How to create and execute a web content strategy that works for you

Not long ago, a web content strategy just meant publishing lots of blogs or videos. 

That’s not the case today.

Bloggers produce 77 million new posts every month, and 82% of businesses report actively using content marketing in 2021. 

So, how can your business stand apart from the crowd, especially the competition? All it takes is robust content creation.

Key takeaways:

• A web content strategy is a method for creating, delivering and administering practical web-based subject matter.

• Understanding your audience is crucial for a web content strategy, and analytics tools can help you know your customers.

• Content strategists should create material that flows easily, has a distinct voice and provides valuable and practical information.

• When promoting a piece of content, choose the digital channel that most resonates with your customers to enhance the user experience.

What’s a web content strategy?

A web content strategy is a method for creating, delivering and administering practical web-based subject matter. Examples include blogs, explainer videos, how-to videos and podcasts. 

There should be two factors that drive a web content strategy: 

• What do you want to accomplish? What is the business goal?

• Keep the customer always in mind. Ask yourself, how does this content benefit my customer or target audience? Is its presentation engaging? What pain points do we resolve?

Why do you need a web content strategy?

Content marketing is an effective tool to drive conversions because today’s customer wants to learn about a brand through its content vs. a traditional ad. According to a report from Semrush, 62% of companies saw a good or excellent return on investment (ROI) from their content marketing strategy.

As stated at the outset, there’s a lot of content on the internet. An excellent web content strategy is like the gold in a prospector’s pan. The prospector, or the customer, is sifting for engaging quality content. Your business’ content is the valuable nuggets that remain in their pan at the end of their efforts.

6 steps in developing and executing a web content strategy

Knowing the benefits of a high-quality web content strategy, let’s examine six steps in creating one.

1. Define your goal

A web content strategy starts with a goal. Understanding what you wish to accomplish allows you to create the metrics for success. The following chart provides some examples:

Image Source: https://ahrefs.com/blog/content-marketing/

Let’s extract one example from the chart – suppose you want to increase brand awareness. Your goal at the start of the process would be to drive people to your website and build your audience. Then, after the work, you can measure your success by observing the amount of traffic, sessions, page views, etc., on your site.

2. Identify your audience

Knowledge of your audience is a crucial part of a web content strategy. Use analytics tools to inform you of customer demographics such as gender, age and residence (city, state or country). Other information you can collect includes:

• Most popular social channels your customers use

• What their interests are

• What language(s) they speak

• The most popular method for accessing your site (desktop, tablet, mobile)

If you haven’t already done so, create a buyer (or customer) persona. It requires you to make a fictitious individual representing your target audience. You can give them a name, age, job, ideals and goals. These personas provide insights that help you create a compelling message.

3. Determine the type of content to produce

Identifying your audience makes choosing the type of content more straightforward. Where does your audience spend more time on your site? Is it looking at a video? Is it reading a blog? Which type of content do you notice getting the most shares? Is it the infographics or maybe a white paper? 

The following table highlights the most popular web content strategies in 2021:

Image Source: https://www.hubspot.com/hubfs/State-of-Marketing.pdf

Regarding the use of video, here are some statistics from Wyzowl’s State of Video Marketing 2021 report:

• Individuals are two times more likely to share video content with their friends than any other type of content.

• 86% of businesses say video has improved traffic to their website.

• 78% of companies say video has helped boost sales.

• 87% of businesses say video provides them a good return on their investment.

With this information in mind, use videos in your web content strategy if there is an opportunity to do so.

Blogging is still a proven content strategy tool. It’s known to increase traffic to websites and generate leads. In fact, 77% of bloggers report that their work produces solid results.

4. Create the content

When it comes to the content itself, there are three things that customers value most:

• Flow – Whether a blog, video or other content, the user should follow the thread easily.

• A distinct voice – This gives the user insight into your brand’s identity and personality.

• Value – Provide practical and specific information, knowing your niche.

Create the content with those themes in mind. The following diagram contains additional insights, such as incorporating images, multimedia and a clear call to action.

Image Source: https://www.morevisibility.com/resources/newsletter/2014/june/article/use-multimedia-to-enhance-your-digital-content-strategy/

5. Promote the content

This part of the web content strategy is called content marketing. Target the digital channel most popular with your customers, and feel free to add other highly-visited platforms. Other points to note:

• YouTube is the most extensively used video platform.

• Facebook and Instagram are the most frequented social media platforms.

• Email marketing delivers $36 for every $1 spent.

6. Measure the results

Gauging user response to the content is essential in determining if your web content strategy was successful. Did the amount of traffic to your site spike significantly? Did customers spend more time on your site? What’s the number of shares on the content? Did you see a boost in sales or conversion rate?

The following video contains additional points for developing a web content strategy.

Enhance your web content strategy with Optimizely

Optimizely has a team of experts and a robust platform to streamline your web content strategy. We offer additional tools like content experimentation, personalization and in-depth analytics. 

Contact us today for a demo!