More than any other factor, good content is the driving force behind being successful online. Offering engaging, interesting content gives visitors a reason to come to your website—and, perhaps more importantly, will more than likely also give them sufficient reason to return.
When Bill Gates first penned his essay, “Content is King“, in 1996, he spoke almost prescient wisdom, and his words stand as true today as ever (if not truer). We live in a world where there are now more web pages than people, and with such a glut of information freely available online, companies are finding it harder than at any other time in history to stand out and differentiate themselves from their competitors.
In the modern age, content really is king—but just how do you maximize the value of the material you produce.
Creating good content takes time—surely you deserve equal payback?
The best content takes time to produce, but very often, creatives find their best work seems to get lost in the mire of other pages and sites online. Below are some tried and tested ways to ensure you get the biggest payback from your hard work.
Avoid time-limited copy—think evergreen
Yes, there’s a lot to be said for creating new content to add freshness to your site, but if you only stick to purely topical subjects, you run the risk of your text and media dating and becoming irrelevant very quickly. Instead of thinking of the here and now, focus on writing articles or producing multimedia files that are likely to have a longer shelf life—so-called evergreen content.
Find ways to reuse your content and expand/contract it as required
If you produced a short Facebook post that had a particularly high engagement, look at expanding it with a longer article. Likewise, if you wrote a longer article that was particularly well-received, think about chopping it into small pieces which you can reuse. Content can be viewed as being rather elastic in many ways, and you’ll often find expanding on subjects or contracting content will mean you can maximize the worth of the original core topic.
Consider translations services for video and multimedia
Particularly good content tends to transfer well into other languages regardless of the nationality of the viewer, so consider employing the services of a translation firm to increase your potential audience. For example, Verbit’s audiovisual translation services could see your video or multimedia files translated into multiple different languages, vastly expanding their appeal and reach.
Don’t be afraid of self-promotion
Most of us aren’t particularly good at the idea of self-promoting our work for fear of being thought of as brash or pushy; however, self-promotion is an integral part of building a successful brand and company. Don’t be backward in coming forward and don’t be afraid to push a post or media file that you’re particularly proud of. The more people see your work, the more likely you’ll be to get that often-elusive return on your time.
