can provide new and engaging information to consumers more frequently. Valuable content will get consumers talking, similar to how they would react to a new product or promotional campaign. This content could include how-to guides, market research and reports, tips and advice or anything else in that vein – it largely depends on what sector a business serves.

For example, a retailer may want to consider launching a holiday buying guide that highlights the top five most popular gifts. Or a marketing company could release statistics and whitepapers about the best ways to use a certain advertising medium. The key is to release content that is interesting to customers, but also doesn’t devalue the business’ products or services.

Standing out from the crowd

“Google lists over 72 million results for the phrase ‘digital camera store,’” says Email Marketing Reports. “As choice grows online, so it becomes harder for people to distinguish between sources of information, products or services.”

Content can help a small business stand out from the sea of potential competitors. Think of it this way – if there are two small business websites that offer the same exact products and services, but one is static while the other offers new and exciting content everyday, which one are consumers more likely to visit?

New content has two benefits in that example. First, when a website is frequently updated, it makes the business look like it is on top of its industry. Second, if the content is valuable, then it encourages consumers to come back everyday, rather than whenever they need a new camera, which might only be once every few years.

Content for generating awareness and exposure

“Google lists over 72 million results for the phrase ‘digital camera store,’” says Email Marketing Reports. “As choice grows online, so it becomes harder for people to distinguish between sources of information, products or services.”

Last but not least, content can work as a promotional tool. Businesses may use email marketing to reach customers, but there is no guarantee that they will read or even open these messages. However, if they are visiting a company’s website, chances are they will at least glance at the content – especially if it’s on the home page.

Content that has a promotional slant may pique interest in products or services the reader had never even considered before. The key is to balance this type of content – overly promotional content will turn customers away, so business owners must keep the focus on providing valuable information.

Constantly updating content has another benefit as well, according to SiteKreator. The company found that as few as five new updates per month can increase incoming web traffic by as much as 300 percent.

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