When was the last time you looked for a business online only to find out that… they didn’t have a website. Or they haven’t updated their website since 2001. Awkward. Needless to say, we live in a time where if you’re a business, your audience wants online access to you. They want to know what value you bring to the table– value beyond why your products/services are so great. These are five (very) important things creating useful, online content does for your business:

1. Provides free value that your audience craves

There’s nothing people love more than getting valuable content for free. Your audience/potential customers are online looking for content that meets their needs, so make their lives easier and provide the value they’re looking for. How many times have you searched for a topic, found excellent info about it, and wondered how you were able to find such great info for FREE? That brand becomes your new BFF in your head, right? Be that brand.

Create original content that is relevant to your niche and educates, entertains, or inspires your audience in ways that are useful for them. For example, if you own a clothing boutique and your target audience is young, working women, create content that shows them how to develop style that’s professional, fashionable, and affordable. When you provide free online content, your audience is more likely to invest in the value that you provide in your paid products and services.

Heads Up! Not sure what type of content to create? I created a list for you with plenty of ideas. You’ll find it at the end of this post.

[Tweet “Create relevant content that educates, entertains, or inspires your audience.”]

2. Improves your search engine rankings

One of the top misconceptions about having a successful online presence is that all you need is a web designer to create your site, and your clients and cash will start rolling in. I call this approach the “design and dip.” You design your website and quickly say adios thinking that your work is done. Not so fast.

Your Google search ranking depends highly on how often you update your site with new, quality content.

Online expert Neil Patel says:

“Websites with scanty information get scanty search results. It’s a quality thing. Google decides that the more information a website has, the more qualitative and thus higher-rated it is.”

Let’s say you sell customized notebooks, and you’ve never consistently created online content for your audience. However, your competitor is killing the game by creating new content weekly about ways notebooks improve productivity. Guess who a potential customer is more likely to see first in search results? And guess who’s losing out on a ton of business? Be your audience’s superhero and show up when they’re searching for you online.

[Tweet “This is why you can’t “design and dip” your business.”]

3. Increases your brand’s engagement and awareness

Sharing your content and interacting with your audience on the social media platforms that they’re active on serves as a constant reminder to your audience that you exist and you provide value.

There’s no better place to humanize your brand than on social media; be personable and make your audience feel like there’s an actual person behind your brand who cares about their wants and needs.

In a world where many people can’t go five seconds without their phones, the more face time your brand has with your audience, the more memorable you are (and the more likely people are to think of you when they need that special something you have to offer).

Not only does social media increase your audience’s awareness of you, but it also increases your awareness of your audience. It’s almost too easy to engage with your audience; ask them questions; and learn their likes, dislikes, and areas of their lives that they need help with. Take advantage of your access to your audience so you can be the best at catering to their wants and needs.
[Tweet “Be your audience’s superhero. Here’s how…”]

4. Establishes your brand as an authority

Whether it’s writing blog posts or creating videos or podcasts, your audience notices the hard work you put into creating content that addresses their needs. When your content is so useful that your audience feels empowered to accomplish their goals or live better lives, you become known as a thought leader… which is just a fancy way of saying that you know what the heck you’re talking about and people respect you for it. As a result, your audience trusts you more than your competitors who don’t think creating online content is important.

5. Sells for you (sort of)

Many brands focus solely on creating the perfect advertisements or marketing promotions to entice their audience to buy their products or services. The problem with this is that we all know when we’re being sold to, and often times, we end up annoyed and turned off. Why bombard your audience with gimmicks and cliches when you already know what they truly value?

[Tweet “Create online content for your biz like Nike by doing this one thing.”]

Take Nike, for example. Valued at $19M, Nike is the world’s most valuable sports brand, according to Forbes, and they didn’t get there by begging people to buy their shoes. With themes like perseverance, triumph, discipline, and teamwork, over the years, Nike has become a boss at creating content that tells stories their audience can relate to.

The amazing thing about creating consistent, useful content for your audience is by the time they’ve read or watched enough of your content, the quality of your content has sold your products/services for you. When you release your next service or product (ahem… like a $100 “Just Do It” hoodie), your audience has very little reservations about spending their money with your business, and you don’t have to rack your brain to convince them to do so.

Ready to start creating valuable content that improves your business? Click here to get your free list of content ideas!

 

What’s one issue you have when creating content? Tell me in a comment below.