Biz: Refresh Your Company Website for a New Year

There’s nothing more disappointing than going to a company’s website or social network only to return weeks later and read the same stale content. What’s the point of coming back if nothing ever changes? Whether it’s updating information on your homepage or the events calendar, keeping current should continuously remain a top priority.

If you’ve racked your brain and can’t think of anything to post, here are some ideas to keep the content fresh:

1. Look at what other people are doing and find ways to make that work for your company. For example, let’s say you own a brewery. It would be worthwhile to research the activities of your competitors and determine if they’re doing something significant that you’re not. This isn’t to say that you should duplicate their every move, but it’s wise to keep abreast of the topics being addressed by others and consider how they might be incorporated into your strategy.  

2. Never underestimate the power of the daily awareness calendar. I’m a firm believer that companies should engage with their social media followers on a continuous basis. Sure, some days are more challenging than others to find something noteworthy to say, but whenever I’m in a bind, I can almost always count on the 2011 Holidays and Observances calendar to come to my rescue. For example, May was National Hamburger Month. If I owned a burger joint, I would have taken advantage of that by not only adding new content to the website pertaining to the holiday, but by utilizing every opportunity to engage with my audience. A perfect example would be to host a contest on Facebook inviting fans to build their dream burger; photos could be posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page, and the photo with the most “likes” wins a prize. This would have been an ideal way to drive traffic to the company’s Facebook page and increase participation. In addition, May was also National Pet Week. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t obsessed with their dog, cat, fish or other family member. Social media is all about engaging in conversation that is relevant and nonrelevant to the company’s brand, so take advantage of any topic to develop a relationship with your audience.

3. If you’re running dry on ideas, don’t hesitate to solicit feedback from your friends, family or, even better, your customers. Find out what people want to hear about. What are the hot topics or new industry trends? If your CEO recently published an article pertaining to the business, by all means share that information.

4. Ask employees to contribute to a company blog and post once a week. This allows organizations to re-use that information and post it on other platforms such as social networks or on the website. With the various departments comprised within a company, there’s sure to be a lot of interesting content coming from all directions.

5. Give shout-outs to your partners. For example, if your company works closely with other organizations, make a video or dedicate a section to the website that showcases that relationship and how both businesses work together. It not only gives your customers an insider’s view and demonstrates how you collaborate with others, but it strengthens business relationships by giving those companies a shout-out.

Creating new content can be challenging, but you don’t need to lose sleep over it. Adhere to a regular schedule with deadlines for updating website content, blogs and social media sites. Doing so will give your customers a reason to come back for more.

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