Your Brand is killing Your Content Marketing
THE SECRET TO SUCCESSFUL CONTENT MARKETING – GREAT DESIGN
The marketing team at Apple was very excited. They were about to launch a new computer in the market. And boy, did the computer rock! It was faster, smarter, sleeker than anything else that the competitors were producing. They decided to market the computer by its features. They were sure, that when they did it, the consumers would love it.
Steve Jobs vetoed the campaign.
He insisted that they sell the computer based on the fact that it was transparent. The rest, as they say is history. It became one of the most successful campaigns in the history of marketing. And also, one of the most successful product launches.
As Steve Jobs knew it, and so do every successful marketer – people react to what they see.
The iMac would never have been successful if it was not a great computer and performed amazingly well. However, what sparked the initial interests of the buyers was the fact that it was trendiest, most amazing looking gadget that they had ever seen.
As this is true of marketing, so is it for content marketing.
CONTENT IS KING, BUT DESIGN IS QUEEN
It is extremely easy to run down design. Why do you need to have great design when your content is amazing?
Let us use another example. You meet someone for the first time. He is dressed smartly; he has great body language, and when he is introduced to him, he speaks well too. You take an instant liking to that person. You are then willing to listen to him patiently. Only then do you realize that he also has very interesting things to say.
On the other hand, if he had approached you wearing shabby, smelly clothes, rasping badly, would you have given him a fair ear?
Design is like the clothes a person wears, his appearance, his voice, even his body language. True, there are some people who get by without any of these, but the truly successful among them are rare.
Similarly, your website could be the best of its kind in the world with really terrific content, but if it is not well designed, no one will even take the time to know it.
DESIGN GIVES YOUR CONTENT PUNCH
Think of the most popular websites in the world. You will find that each one of them is amazingly designed. Coincidence? Hardly.
The thing is – design is that extra something that makes content more interesting. It is what adds flavor to your content, that special fizz that makes it more attractive, more readable.
A good design actually adds power to the content.
DESIGN KEEPS THINGS FRESH
If you see any movies from the eighties, the first things you will be struck by are the funny hairstyles and clothes. In fact, you may find it difficult to concentrate on the story.
Fashions change. Hairstyle, clothes, and even design. Naturally, if you come across a website that looks as if it was designed about ten years ago, you will find it difficult to concentrate on the content. You may also leave the page soon.
The thing is fashions change because of a reason. Our eyes get tired of seeing the same things over and over again. Hence, clothes and hairstyles that looked the ultimate in cool in the eighties look corny today.
Trends in design too changes over the years
What seemed extremely classy last year may seem tacky today.
It is therefore absolutely essential to keep the design of your website fresh and trendy.
DESIGN HELPS YOU STAND OUT
Did you know that there are more than a billion websites out there!
That means that your website will be competing with a billion other sites for your reader’s attention. That’s some tough competition. You will, therefore, be advised to use every trick in your arsenal to catch some eyeballs. In this battle, design plays a crucial role.
Design can not only help you customers but also give you the opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
DESIGN GIVES YOU PERSONALITY
Is your website youthful or elegant, functional or esoteric? Does it cater to teenagers or middle-aged readers? The design of your website needs to reflect the personality of your prospective readers.
DESIGN MAKES CONTENT FRESH
Content is content. No matter how well it has been written. It is design that makes it exciting and fresh. Updating the design of your website can give it a new lease of life.
Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Amazon… they are all extremely successful websites. However, they too make the effort to change the whole look of their sites.
Why do they need to do that when they already have billions of hits, every day?
The answer is simple. This ensures that the people who visit their site do not get bored by them quickly. Even if your site is extremely successful, you need to look at getting a fresh new design, ever so often.
DESIGN IS FUNCTIONAL
This is what most people forget. Design plays a very important practical role in a website. Good design can help the reader go from one section to another. Lead them to new areas of interest and, of course, encourage them to explore more.
Every functional aspect of your website is tied down to design. There is no point in having many links and buttons if they are not well designed.
Sometimes a design may look visually amazing but may not perform practically. That is BAD DESIGN. Do not let your designers fool you into thinking that aesthetics should be more important than functionality. Good design is one in which both blend seamlessly.
DESIGN INSPIRES LOYALTY
So, you have managed to generate traffic in your website. How do you ensure that the people who are visiting your website will come back again and again?
Yes, you guessed it right, with design.
Among the many factors that inspire brand loyalty, design is the most important. It is also the thing that people recall the most about a website.
The ideal position would be – when a visitor to your website recognizes your site by just a glance.
GIVE YOUR CONTENT WHAT IT DESERVES – GREAT DESIGN
The simple fact is, if your website does not have great design, you are being unjust to your content. Great content deserves great design.
