What is a content platform? Why is it interesting for your business? And how do you get started? These questions are regularly asked by organisations that want to score stronger online. In this article, I will give you all the answers about the central channel in your content marketing: the content platform.© HANS HERMANS
In this article, I will answer these 5 frequently asked questions:
- What is a content platform?
- Why is it interesting for your business?
- What elements are essential on a content platform?
- How do you easily get started?
- Can a freelance journalist help you?
What is a content platform?
A content platform is a website where you share articles, videos, photos, whitepapers, and more about your expertise or the themes around which your organisation works and provides services and products. A content platform differs from a regular company website and webshop because the content, such as articles, whitepapers, and videos, is central. This platform addresses visitors in a commercial manner!
Through this content, visitors are informed in a very accessible way…
- informed,
- inspired,
- interested.
A content platform is central to the content marketing strategy of both large and small businesses. On this central online place, visitors find your expertise, knowledge, updates, inspiration, tips, and advice.
Other names for a content platform are content hub or content portal. Some companies simply refer to it as 'their website'.
How you call it doesn't really matter. What is more important is what the content platform means for your business.
Why is a content platform interesting for your business?
Companies have various reasons to start with a content platform. I will list 6 popular reasons why it can also add value for your business or organisation:
Reason 1. You rank higher in Google
Search engines love unique and up-to-date content. They rank websites that regularly publish strong articles and blogs higher.
A good SEO strategy should never be missing. Research in advance the topics that are hot in your sector. Understand which popular keywords your articles can align with. Use these to regularly create and share quality texts, videos, and photos.
Reason 2. You find more (potential) customers
The internet has become an indispensable source of information for each of us. People are constantly searching online for new suppliers and information about products they want to purchase.
Are they looking for a fridge? A bike? A new bread maker? A freelance journalist?
Google is the gateway to knowledge, to online purchases, to entertainment... and to your content platform. (Photographer: lalo Hernandez | Source: Unsplash)
People first gather information via Google, to decide where to make their purchase based on the articles and websites they find.
Even when they want to step into a physical store, they often have already done some online research.
These online seekers are potential customers for you. Tempt them by pampering them with extremely useful information, tips, inspiration...
Reason 3. You become a better expert
Are you passionate about your profession? Do you hope to inspire and inform people? Do you enjoy spreading news? That’s why a content platform is ideal for sharing your expertise.
Earning more and attracting more customers are not your main focus.
The podcast The Inner Compass of storytelling coach Raf Stevens completely meets this third reason. Raf shares interviews with leaders from his passion for stories. His only goal? To inspire and empower new leaders.
If you dare to develop this selfless perspective, you place yourself in an extremely strong position.
Because someone who passionately shares their knowledge becomes attractive to others.
Just because commercial intentions are absent, your platform can become an extremely powerful magnet.
Reason 4. You reduce the need for customer service
Customers ask you many questions. They call you. They email. That’s normal. But do you have to answer all these questions personally via email or phone? No.
Some companies use their content platform to answer all the questions from their audience. That’s smart.
The American pool seller Marcus Sheridan gave an example years ago. He asked his sales manager what the 50 most frequently asked questions from his customers are. He then answered them one by one in his blog.
If you start from concrete questions, your platform will function as an online helpdesk that helps customers 24/7. You immediately relieve your physical helpdesk and significantly reduce the number of phone calls in your business.
Reason 5. You strengthen your brand
Although the content on a content platform may not be commercial, it still increases the value of your brand.
Just because you share your knowledge in a very accessible way. Just because you answer questions from your audience and rank higher in Google, you strengthen your brand. Both online and offline.
A content platform strengthens your brand. (Photographer: Fab Lentz | Source: Unsplash)
Your brand is more visible. Your audience regularly comes to take a look and starts to trust your brand and appreciate it. As a result, they will be quicker to buy something from you, your brand will be top of mind for them, and they may talk about your brand and the content you share.
Reason 6. You create interaction with your audience
The publications on a content platform can be used as ideal conversation starters. This stimulates interaction with your audience. You tighten the (emotional) bond.
How to stimulate interaction?
- Put forward a bold or original statement.
- Conclude with a question to your reader.
- Ask them to share experiences around the topic.
- Share your publications on social media.
