Ok, so web content is nothing new; people have been creating new content (good and bad) since the birth of the web. But creating exciting, relevant content for your website… now that is a completely different kettle of fish!

In the first instalment of ‘Get Creative in 2011’ we gave an introduction to what it is to produce great content for your website. We also discussed ways of using ‘Design SEO’ to benefit your online audience and produce the best content to boost your search possibilities.

In part two, we will discuss why the production of smart, creative and well designed content is SO damn important to your brand and how you can squeeze every last drop from it.

So what makes great content?
As with most successful marketing campaigns, the key is to be well informed. To know your audience and to complete some in-depth research into your market is extremely important. To unlock a potential gap or just simply to listen to the voices of your key market influencers can sometimes unearth a great new demand or a blocker on conversion.

This was indeed true with our client Sportsshoes.com whose running shoe traffic had increased but from people “new” to running who were unsure on which shoe specifications there were looking for, so conversion rates had faltered. We were set the challenge of increasing website conversion and creating additional content to improve on this. By completing some research into the most popular online communities and blogs, we found there to be a huge demand for a guide which illustrates how to test your running pronation.

After speaking with some key influencers and listening to their market we created a great online video which highlighted ‘How to choose the Right Running Shoe’. The video spoke about key technical information and how to find the right shoe for each foot shape. With a high demand for this great piece of creative content, conversion rates were seen to almost triple for visitors to Sportsshoes.com who had watched the helpful video.

Be proud of your new content!
After producing a great new piece of content, using some of the tips given in part 1, it is now time to be proud… Yes, be proud of your new content and treat it as such.

What I mean by this is once you have finished production of your new creative content - do not hide it under pages and sub-layers on your website. Be proud! Put your new creation on the front page of your website for all to see! But if this is not possible create a call-to-action that links directly to the content on a relevant page.

Once you are happy with the placement of your content and everything is optimised and being tracked, now is the time to market your new creation. Here are the top 5 ways to market your content:

-    Submit your content to social hubs (e.g. Digg, Reddit, Sphinn)
-    Add your content to Delicious
-    Become active in the communities and forums where you found your inspiration
-    Enable social sharing tools such as ‘Addthis’ below your new content
-    If you haven’t already, start a Twitter feed, gather a following of like-minded individuals and announce your great creation

Why this is all so important?
Because content is no-longer a bit of the story - content is now the whole story. If you can fulfil a need or a desire that you have found through research and satisfy that need with some amazing, exciting and relatable content, you will be rewarded!

So it is now worth getting into the habit of spending a bit of time on the computer and really thinking about your next piece of content. Get to know your market, talk to administrators on blogs find out their experiences and be vocal with your new creation.

By following the information above, not only will you be pleased to find an increase in brand awareness. But with more natural searches leading to your company website and to the new content you have created, you will see search positions rise! And with this, so too will your bottom line.

So be loud, be proud and above all be smart with creative content!