As some of you may know, Parkway is big on SEO-informed content as part of a digital strategy. Since SEO can help increase search results visibility or drive higher-quality traffic to a website, we advocate for planning and writing optimized content as part of many of our clients’ marketing plans. However, SEO is only one reason businesses should create content. It’s just as important to write and share non-optimized content with your audience.
Website Content
Of all the content your company puts out, we’d argue there’s none more important than that on the core pages of your website. With such a saturated online space, it’s not enough to just state the products or services you provide. You need to craft a story around your company’s offerings that connects with potential customers. To do that, you have to know who your ideal customer is and develop content that is equal parts relevant, informative and benefit-focused without being overbearing or inauthentic—a delicate balance.
Case Studies
When it’s time to look for new clients, case studies are a handy tool to have. They offer data-backed insights into the value your company brings to a working relationship. That being said, case studies still need to have a compelling narrative. All of the essential elements, including the background, problem to solve/desired changes, the process and the results have to be carefully woven together. Case studies run the risk of being overrun by numbers, pushing some of the most intriguing elements of the project to the wayside.
Social Media Posts
Being active on social media has a few major benefits: it drives traffic to your website, builds brand awareness and consistency, provides a platform to share your content and allows direct engagement with your audience. The catch? Social media requires an active presence and a reasonable amount of proficiency. You need to know what channels to be on to reach your audience and deliver interesting, shareable content that resonates with readers and accurately represents your brand. On top of that, your social media profiles won’t really shine without strong visuals to support your copy.
Emails
99% of email users check their email daily. Some users open their inboxes up to 20 times a day! Email is one of the best ways to communicate with your customers directly. From new products to promotions to exclusive offers, email is ideal for driving transactions and engagement. The trick is to be able to cut through the clutter. After all, we all know just how many emails end up in our inboxes. There really is an art to personalizing email elements: creating subject lines that get opened; writing interesting, concise content; and incorporating other elements that increase engagement (like videos and carousels).
Newsletters
Think of newsletters as your company’s personal newspaper for customers or clients—or even employees. They should be sent to recipients regularly and contain informative content about your brand. What exciting developments are going on with your company? What thoughts or insights do you want to share with your readers? Newsletter content needs to be of interest to your customers, both in substance and delivery.
Sponsored Content
You’ve probably seen sponsored content online before without even knowing it. Sponsored content is a kind of paid partnership used to build brand exposure. Typically, two brands will work together, with one brand paying for the content and the other sharing it. This can be anything from an article to a video to a social media post. The key to sponsored content is to create something that doesn’t feel like an ad. Rather, it should provide value, whether entertainment or information, in a memorable way that audiences can associate with your company.
White Papers
Have an industry expertise to research to share? White papers are content that companies use to provide analyses and solutions related to industry pain points. The main purpose of a white paper is to inform and educate readers. While there may be some promotion of a product or service, it shouldn’t be the main intention.
