It’s not uncommon for the online home of a small-to-medium business to profess a commitment to customer satisfaction. But how do you set yourself apart in a sea of competitors all promising the same level of service, communication, and interaction? By actually doing it. It’s not enough to respond to customer emails and occasionally post positive reviews; your website is your showcase, which means it’s up to you to set the gold standard of quality customer interaction via engaging blog posts, vibrant product descriptions, and social media.
The Blogosphere is Here
Never overlook the importance of a well-written, frequently updated blog. Your customers have many options for online shopping, but brief, quirky, insightful content can capture their attention in a way that national retail sites simply won’t. A content writer can help you come up with ideas for blog postings if you’re feeling stuck, but the possibilities abound for blog material. Updated your inventory recently? Blog about it! Has one of your products been featured in a magazine or commercial? Blog and repost the link! Assign your writing team short posts that stick to a fairly narrow focus; 300-500 words is a good range to start with.
The key to getting the most out of your blog is having regularly updated postings and, ideally, a space for customers to comment and share the posts with their friends. This strategy is particularly effective if you use your blog to promote time-sensitive specials that give an added element of excitement in today’s fast-paced online culture.
Powerful Product Descriptions
Content writers can be a great resource for translating basic, manufacturer-supplied copy into more customer friendly language. Product descriptions should always err on the short side, but you’d be surprised how much humor and voice a strong content writer can pack into less than a hundred words. Well-written product descriptions can put your customers into a comfortable buying mindset by communicating that you’ve taken the time to carefully describe each of the products you’re offering, and your sales should speak for themselves.
Social Media
The importance of social media cannot be overstressed; if you have an ecommerce site, you should be actively promoting your products on major social platforms like Twitter and Google+. Hiring a content writer to create evergreen social media posts in bulk can give you several options to choose from to keep your social media relevant to the customers you most want to target.
Switching your focus from sales pitch to content rich can give a human face to your small business and build real lines of communication between you and the customers you serve. Luckily for the busy business owner, there are plenty of content writers looking to do just this for your business. When you find a content writer for hire who seems like a good match for your business, you can start really walking the walk and populating your ecommerce site with interesting, customer-pleasing content.
Caitlin C is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
