Best Resources for Great Content
Content Marketing.
In 1996, Bill Gates made an off-hand comment about the future of the Internet. His prediction? Content would be king. Content would be the driving force of how we search, how we decide, how we entertain.
Fast forward 21 years. Content is king (still).
Content is King
If the Internet is a sea, content is the fish. Many will present the argument: “the home furnishings industry isn’t like the other industries” and say digital content isn’t a high value. To those, we say “you’re wrong.” eCommerce websites for furniture retailers need content. Blog pages for interior designers need content. Digital catalogs from home furnishings manufacturers need content. Literally, every moving part of the home furnishings industry needs content. Why, then, is it the last (or forgotten) piece to go in the puzzle?
There are real challenges to finding best resources for great content for product descriptions, blog content, website content, social content, and more. In our industry–the home furnishings industry–good content is hard to come by. Great content is a unicorn; mythical in nature and idealized by everyone. As experts in the field of technology, marketing, and the furniture industry, MicroD is ready to blow the lid off this misconception.
Finding Great Content
Great content is out there for retailers, manufacturers, and interior designers in our industry. We’ve got some secrets to resources you can’t miss and some strategic advantages to help you source your own great content.
Industry-Related Sources
Our industry is bursting at the seams with valuable content. Found in print and online, we have a list of high-quality resources. If you’re not a subscriber to the print editions, go online! Using a link back to you high-quality news sources is great for SEO. Here are just some of a very long list we love at MicroD!
- Furniture Today
- Furniture World Magazine
- RetailerNOW
- Internet Retailer
- HFNDigital
- Dwell
- BedTimes
Community-Related Sources
Sometimes, thinking (and reading) outside-the-box can give a jolt back to your lifeless content. One of the first rules in content is quality content. Import life to your content by changing the purpose. We’ve talked about the value of lifestyle content in past blogs. Make sure to keep the practice of “no selfie content” in play. Write about design trends. Write about shopping experiences in the digital age. Mix it up! Here are some great resources for intelligent data, topics, and sources of ideas!
- Business2Community
- Content Marketing Institute
Partner Sources
Retailers, you have an excellent source of well-researched and highly-targeted content: your manufacturers! Seek out the marketing contact or rep who can give you access to updated content. Look for digital brochures, blogs, research, or videos to use in your blog and social marketing!
Celebrity/Influencer Sources
The home furnishings industry is overflowing with talented designers who also happen to have a celebrity lifestyle. With HGTV designers becoming more prevalent in the home furnishings scene the last 20 years, we have been lucky. Influences and celebrities have a massive appeal to the average furniture shopper. By following a blog like Ellen Degeneres, celebrity and home furnishings brand, for design tips is a great way to share quality content with your followers.
Word to the wise: plagiarism isn’t in style. Do not plagiarize the work of someone else. You can build a relationship with your audience by summarizing an opinion or topic and linking to the original content as a backing source. In the world of SEO, this is called “backlinking” and can work wonders–if done correctly.
MicroD’s Strategic Services
MicroD has built teams of content marketing experts with years of experience in content writing for retailers and the home furnishings industry. It is difficult and time-consuming to keep up with all of the pieces above. What’s great? We can help.
