Developing Content for the Most Boring of Businesses
Online content is the main part of the website, which attracts clients and determines the page rank in the SERPs, however, certain niches and industries are less prone to interesting material and could be a challenge for even an experienced writer. Nevertheless, this problem can be tackled by assessing what would attract and entertain potential customers, and by taking bold steps where no man has gone before.
The first thing that customers notice when they open a website is its design, and more specifically its color theme, font style, size, image and menu positioning. The aim is to compensate for the boring nature of the business by making an eye pleasing and easy-to-use website. The Internet abounds with examples, such as Waste Management’s and Waste Care U.K.’s websites1,2. What these two examples have in common is a green-based theme with a lot of white; just enough evenly spaced text to fit the most important links on the main page without cluttering them, and adequate use of images.
Boring businesses usually provide services that people must use, such as waste disposal, house renovating, tire and car services, etc., and they will be grateful to a business that can make them interesting. For instance, you could substitute the categories with images, and examples could appear when the mouse hovers over the image.
The images and categories should be accompanied by interesting content to help the user choose from your catalog of services and products. However, this text should not be sales copy, but instead informative and instructional manuals that compare different items, and advises on their best uses. For example, tire websites can compare which of their tires best fits your specific conditions: snowy and cold, moist and hot, cold and windy, etc. Furthermore, user comments can engage the user and invite him to use the website more.
Boring websites can further be made interesting by including a company blog. This can feature guest posts from renowned experts or bloggers in the niche. Informative and innovative articles will drive a lot of traffic to the blog, which can be diverted to the website and used as a marketing strategy.
The key to writing the right articles lies in market research, accurate topic choice, and idea pitching to influential people3. First of all, try to analyze the demographics associated with the specific niche. Try to find the dominant age, geographic location and purchasing preferences of your market; for example, using search engine webmaster tools. Gather data about their shopping habits and Internet usage and analyze it, looking for trends and predictable behavior. Be sure to estimate their level of expertise in the field, and search interests. Conversion ratios can greatly simplify your task. Then, look at your competitors, whether there is one big dominant firm or a lot of small competing ones. Consider what subcategories they cover. For example, specific garbage disposals or types of tires may not be covered. You aim is to find a gap in the market and exploit it.
Hopefully, you will have discovered a market gap and your company has some unique experience and expertise to offer. It is important that any advantage you have be highlighted and shown to the customer. Match customer need against product advantage or specialized advice, and brainstorm creative headlines. Using real-life examples from your business and customer feedback can strengthen your argument and improve your Internet authority. Reliable estimates and honest comparisons with competitors will further attract customers to your products (as long as they are better).
Having created this content, it is necessary to get it out to the public. Use the social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to contact influential people in the industry and share your articles with them.
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