Narrative website content builds stronger brands
For most people, your website may be among their earliest points of brand awareness for your business. They use it to figure out your hours or address, or maybe to find out what you sell and how to get it. It’s a place where they can figure out if your values match theirs and find answers to troubleshooting questions.
Businesses invest heavily in promotional campaigns and tactics to get noticed but sometimes overlook the foundational content that leads to conversion. Story-driven content can serve as the connection across platforms. The most effective sales and marketing asset is clear website content that shares your story and forms the foundation of campaigns, SEO, sales conversations and more.
Make the most of your website content
Your website is a multipurpose asset and shouldn’t be treated like a digital brochure. Website content can do a lot of heavy lifting for your business when you weave storytelling into your strategy.
The main goals of any website are:
- Build credibility and trust
- Present your brand position
- Introduce yourself to leads
- Offer customer service
- Share news and updates
You can weave these goals into the stories in your website content.
A website’s design, core information and frequency of activity provides confirmation that you’re a legitimate, established business, building credibility and trust.
It is a tool to present your brand position, explaining who you are, what you believe and why you’re different than your competitors.
It’s a soft introduction to leads, so they can get familiar with you before chatting with the sales team.
It offers customer service 24/7 to answer common questions, troubleshoot concerns and tips, helping customers maximize your services.
Lastly, it’s a place to share news and updates, reinforcing your story, keeping your website fresh, and continuing to provide new resources.
A strong story-based content strategy can support every single one of these goals and the work of your internal teams.
Use content to turn your website into a robust resource
When storytelling is done right, it is website content that delivers information your clients want and need. Don’t create fluff to fill pages with search terms.
Particularly today, search engine optimization (SEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO) prioritize content that is useful, clear and concise. It is structured, intentional and strategic.
- They humanize brands in crowded markets
- They create continuity across pages and over time
- They give search engines and humans something meaningful to engage with
What does that look like in practice?
For one Yankee Custom Marketing client, we used blogs to map the cycle of their team coaching and executive leadership program. Their website content became a lead-nurturing tool that reflects how they actually work. Articles provided thought-leadership on their management philosophies, offered practical tips and reinforced their approach to team building.
Another client working with YCM was a recently established industry association. Through weekly posted website content, YCM helped them build authority through consistency. Blogs covered industry news, the organization’s prioritiesand updates on the policies it supports, spotlights on member businesses and industry thought-leadership. By building a library of high-quality stories, the organization positioned itself as an industry resource, a credible advocate and valuable for members. Stories were niche and not huge traffic drivers, but for those who care about the industry, it shows credibility. The website content provided evidence for the organization’s momentum and visibility.
A third client is a large organization with an existing marketing team. However, amid staffing reorganization and staffing vacancies, YCM was able to step in to assist with content creation, approaching healthcare-related topics with a journalistic view. The stories maintained an authoritative and fact-based tone, bringing a sense of trust when dealing with complex health-related topics.
Why story outperforms campaigns over time
Building a website content strategy around authentic storytelling provides ongoing value that campaigns build on. Campaigns may get short-term attention, but content that nurtures a relationship can convert temporary views into recurring sales.
With YCM’s omnichannel focus, story-driven website content easily feeds email newsletters, social media feeds, SEO performance and sales conversion. It adapts as your business evolves instead of needing a reset every quarter.
If storytelling is not your strong suit or there’s simply too much other stuff on your plate, collaborate with a storytelling partner who can take your vision and business goals and balance them with an expertise in SEO, brand voice and authenticity.
Consider your website and evaluate whether it teaches people. Are you telling a clear story? While campaigns attract attention, stories build long-term relationships. The brands that see ongoing success are the ones that know how to tell their story consistently, clearly, and with purpose.