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What Is A Content Management System and Do You Need One

The internet has changed from the mid to late '90s, where a few pages about your organization was all that anyone needed to create a web presence. Today, there is competition in every corner of the online world. No longer can most companies post simple pages about themselves and their services or products and expect to compete. Today's internet is about interaction and new content that is relevant to your business. Thriving and growing businesses always have something new going on - and customers want to know. Real Estate agents, Personal Coaches, Financial Planners, Doggy Day Care - everyone has news, tips or information their customers can use. More importantly, your website can establish you (and your company) as the expert in the field, the go-to company, by communicating your expertise and know-how to your clients and visitors.

The question is, how do you do this without being a web expert (or having to hire one)? The simple answer is through a Content Management System (CMS). A good CMS will have an Administrative side (which you will almost never have to access) and a web-login. A web-login enables you (or an employee) to go to your site using any web browser, login, and copy and paste your news item, article, or update. The new file will then be published to the proper section of the site. You can also set the item to be published at a later date. This especially important if you have a new product release and want to be prepared in advance. You aren't required to know any more than how to use Microsoft Word.

What else can a CMS do? Customers like to keep track of things in many different ways. An RSS feed allows them to subscribe to your site and receive an automatic notice every time something new is added. RSS feeds allow you to announce to everyone that subscribes that you have something new for them.

Newsletters are a powerful online marketing tool, and they're really cheap as well. Anyone visiting your site can sign-up for the newsletter. Newsletters can be used to announce new products, offer discounts to current customers or any number of things.

Feedback can be important to many businesses and can be generated in a couple of ways. Online forms allow clients to communicate to you their needs. For instance, a client new to a Financial Planner may surf the site and then fill out the form asking about what Fixed Annuities are offered. Forms can also be used to gather pertinent information before a client comes to see you. Another form of client feedback that can be impactful are Comments left on your site. For instance, if you run a salon and a customer is reading about a new product you are offering. They may have great experience (or not) with the product and choose to leave a comment telling you and your readers about it. Comments can be moderated to make certain any bad or flagrant items are not published on the site. Positive comments by customers can motivate others to buy.

Another important reason to consider a CMS for your business is that search engines give more weight to sites that are frequently updated with relevant content. Over time, good content that is updated and added to can help your site rise in the rankings and have a huge impact on business.

A strong online presence today is an important element in your overall marketing efforts. If you are in an industry where news, articles and up-to-date information can make a difference to your business you should consider a custom CMS.

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