Your customers want to see content that speaks to them, addresses their pain points and meets their needs. You want to be the one who gives them that content so they know to come to you when they’re ready to buy what you have to offer. But if you’ve had the same content strategy for a long time, you might need to refresh it. Why? Because content needs change over time, as does what your customers are looking for and how they frame their experiences. You need to show that you understand them, and you need to reach them in ways they can relate to. Here’s what you should be considering.
Your Business Has an Overall Game Plan, Right?
You wouldn’t build a business with no plan. It’s called a business plan for a reason, and it’s a crucial part of developing your company and making sure you stay on the right track. But if you have one for your business, do you have one for your marketing? Your training? Your content? Unless you answered yes to that last one, you could be falling behind your competitors in how you market yourself. It’s time to make some changes to make sure you can keep up with the changing times and have happy customers who can relate to what you have to say. Your content should speak to them to keep them coming back.
What Kind of Content Strategy Do You Have?
If you said “none,” you’re not alone. So you and all the other companies that don’t have a content strategy will want to take some time to consider how that could be damaging your business and your brand. People need to know who you are, what your company can offer them, and why they should choose your product or service over one of the competitors down the street. So tell them! Make a strategy with them in mind, and then use it to continue to reach out and show them what you can do. Talk about how you recognize their pain points and how you can help make their life better or easier.
How Long Have You Had the Same Strategy?
Even if your company has a content strategy you’ve already been using, how long you’ve been using it matters. If you set it up years ago and haven’t gone back to look at it, it’s time to blow the dust off and take a fresh look at whether it’s working for you. Like any type of marketing agenda, your content strategy plan needs to be refreshed so that it meets current customer needs and keeps up with the times your business is operating in. How content is searched for, found, absorbed and used is all changing, and it will continue to change. Old strategies may not work anymore.
What Are Your Customers Really Looking For?
Before you refresh your plan, take a look at what your customers want and need. What do they really need to see from you to get them to your site or through your doors? What types of sites should your content be found on? How often should you be posting on social media and at what time of day? With so much to consider, you’ll need to do some research so your content strategy plan can be adjusted. Working with professionals to help you find keywords, map out a new strategy, write content and make adjustments as needed can give you plenty of peace of mind when it comes to getting customers to your business.
Hire the Professionals to Get Professional Results
You don’t have to give up on a good content strategy if you don’t know how to do it yourself. There are plenty of professionals who can help with everything from finding the right keywords to creating the content you’ll be putting out for your customers to find. Fortunately, your business can get the help and support it needs to make sure your content strategy is the best one possible and is keeping up with the times.
Remember: Regret Is Scarier Than Change
Some companies don’t want to change their content strategy for fear of making it worse or messing something up. While that’s understandable, regret that you didn’t make changes is worse. Your business needs to keep up to remain successful, and when you do things the way you did five years ago, you aren’t keeping up with the changing times. Don’t end up with regrets and then try to find ways to catch up. Instead, refresh your content strategy now so you can keep your business at the forefront of your customers’ minds.
Michelle B writes web content, articles, blog posts, product descriptions, and more, and has created thousands of pieces of content for companies all over the world. She holds an associate’s degree in business management and a bachelor’s degree in legal administration.
