Content marketing has moved on a long way from simply hosting your own blog. Nowadays, it’s a complex, multi-discipline industry that every business will soon be expected to take part it. Right now, around a third of all business-to-consumer marketers have a documented strategy in place, representing around a 40% increase compared to last year. Here are three areas you should be looking to improve as you move forward.

Put Your Content Front and Center

Start by putting your content front and center. Many business owners demand that their design team build a beautiful website that stands out from the crowd. While those fancy animations may seem like a good idea in the office, your end consumer may simply find them frustrating. Not only does this kind of design take longer to produce, but studies show that people actually find complex websites much less visually attractive. Instead, focus on creating a clean, easy-to-navigate webpage where the legibility of the content is put to the forefront of the design. For instance,Hantec FX, a forex trading platform, aims to give their customers all the data they need  via the information hub on the homepage. From here, you can quickly make informed decisions on your investments based on the current market trends.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Social media is becoming more and more important for all kinds of businesses. As well as a place to announce new products or advertise upcoming sales, a company’s social media feed is also the go-to spot for customer service enquiries. Platforms like Twitter are much better at this because they encourage instant communication, rather than waiting hours for an email or having to call a help desk during specific hours. Responding to enquiries can not only help build goodwill, but it’s also a great way to turn a negative into a positive. Helpful Twitter exchanges between brands like Xbox and their consumers have even gone viral, and could turn into a unique marketing opportunity. Making jokes can be a great way to humanize your business, but you must find the line between being cheeky and being disrespectful.

Build Strong Employee Relationships

Finally, one of the essentials behind improving any aspect of a business is building strong employee relationships. Have your content marketing team regularly meet up with the rest of the company so that you can clearly establish your future goals. For example, consider limiting your platform choices early on so that you can better focus your efforts and start to more efficiently learn from any analytical data. After all, with so many different social networks available right now, it’s easy for a business to spread itself too thin, especially if it’s a small startup. If necessary, consider delegating power to another member of the team so that you can focus on other sides of the company. While it can be difficult to let go of responsibility, this is actually one of the most important skills every business owner must learn.