What Great Content Looks Like in 2015

What Great Content Looks Like in 2015

If you’re an online marketer, you’ve heard that “Content is King” about a million times by now. And that’s true: where there’s good content on the web, people will come and read it, provided it’s promoted and designed well. Without content, websites have very little to no chance of being noticed and even less of a chance of ranking well in terms of search.

Logically speaking, without content to describe what the point of your website is and what it offers, whether you’re a corporation, a small business or an eCommerce shop, how do you expect people to find you online? Not only is content King, it’s by far the most crucial aspect of your marketing strategy if you run a website.

But with the constantly changing (and sometimes very confusing) dynamics of web technology and online marketing software, where is a content writer to start? What worked 5 years ago certainly does not work today. In fact, what worked 2 years ago has dramatically shifted in terms of best practice rules and guidelines.

Content won’t stop shifting any time soon, either. As the Internet continues to evolve and search engines like Google update their algorithm over and over, web writers must struggle to keep up.

However, the story doesn’t change completely from year to year. There are a number of good rules of thumb to keep in mind when writing high quality content for the web.

We delve into those here along with key insights detailing how you can make your content really stand out and get better traction in 2015.

Getting Down to Business: B2B Content

Whether you’re writing B2B (business to business) content or articles meant for an audience of consumers, there’s one very important thing that you should focus on getting right: your brand’s “tone of voice”.

In B2B content, tone takes an even heavier stance in terms of persuasion and the pressure to make a sale (or at least set up the best possible circumstances for a conversion). Why? Because businesses tend to get caught up in the minutiae of what it is they do, and they forget that at the end of the day, B2B communication is still just people connecting to other people.

So how do you up the ante on B2B content? First things first, you’ll want to tone it down a bit. Make yourself and your business sound more human through your content. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing about financial services, web design, office supplies or education. Take it down a notch. Relate to your audience at the human level, even if you’re talking business.

People value honesty and authenticity across the board. Contrary to what some corporations seem to hold dear, keeping your content uber formal won’t do you any favors or win you many friends in the online business world. It might show that you’re great at reputation management and avoid risk at all costs, but it does absolutely nothing to connect you to the people you are trying to connect with, the people behind the brands of other businesses.

Infusing your B2B content with personality and uniqueness not only helps you forge important connections between businesses, it also helps you stand out in what could be a saturated market.

And even if the market isn’t saturated, making sure you stand out is a great way to stay on top if competitors do join the ranks.

Blog Content That Speaks Wonders: B2C Content

Blogs aren’t reserved for either B2B or B2C (business to consumer) communications specifically, but often businesses that serve consumers find that publishing a regular blog on their website helps to drive traffic and assist with overall conversion rates. That said, if you have an online business or a website, you should have a blog. That’s pretty much a no-brainer.

Businesses who serve customers should focus on creating blog content that is high quality and discusses relevant topics. The more relevant your content is to the customers you serve the better: the whole point of a blog is to drive traffic to your website through offering useful tidbits of information, advice and other industry tips within your content.

There is one important distinction to make when we discuss consumer-facing blog content in 2015: focus on the length of your content.

When content writing was first gaining steam years ago, 500-word articles were the standard norm. Now that length has changed considerably. Experts recommend shooting for at least 1,500 words per post, if not more. It turns out, people would rather read a longer blog post that’s chock full of good advice and interesting stories than a 500-word dud that’s more akin to marketing fluff.

When it comes to B2C content, it’s crucial to keep mobile usability in mind. Smartphones pervade almost every aspect of modern society, and if your customers can’t read your blog articles on their iPhones, they won’t be likely to return to your site, whether it’s to buy a product or read an article.

Creating substantial, informative and authentic blog posts should be the key to your B2C content marketing strategy in 2015.

Lina Wang

Lina Wang is CEO of Atlantis Global, a US company that specializes in Ecommerce, Gaming and Venture Funding. She is popularly known among her circle as "The Poker Princess" and juggles her ecommerce, gaming business, marketing consultancy and family life with a passion for startups. Considered among the Top 30 Content Marketing Strategists globally, she also edits a popular Women’s Poker Magazine. Whether it is startup funding, developing cutting edge ecommerce platforms or even a friendly bit of poker strategy advice, she can be reached at lina@linawang.org