Corporate Websites Must Move With The Times

August 16^th 2018 Sally Ormond corporate blogging, corporate marketing, corporate websites

corporate websites are out dated

The corporate website is an unwieldy beast.

It’s usually crammed with inward-facing content that shouts about the company. The language used is convoluted jargon that’s meaningless. Its maze of pages makes finding anything damn near impossible.

And that’s why they’re dying.

According to Webtrends, almost 70% of Fortune 100 corporate websites have experienced a decline in traffic, with an average drop of 23%.

It’s time to change corporates and give your users what they want.

Changing times for corporate websites

Your customers don’t want to hear about your company. They’re not particularly interested in your last conference. They don’t care about your state-of-the-art premises. And they couldn’t give a toss about how ‘passionate’ you are about your industry.

They want you to show them:

How you can solve their problem quickly
Human-interest stories about other people you’ve helped
How to resolve issues when they arise
Interesting and useful information in a range of format (e.g. video, article, etc.)
How to get in touch with you when they need you

That last one is crucial. Yes, they want to be able to speak to a real person and not be directed to an FAQ page.

It’s time to show your human side

Brand is critical for every corporate (in fact any business). That doesn’t just mean consistency in your colour palette and logo. Your brand also extends to your social interaction with your customers.

‘Traditional’ website marketing is so last year. Now it’s all about social media engagement. And that means content. Your products and services must be translated into stories that can be shared across numerous channels.

Rather than engagement through contact forms, your customers want interaction through real-time conversations on Twitter, Facebook, and other social channels.

An example used by Michael Brenner is Coca-Cola.

As a company, Coca-Cola declared the death of its corporate website in 2012. It re-launched it under the tagline “The Coca-Cola Journey. Refreshing The World, OneStory At A Time”, featuring content driven by their “Unbottled” blog.

As a result, its content became its primary product.

It’s time to change

Whether you’re a B2B or a B2C company, content and storytelling must be the cornerstone of your marketing strategy. Relationships that last are built through education. By offering useful information, you’re giving your readers value (whether they’ve bought from you or not), which in turn builds trust.

I appreciate that ‘doing a coke’ is a brave move and perhaps one you’re not ready for. But you can make a move in the right direction by adding content regularly to your website.

An active blog that offers excellent advice, human-interest stories and useful information will draw people to you. I’m not talking about posting once in a blue moon when you have a few minutes; to be a success, it must be done regularly.

Granted, that takes time and effort. If you don’t have the expertise in your current team, why not consider bringing in a professional copywriter? All you have to do is provide a list of topics, and they’ll do the rest.

It’s worth considering and will help you stay one step ahead of the game.

Sally Ormond is a professional copywriter. For over a decade, she has worked with clients around the world creating magnetic content that their customers love.