While there has always been a focus on content marketing in SEO and boosting your online business, it is a very hot topic at the moment. There has been a focus on the fall in the organic reach provided by social media as the key platforms focus on obtaining more advertising income, and this means that there has been a movement back towards firms utilising their own sites as the platform for their online promotional activities. This is never going to be a one way or the other thing, there will be a lot of movement between websites and social media with respect to reaching an audience, so in that regard, it makes sense to do what you can to make both elements as strong as you possibly can, and at this point in time, focusing on your actual website appears to be the sensible option.
One factor that should be in your mind is the continually increasing numbers for smartphone and tablet users. This means that your site should be responsive, but this is something that businesses should have been focusing on for a while. There is also enough evidence to show that video content is crucial, but again, this is something that savvy businesses have been gravitating towards recently.
UGC is on the rise
One approach that is really gaining traction at the moment is User Generated Content, UGC, and this is something that many big name brands are developing at the moment. When it comes to telling the story of your business, who better to tell it than your customers and users? This is something that has evolved from social media content and more sites are looking to offer space for user ratings, reviews, engagements, comments and all other interactions that sees people having the chance to place their content on your site. Clearly there will be a need to vet the content and make sure it is all suitable but when it comes to dragging people towards your site, or ensuring that they encourage their friends, family members and associates to your site, giving them a platform to place their content on site is a great starting point.
One major firm who has been operating in this manner is Sony, with a strong sense of community being created around their Greatness Awaits page on site. With the movement towards online gaming and the ability to capture everything you do on screen, it is fair to say that Sony have an advantage over many firms about how to allow users to provide content for the main site. However, with smartphones and tablet devices providing everyone with a camera or video camera in their pocket or bag, there is a real opportunity for all users to create video content using the company product or service.
This content can show how much fun it us to use the product or service, and it can show how easy it is. Many potential buyers aren’t interested in the company telling them how easy it is to use a product but when there are user submitted videos showcasing the simplicity of a product, potential customers will feel much happier about what is on offer.