Not maintaining a business website’s blog and news makes it appear as if no one is at home.
Put another way, there’s nothing worse than checking out the news or blog part of a site and seeing that the last entry was July 2013.
As colleague, Fraser Carson of Flightdec says, people can spend a lot of money designing a fantastic looking website. However, looks don’t reflect thinking, or the deep thinking that people within an organisation always have, and that can and should be expressed.
So, if content isn’t regularly updated, preferably with original news or views, then a website is regarded as being static. What does it mean?
- Google’s search algorithm is dependent on new content
- Original content shows clients that you’re in their game too
- Original content shows someone is peddling the bike
Given that the above points are negative reasons to regularly update content, why else should businesses regularly blog?
- Establish and maintain thought leadership
- Maintain contact with shareholders
- Provide a means for staff to express their own original thinking around the business’s products and services
This is why content is king.
At the same time, creating such content can be problematic for many organisations.
While there is no shortage of ideas to write about, getting them into a written form is often the challenge.
People are often too busy doing their own job within an organisation, and, as even experienced writers sometimes find, a blank canvas is a tricky beast at the best of times.
What’s the solution in this case?
Hire a writer; get him or her to interview and draft up a story, and publish under the interviewee’s name.
Simple…content…creation.
P.S.
A confession. I’ve been guilty of not maintaining content on my own website. Call it the plumber with leaky taps syndrome, or the mechanic with a smokey car.
Seeing as I’ve been suggesting to clients and potential clients that static content is a no no, and to partly avoid being labeled as a hypocrite…note to self; maintain my own original content!