As a content marketing company, Beez sees its fair share of orders from web hosting companies. The requests haven’t changed much in the better part of a decade and, after a while, it feels like the same basic information being generated with slightly different branding and terminology.
In content marketing terms, that can be a little problematic.
Here’s the issue: Most web hosting companies are run almost exclusively by people who have a heavy tech background but little marketing experience. They all want to send the same message about their services, and far too many insist on using superlatives and elevated speech to represent their brands.
You may very well have “the best” service offering for the clientele you target, but the easiest way to cast doubt is to come right out and say it. The thing about web hosting is that it seems to fall into two basic categories: a majority of customers love it, or it gets nothing but scathing reviews.
Around that last point, there are far too many companies who let questionable tactics creep into their marketing plans, many of which revolve around attempting to “fix” poor online reputations with what I call counter-content. This involves hiring copywriters or copywriting agencies to write positive reviews, false testimonials, and more in an effort to improve brand image.
There is no easier or faster way to nullify the effort you go to in marketing web hosting services than to try to hide the negatives. With the right content marketing plan in place, it won’t even be necessary. People do take online reviews seriously, but they take what they see and hear from you even more seriously. This is why you can’t neglect content creation. It can negate even the worst of reviews by presenting compelling yet passive counterarguments to those of the naysayers.
The bad news is, none of these things will help you. The good news is, I know a few things that can, so let’s shift gears and zero in on some of the positives you can implement to show just how well you know your stuff.
#1 – Clearly Define Your Market in Content Creation
If you are looking for local business (close enough to support desk-side), you need to be sure your content is optimized for local searches. In simplest terms, that means researching and using appropriate longtail keywords in all of your content.
If you work on a nationwide or international stage, your SEO efforts should be focused on the most current and relevant industry trends. That means your blogs, page meta descriptions, image description texts, and more need to be seeded with appropriate keywords, and your pages need to reflect the content described with those keywords.
#2 – Start Blogging Today
This one tops most of my how-to lists that center on improving marketing results. It is of particular interest to web hosting companies because so few actually keep a regular, coherent blog that appeals to the customer. Plenty of hosting sites have blogs, but they seem geared toward tech-savvy users or industry insiders.
I’ve read some web hosting company blogs that I would swear were written specifically for their employees and no one else. This is an easy and surefire way to scare away business and alienate your customers.
You should maintain a steady flow of keyword-rich blog content to maintain good search engine rankings. This content can be based on current industry trends, valuable resources, WordPress tips, etc. Then, whenever you roll out a new feature or service, blog specifically about that. Be careful, however, to make sure you are always speaking in layman’s terms. Remember, your blog is everyman’s resource. Don’t make it look or feel exclusionary.
#3 – Build and Engage with a Large Email List
I cannot emphasize how important it is to stay connected with your customers via email. You want to establish a presence in as much of the customer’s online experience as possible. This not only reminds them who is managing their online presence but also provides a point of familiarity that helps endear your brand to them.
Too few hosting services ever email their customers for any reason besides reporting outages. If you start using email to market and upsell, you could see some very favorable increases in purchases for service add-ons and premium upgrades.
#4 – Utilize Press Releases
Along with blog posts, you should be sending a press release every time you roll out a new add-on or service – especially if they’re free. This lets your customers know what kinds of services they have at their disposal. It also provides prospective customers with a good overview of your service offerings and how they stack up against those of your competitors.
Keep in mind that an informed prospect is far more likely to become your customer than one who isn’t. Don’t camouflage your brand by letting people assume you offer the same services as everyone else. Anything you can do to distinguish your brand from Hosting Company X will help you, and press releases are a great place to start.
#5 – Engage Regularly on Social Media
Here is one area where you can really excel. Most people don’t think about engaging with their web hosting company on social media, which presents you with a unique opportunity to solidify customer relationships and grow your client base simply by starting conversations and promoting your content on social networks.
Networks with older base demographics will give you the best exposure, as well as those that cater to business and tech markets. If your company doesn’t have a presence on networks like LinkedIn, now is the time to establish one. You can spotlight your brand as well as your employees in a way that helps prospective customers develop a sense of familiarity even to the point of giving actual faces to the people supporting their sites and, by association, their businesses.
These are just a few ways that marketing web hosting services can help elevate your brand. You can always contact us about your specific needs and let us organize a content marketing game plan that aligns with your brand image and ideal customer.