Know that even more interaction is possible. For example, by allowing your audience to co-write on your content platform. They too, as customers or experts, often have valuable experiences to share.
By opening your content platform to contributions from third parties, you are able to punch above your weight. Platforms like Bloovi, BizCover from BNP Paribas Fortis and The Digital Acceleration from Telenet Business manage, for example, to have others write for them.
Telenet Business opens its platform The Digital Acceleration to external editors and experts.
Watch out for abuse here! You must not allow others to promote themselves too eagerly. Because this lowers the quality of your platform. Also, spelling mistakes and grammatically incorrect sentences are costly scratches on your carefully built image.
Combine these 6 reasons
In a strong content platform, a number of these 6 reasons are intertwined. They reinforce each other.
Do you score high on Google? Then you will undoubtedly attract new customers.
Do you share your knowledge or answer your questions honestly? Then you gain the trust of your audience... which significantly increases their willingness to buy from you.
What elements are essential on a content platform?
When building your platform, you must always keep one person in mind: the visitor to your platform.
He or she is someone who finds the answer to a question through Google. But he or she could just as well be a potential customer or a customer who may be planning to make a purchase from you.
This visitor loves variety. Although online articles will form the basis, you should pay attention to different forms of content.
What forms of content can we find on popular content platforms?
- Short articles. Useful tips, short inspiration, concise answers to frequently asked questions, an original perspective...
- Longreads, which are longer articles in which you thoroughly explore a topic.
- Photos to create a visually appealing whole and support the texts. You know: 'A picture is worth a thousand words'.
- Videos, aimed at the ever-growing group of people who prefer watching online rather than reading online.
- Podcasts that your visitors listen to while on the go.
- Links to additional articles on the platform and to external websites with more information or as references.
- Downloadable content such as whitepapers. For this, you can ask for an email address in return!
- Newsletters that keep your fans updated on new content.
These are the visible building blocks of your content platform. But these are not enough.
For if you want to build a successful content platform, the cogs behind the scenes must also be running smoothly.
A good platform has, among other things, a content calendar, a well-thought-out SEO strategy, a simple content management system, a sales funnel that follows up on visitors and warms them up to become customers… I will elaborate on these invisible but crucial elements in a later article.
How do you easily start with content marketing?
You can start small with content marketing.
Even the leading content specialists recommend evolving step by step, as you can read in the article about the 5 trends in content marketing.
Invest a little, write a few articles, test, refine and expand.
Do something great. Start with a content platform (Photographer: Clark Tibbs | Source: Unsplash)
A simple blog is already enough to get started. Feed it regularly with new content. Present the articles and videos attractively and legibly. Then distribute the new content via social media.
Don't necessarily build your own platform
The nice thing is that you don't necessarily have to launch your own platform. You can also build an online reputation and gain customers by distributing content through other platforms.
LinkedIn is a platform that is extremely suitable for publishing business content. A few of my clients have understood that. I regularly provide them with new articles about their expertise. They (or I on their behalf) post, gather the likes and expand their network.
I will definitely write another article about LinkedIn, as it is by far the easiest and most interesting way to blog for business. In the meantime, I refer you to the page Writing articles for LinkedIn.
Can a freelance journalist help you?
Do you feel how you or your organisation also want to communicate more strongly? How you want to share more expertise and advice with your audience? How you can pamper existing customers and win new customers with a content platform?
Then there's only one thing for you to do: start!
With my clients, I find that they need to overcome a few obstacles for this. If I only look at my field, they need to:
- come up with topics to write about
- create a content calendar
- find time to write an article
- do research to furnish the article with the right figures
- have the text thoroughly proofread
- take or buy a photo from a stock library
In the article Of course you don't have time to write a blog... And 2 other valid excuses for not blogging, I zoom in on these obstacles.
But as with all problems, there is also a solution: a freelance journalist or copywriter. Yes, an external man or woman can certainly support you in your ambition to build a full-fledged content platform.
An experienced writer helps you turn your expertise and ideas into clear texts without it costing you much time and effort. This language virtuoso helps you give substance to your content platform.
But where do you find an experienced journalist who can create content for your organisation?
Well, you don't need to look any further.
Did you also know that I can be that writing help for you?
Since 2012, I have been creating content for large and small organisations, as a kind of external editorial team.
Call or email me. Then we can discuss your content platform.
