So you’ve decided to design (or redesign) your B2B website. Awesome! Your website serves as the centerpiece of your marketing communications strategy and helps shape the perception of your brand. But when we talk about a website design, we’re not literally just talking about design – that is, the graphic elements or look and feel of your site.
In addition to design, the content on your website is crucial for telling a compelling brand story and creating a lasting impression on potential customers, job candidates, media, and other stakeholders.
Many organizations underestimate the commitment and resources needed to create great website content. And in my 15+ years writing content for brands, I can attest that it almost always takes more time and resources than you originally think. However, having the right strategy going in can make the content creation part of your B2B website design smoother. And that starts with pulling together the right team.
Content Roles at the Agency
At Bop Design, we have four core roles that deal with content:
Project Manager
The Project Manager liaises with all parties and is responsible for making sure the project runs smoothly and on schedule. She may also assist in gathering content elements from the client.
Content Strategist
The Content Strategist oversees the overall content strategy of your website, including main messaging and general content structure.
Copywriter
Collaborating with the Content Strategist, the Copywriter writes all the text for your B2B website and ensures consistent messaging themes throughout every page.
Quality Assurance
Once every word has been written, all three roles join efforts to proofread, copyedit, and ensure that your content flows well and tells the right brand story.
Content Roles at the Client Company
While your agency team has expertise in the content and branding strategy, your team members are the experts when it comes to your brand, products or services, and customer needs. Collaboration between your team and the B2B web design agency is essential to telling your brand story effectively and in a way that resonates with your target audience.
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Before jumping into a website design, you should establish key roles at your company for handling content. These roles include:
Project Manager
Assign one person to manage the website project on your end. This individual should serve as the point person for the agency and will be responsible for communicating with internal stakeholders and contributors at your organization.
Identifying one person to serve in this role will streamline the process immensely and ensure key deadlines are met during the B2B website design project.
Marketing Team
Your marketing staff is crucial to your content team. They should work together with the web design agency to make sure your content effectively communicates your brand’s unique value proposition and covers all necessary messaging points.
In some cases, your marketing team may have to write content for some areas of the site or supply content assets like white papers, case studies, or sales sheets. You should clarify with the agency who will be responsible for writing the various portions of your website.
Your marketing director (or someone in a similar role) should act as the content lead and be given authority to make final decisions on content.
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
If your company is in a complex industry like technology, engineering or biotech, your marketing team should work with the subject matter experts (SMEs) at your organization to gather information and communicate it back to the agency.
Or, if your company has more than one product or service offering, product managers or department heads may serve as SMEs to give input on the content representing their area.
Sometimes it is helpful for your SMEs to write rough content to supply to the agency to copyedit and craft into marketing copy.
Now that you know what roles are needed to put together a strong content plan, keep in mind that some roles may be fulfilled by the same person, and the number of people dedicated to the content team may vary depending on your business. Regardless of the size of your organization, we recommend that your core content team includes no more than two to four people to keep the B2B website project focused.