In a swarm of online stores, what makes your small business website stand out, other than your products or services, is the presentation and website content. According to a study by Nielsen Norman Group, which is a research-based user experience organization, an average user bounces off a webpage within 10 to 20 seconds of stay. That is to say, 10 seconds are all that you have to make the magic happen.
This article below talks about the content marketing hacks that will help capture your reader in those first 10 seconds! Here’s a heads-up though, the content below may get detailed, but you can always skim through the headings summarized below:
- Know Your Customer
- Writing a Good Copy
- Punchline First – Details Later
- Tell Your Story
- Website Traffic and Conversions
- KYC – Know Your Customer
1. Knowing your Customer
The first thing to consider when you hit the drawing board is: who are you targeting? There are always two kinds of customers: those who love visuals, and those who prefer informative text explaining what the online store has to offer. Take Apple’s online store, for example. Clean, brief, aided by visuals. The content gives you excerpts about just what you want to know. Apple has a dedicated customer base, so they don’t want a sales pitch, per se, they just need to give reassurance and comfort statements. This web design and content also caters to the specific mind frame of the Apple consumer, who would generally prefer a clean, minimal, and to the point online presence.
Understanding the need to ‘win’ a customer; small business website designs are purpose-built to please their recurring or potential audience. It all depends on the niche of your products or services.
2. Writing a Good Copy
As a professional writer with over a decade of experience, I can say this with certainty that you, too, can write a good copy! After all, you probably go over numerous websites every day and have a good idea by now. With that said, it is important that your language is clear and smart.
It helps to have a professional copywriter on board for your website’s content marketing. But for small business websites, it is not always easy to manage the additional expenses. So if you’re planning on writing your own website copy, here is something to keep in mind.
Depending on your target audience, the content should generally be easily understood by an 8th or 9th grader. It depends on who your reader is and the level of maturity expected. Your sentence and paragraphs should be concise but clear on the communication. Writing in an active voice helps with the ease of comprehension and is considered as ‘good writing.’ You can check your content’s score out on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and see how well it rates
3. Punchline First – Details Later
Primarily known and recommended as the “basic formula for news writing,” the inverted pyramid model is the key for all other types of content as well, to capture your audience early on.
Remember the 10-second rule? We are being prudent, so we won’t wait for 20! The theory of the inverted pyramid model suggests that you offer the real piece of the pie right at the beginning of the content, and ease the reader into the underlying details after that.
It is quite simple if you think about it. Ever witnessed call out signs in front of retail shops? Advertising their best deals and products, just to get you to enter their shop? That’s exactly how content marketing works.
For small business websites, customer build-up is very important. You need to convince your relevance to your potential customer within that short span of their online presence.
4.Tell Your Story
Whether I’m writing copies for small business websites or creating a sales pitch, I live by my golden rule: “empathy is the key to conversion.” When done right, sharing your story with the reader can do wonders.
It helps them relate to your line of business. How you started, why you started, what are your future plans. Including all of that in your small business website’s copy helps to create a connection. This detail can optimally be used when writing an about us page, so make sure you know how to do that right.
You should always treat your online customer the same way you would treat them in your brick-and-mortar outlet. Your content should be conversational and reaching out to the person. Warm and welcoming, but not too salesy – you don’t want to sound like a wall street trader who would say anything just to win an investor! Your tone and content should sound realistic and helpful. Referring to your reader as ‘you’ and your business as ‘we,’ or ‘us,’ works best. Effective content paints a picture to the reader. It makes them believe how important your product is to them.
5.Website Traffic and Conversions
The primary motive of writing content for any website is to convey yourself to the customer and give him a reason not to bounce off. However, for a small business website, it is equally as important to have content that is optimized with the right keywords and is search engine friendly.
Don’t overdo the keyword stuffing in an attempt to optimize your content. Read proper SEO guides to understand how to subtly use keywords and phrases.
Once you have successfully attracted organic traffic to your small business website through SEO, you need engaging content. The content should clearly communicate what benefits your product has to offer.
Address any client’s potential concerns or rumors. List your client reviews and talk about how your products benefit them. Give examples and relevant scenarios that help the customer see your products or services befitting their needs.
Engage your customer with call-to-action and offers. This helps increase website visiting time, and in lead generation (hint: email subscription!)
Another helpful tip for small business websites, other than copywriting, is to have your website set up with a live chat feature such as Chatra or Manychat. With the right sales approach, you can encourage visitors into converting through proactive outreach and confidence building.
What is your favorite hack? Share with us if any of the above worked for you.
