When you launch your website, you may think you have everything covered. But what happens when you need to update your website? And what material can you update your website with?

Small businesses.

You grow.

Your strategy changes.

You complete more work and gather more material to include on your website over time.

You will find…

Creating your website is just the first step.

You will need a plan to manage it.

And managing your website doesn’t just mean checking for WordPress updates and auditing the website for any issues long-term.

It means actively posting new content on your website on a regular basis.

 

What can you update your website with?

Each business varies.

But every business has something they can use to consistently update your online presence.

We find things all the time to post on our Facebook business page.

Why don’t we pay the same respect to our websites?

We wanted to explore some material that you, as a small business, could use when planning to update your website with new content.

 

Case Studies

Case studies are in-depth analysis of a customer’s journey with your business.

Why did they call?

What was their problem?

How did you solve it?

For B2B customers, this can be extremely important.

it’s crucial for appealing to the last-minute decision making process.

And gaining an edge on your competition.

Continue to update your website with new case studies of work.

But only after approving it with your customers.

 

Portfolio of Work

We work with many customers in the trades.

Their websites are updated on a monthly basis.

The most notable is their portfolio of work.

This is where we have the most material.

You have the opportunity to keep this updated on a regular basis with all the work you are completing for customers.

Use them.

Place them on your website, with a description of each project.

That’s how you add depth to your website.

It allows customers to look through all your work at their leisure.

This assists our customers in their sales process.

 

New Accreditation

Accreditations are often a necessity in many trades.

Display them to your customers.

Examples of this from our customers include:

• NICEIC
• National Federation of Builders
• NAPIT
• Gas Safe Register
• Architects Registration Board
• Institute of Fire Safety Management

Showcasing new accreditations can be a great way to engage with customers.

And the best way to inspire trust in your brand.

 

Local Community Event

Many of our customers involve themselves in community events.

These could be:

• Local Sports Sponsorships
• Apprenticeships
• Local Delivering (During Lockdowns)
• Community Giveaways
• Charity

Post about your local community outreach on your website.

This is the type of content that differentiates you from the competition.

 

Team Showcase

What better way to give your a business a personality than to showcase your team?

People buy from people.

There are many ways you could do this:

• Photographs of the full team
• ‘Team Pages’
• Videos of your business operations/team at work
• Interactive posts that introduce aspects of your business to your audience (otherwise unseen such as office photo)
• Photographs of you progressing with jobs

These are just a few ideas.

One customer is currently recording their team every day on a large project that is taking the majority of 2021.

We will feature this as a large part of their website and online presence.

 

Business Operations

One of the most exciting updates we posted this year was a company expansion.

The customer gave us details about their recent growth.

Along with photographs of a new office they are building on their business premises.

Great resources to engage with their audience.

There are lots of things happening ‘in the background’ within any business.

Bring them to the forefront.

Display your business operations.

The work done behind-the-scenes.

This is a fantastic way to engage your audience.

 

Industry News

Reporting on news related to your business or target audience’s problems.

This shows you are an authority in your audience.

For business to business customers, this can be especially important.

You are competing for your customer’s business, probably for the long-term

Not matter how good – or cheap – your service is…

Your customers will only choose to work with you, if they trust your expertise.

Highlight recent.

Giving your opinion on the topic.

What could be better than a director of the business commenting on relevant news?

it reassuring your customers, that you have faith in yourself… And you know what you’re talking about.

 

Covid-19 Update

Keep customers informed on your practices within this global pandemic.

A covid-19 update demonstrates to your audience:

• You are still an active business
• You are taking responsibility for the safety of your customers (and public)
• You have taken the time to consider the implications of your customer journey and how this will effect your service
• You are proactive and looking to engage your customers over the long-term

Too many people “went cold” in this pandemic.

This only signals to your audience that you are out of business.

Keep your customers up to date, let me know where you stand, and what precautions you are taking to keep them safe.

 

New Services

The businesses that have been able to survive (and thrive) this year have adapted to this new climate.

They have found ways to work with their customers, no matter what.

We work with a property renovation specialist.

Through 2020 have been doing garden transformations.

They were not scared to change their focus, and they survived.

Adding new services will assist in opening news to new opportunities, as you keep your customers informed.

Your website should be the central place where your customers can find all of this information, including any updates on new services you offer.

 

Landing Pages

What happens when you launch a service?

You need to generate the right attention.

A ‘Landing Page’ is a page designed for a specific advertisement.

You are directing people to this page to sell them on a specific service or purpose.

This could be, you develop a new landing page to launch your ‘landscaping’ services, to continue working with customers safely on the outside of the home.

Landing pages can be a great way to experiment.

Driving customers to your website with a specific purpose, to sell them a particular product or service.

They often act as the last stage of the sales process, targeting customers who may have already been to your website previously (this is called ‘retargeting).

The most usual use for a ‘landing page’ is to launch as a new service launch, or direct attention to a promotion/discount.

 

Discounts/Special Offers

What is wrong with a sale… once every now and again?

Examples of sales from our customers include:

• 10% OFF! Boilers through Winter.
• 20% ALL LUXURY BATHROOMS WORTH OVER £4,995.
• 20% OF ALL ITEMS IN STORE
• FLASH SALE (BLACK FRIDAY WEEKEND)

These each had landing pages that were specific to the sale.

This is one thing you should experiment with.

Everyone loves a sale.

Our customers who have implemented this technique into their website, they have had some great successes.

 

Refining Your Content

Before ‘adding new’ content…

It may be worth doing a website audit, improving on your current website content.

You don’t necessarily need to be adding new pages or content.

You may be better sometimes, to revisit and improve upon old content.

Take out redundant phrases and paragraphs.

Cut down the services that you don’t need anymore.

Slice the portfolio of work in half…

Only display the work you are truly proud of.

Work that represents your current business focus.

Than making a plan to add more, consistently over time.

But one thing is for sure…

There is nothing worse than out-of-date content.

 

This is about your website working for you.

Paint the right picture with your website.

Control the narrative for your company.

Direct and drive the business growth.

Select your target audience.

Connect with the right people.

You do all of this, and more…

By telling stories.

Stories told through blogs, photographs and details of your website, success stories of your customers.

It will all depend on the type of business you have.

But every business has a goal, and material they can produce on a monthly basis, that engages with their target audience.

Make sure your website is an instrumental part of that process.