As anyone knows who is responsible for updating their website, trying to find fresh and continuous content can be a challenge. Successful marketing these days is underpinned by the ability to add that extra bit of value and what a lot of people want, especially in the B2B sectors, is to learn something that will help them in their day to day work or to help sanity check their latest purchasing decision.
The first rule of finding your website content is to spread the responsibility. Yes you still need to be the one to round it up and edit the copy to make it brand worthy but don’t try to write it all yourself. Who else in the company enjoys writing? Ask around you’ll be bound to find someone who would like to see their name attributed to a good blog or whitepaper.
Now you have a larger circle of people providing your content, you need to herd them. Remember this may be your top priority but it’s likely to be their last, they’re busy people. You can try bribery with cakes, sweets, a pint – I’ve found these work, but it’s also hugely beneficial to make it easier for them to plan their time and give them prompts for ideas.
How to create an editorial calendar
A website content editorial calendar makes everyone’s life easier – sit down and have a brainstorm session on every topic that your target audience find interesting, asks about or has problems with. Then categorise them – product related, challenges, educational, random facts – however you like. You’re beginning to form a list of topics for your website content. If you’re doing this on your own then just make sure you’re realistic about how much you can actually do each month.
Next take your list and order them by the following – what sits nicely around current marketing activity and what is having the biggest impact on potential purchases.
Create your calendar in Excel and start to drop the content ideas into each month, either based around marketing activity or with the most urgent first.
Assign a responsibility to each piece of content with those in your business, you will know when to start chasing up each person each month.
Make sure you remain flexible and give yourself a back up of content incase some falls through, which it always will and you have your content set for the rest of the year.
