“Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it” – Albus Dumbledore, one of modern literature’s most well-loved wizards, encapsulates the essence of content writing. Words are not “filler,” for your website, nor are they placeholders for much-needed links. They are not an afterthought, a mere tagline for advertising images, or something that your potential customers will “never read anyway.” Words are one of only a few tools you have to communicate with your company’s audience, and perhaps the most powerful of all.
As an award-winning researcher, avid essayist, data-driven content producer, and, of course, Concentric Management’s Director of Content, I prefer to back up such bold claims with evidence. Below, I present my case for why quality content matters.
Don’t Forget the Fundamentals
Why can’t you just hire the least expensive possible content writing service to spin up some blogs, or hurriedly author your web pages yourself? British business magazine, Real Business, reports: “a new study has revealed that 59 percent of Britons would not use a company that had obvious grammatical or spelling mistakes…with the majority claiming that they ‘wouldn’t trust’ the company to provide a good quality service.” Furthermore, “74 percent said…they tended to notice the quality of spelling or grammar on a company’s website.”
If you go with the lowest bidder on content, you’re virtually guaranteeing that your content will have these kinds of errors, which are a major turn-off to your customers. No business wants to be guilty of these Word Crimes, offenses that are easy enough to commit but nearly impossible to erase from your customers’ impressions.
Spanning Your Customers’ Attention
Last year, TIME noted: “The average attention span for the notoriously ill-focused goldfish is nine seconds, but according to a new study from Microsoft Corp., people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds, highlighting the effects of an increasingly digitalized lifestyle on the brain.” Long enough for them to catch that ill-fated comma splice, but just a brief window to really engage with them. Cliché, poorly researched, disorganized content simply lacks the capacity to grab and hold your customers’ attention before they click away.
After you do win your customers’ notice, Medium’s data lab found that the ideal reading time is seven minutes. Once they were hooked by a headline, their readers spent the most time on posts that took about 100,000 seconds to read. Backed by over a dozen metrics, Medium’s study offers a good target length, but Head of Product Science, Mike Sall urges: “don’t feel constrained by presumed short attention spans. If you put in the effort, so will your audience. It’s just math.”
Converting Content
The most important aspect of content for businesses and organization is that it converts. Like a spell from Dumbledore’s wand, it should transfigure readers into buyers. Making prospects into purchasers is the primary goal of content marketing. How well you achieve this aim depends on the caliber of content you publish. In addition to impeccable grammar and captivating content, your potential customers are looking for the data they need to make decisions. Search Engine Watch reports: “50 percent of blog readers say they find blogs useful for purchase information.” However, if accurate descriptions of and solid statistics about products were all users wanted, you could post a spreadsheet and get conversions (hint: don’t do that).
To really convert, your content needs to provide real value to consumers, going above and beyond to give them the data they need to succeed without wasting their time. According to Kiss Metrics, a Hubspot study indicated: “including discount information in the title (e.g. 15 percent of Product A vs Product B) increased add to cart conversions by 148.3 percent).”
Your content also needs to be unique, written in your company’s distinctive voice and building on your particular brand. Content Marketing Institute reports: “61 percent [of consumers] feel better about a company that delivers custom content AND are in turn more likely to buy from that company.” Cut-and-paste content won’t do the trick. In fact, given the immense power of your website’s words on your audience, shoddy, boring content could actually injure your reputation, while creative, captivating, clear writing could boost it.
The Power of a Professional
Most savvy business owners recognize that “Content is King,” yet they’re not quite able to give their websites the royal treatment. For example, according to the Content Marketing Institute’s 2016 B2B (Business to Business) report, 88 percent of respondents said their companies used content marketing, but only “38 percent of B2B marketers said they were effective” with content. Similarly, the Content Marketing Institute’s 2016 report on B2C (Business to Consumer) content marketing found that 76 percent of respondents used this technique, but again, only “38 percent say they are effective” with the content they’re currently publishing.
You can maximize your content marketing by seeking professional assistance. Crafting effective content is an exceptional skill—one that many businesses and even marketers simply lack. The best solution is to find a content partner that will collaborate with your company. Concentric Management’s writing team takes the time to get to know our clientele so we can produce meticulously researched, engaging, eloquent pieces for your website. The quality of our work becomes a reflection of your business’s remarkable reputation and high standards.
Benefit From Concentric Content
Our unparalleled quality in content writing is one of our most prominent growth-based strategies. Upgrading your content is a fruitful investment. Your content tells the story of your brand—your past success, your present products, and your future expansion. That tale is one worth telling well. Contact us today to find out more about our content offerings and schedule a consultation.