No matter what your company sells – insurance, doggy daycare, mortgages, consulting – you’re also in the content business.
Like many of my former newspaper colleagues, I used to shudder when people used the word "content" to describe the articles, photographs, headlines, and advertisements we produced every day.
"Content" is such a bland word, and it could mean almost anything:
a Facebook post about a friend’s birthday;
an
Instagram photo of last night’s dinner;
a YouTube video explaining how to fix a washing machine drum;
one of those ridiculous TikTok dancing videos;
a podcast about an unsolved murder case;
a blog post criticizing your favorite team’s head coach;
a Ren & Stimpy cartoon;
or a product description on a website.
Journalists – and many others – don’t like to see their "serious" work lumped in with all that trivial stuff. And yet, throughout my 30 years in the newspaper business, my job was to make enough content to fill the space around the advertisements (another form of content).
Content Is The Link
And no matter what your business, your job is to entice people to buy whatever you make and sell. The conduit between a customer and a sale? Content.
If you run a retail business with a physical store, content includes the logo on the sign above your door; the labels on your products; the signs showing what’s on sale; and even the conversations your salespeople have with customers.
The internet has just expanded the possibilities and given you – and everyone else – inexpensive tools to become a publisher. Without much money, you can build a website and fill it with articles, products, customer reviews, photos, and videos.
And I’ve barely mentioned social media.
All of it serves to enlighten and inspire people who need your products and services. Without content, you barely have a business at all.
Jargon of the Day: Evergreen Content
When your favorite marketer says you need some evergreen content on your website, what the heck is she talking about? If you guessed she was talking about content (articles, photos, videos, etc.) that stays fresh despite the passing of the seasons, you would be correct.
Examples include "how to" articles, beginners guides, buying guides, histories of your business or your industry, and a list of frequently asked questions – with the answers, of course.
Google and other search engines love this kind of content. When it’s done well, it demonstrates your experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. Google’s search algorithms eat that up and might even show your site higher in search results.
Helpful articles like product reviews, checklists or lists of resources don’t need to
be updated often, if at all. They can be a continual source of search-engine-generated traffic.
The next newsletter arrives Nov. 7. By then, the World Series will be over, and we’ll be back to standard time. I don’t know about you, but I’d
rather have the extra sunshine in the morning.
Here’s a scary thought. Only four more newsletters until Christmas. It’s already time to make your Thanksgiving and holiday party plans.
Meanwhile, be grateful. Be generous. Be patient. Love.
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