Keeping the content alive

For any digital project, content is a key component of success. As exciting as it is to see a project go live, maintaining that success requires keeping the content fresh and relevant for your audience and for your organization. This can mean planning out blog posts, keeping a calendar of events current, updating your About page with new team members or initiatives, or even something as simple as changing page headlines every so often.

During the project process you may consult a digital strategist or hire a copywriter; you might even hire services like our sister agency Speak No Evil for continued content generation after projects are complete. If you decide to tackle refreshing content yourself, producing this may require you to flex your mental muscles.

Here are some tips to help you be better prepared:

• Keep sentences and paragraphs short (3-5 sentences per paragraph)
• Use headings and subheadings to break up topics and paragraphs
• Utilize visuals – charts, graphs, icons, imagery
• Identify phrases or sentences for pull quotes to help key points stand out
• Use words specific to your topic, but try to avoid too much jargon or buzzwords
• Address the audience directly; use the word “you”
• Utilize bullet points to display listed information

Before hitting publish or update on new content (from edits on a page to brand new blog posts), it’s important to ask yourself some questions:

• What does my audience get out of this content?
• What action am I striving for them to make from this?
• Is this original or I am citing a source outside my organization?
• How does it look on different screen sizes (desktop, tablet, smartphone)?
• Is the style (font type, size, formatting) consistent with other content?
• Does it follow the brand and marketing guidelines of my organization?

Even if you are working on a tight deadline or don’t have enough information to check through all the questions above, remember to always get a second set of eyes to take a look before posting. Your online presence speaks to your credibility. It’s much better to have a coworker point out a typo than a site visitor.

Although publishing content on the web has become easy enough for almost anyone to do, the content you develop for your organization should always have a purpose, add value, and be proofread. Keep your audience interested and engaged by keeping your content alive!