As a business owner, you want to make sure that your message and your content are getting across to your target audience as easily and efficiently as possible. But how can you make sure that everyone knows what to look for and where to look for it? Enter: the content hub.
One of the most powerful tools of any content marketing strategy, a content hub doesn’t just help you add more value to your ideal clients’ days – it also helps establish you as a leader, builds trust, and boosts SEO… but we’re getting ahead of ourselves!
If you want to learn more about the importance of creating a content hub, and you want actionable steps to help build one for your business, keep reading!
What is a content hub?
Put simply, a content hub is a space that collects different types of content – from articles to videos, infographics, etc. – about a specific topic or subject.
Ideally, content hubs allow users to access all of this information easily from the hands of a reputable source or industry expert.
Confused? No worries – that’s normal.
The term “content hub” has taken on a lot of different meanings over the years, with some people using it interchangeably for a “website” or a “blog” – but content hubs go beyond that.
PRO TIP: One important thing to keep in mind is that content hubs aren’t designed to be salesy – they’re there to educate, entertain, or engage with the audience. Focusing on sales will take away from the content itself.
While content hubs are hosted online, they’re a lot smaller than the typical website – they have fewer pages and sections, so users can stay on track and find what they’re looking for.
Also, while they do include blogs, a content hub is bigger than one in the sense that it also hosts various other forms of content.
Basically, if you’re looking for an easier way to wrap your head around the idea, think of a content hub as a branded microsite or dashboard.
For example, if you are a Learning & Development Consultancy – your content hub can feature blog posts that share about effective learning design, when to build a leadership program into your business, and how to use data to create the best learning experience for managers and teams. Your content hub can host various blogs, PDF downloads, and checklists, or even videos that help your ideal clients move through a problem.
3 benefits of creating a content hub for your business
Nowadays, competition online is tough – there are businesses and brands coming at users from everywhere, all of the time – think omnipresence across digital platforms.
This information overload can make it difficult for people to find you, the content you share, and the impact you create.
With that in mind, sustainability has become increasingly important for businesses all around.
A strategy that can continue to run – mostly on its own – and doesn’t depend on the next trend or the next algorithm update is a much easier and low-effort way to capture the true attention of potential customers and leads, and convert them.
Luckily, that’s where a content hub can come in to help!
Here are 3 ways a content hub can help boost your marketing efforts:
1. Increase website traffic and visibility
A well-organized content hub can help attract more visitors to your website, which means more traffic – all thanks to SEO!
To start, having a content hub that holds high-quality content on a certain subject will make it a lot easier for search engines, like Google, to understand what your site is about. This strategy will, ultimately, help your website rank higher than your competitors all through organic traffic (without needing to pay for lofty ad campaigns).
Additionally, content hubs can also work as smaller “SEO loops” within themselves, which will add up to your hub’s overall SEO score, and – you guessed it! – help you rank higher.
Here’s how that works:
- You create a content hub about a specific topic and keyword, like “content marketing”
- Inside this content hub, you start adding different pieces of content that talk about that subject
- One of those pieces of content is ranking highly for the long-tail keyword “content marketing automation tools”, and another ranks highly for “content marketing benefits”
- The score of these two separate pieces of content then gets passed on to the hub itself, helping it creep up and increase its authority
- Then, once the hub starts to gain more authority for the (usually competitive) keyword “content marketing”, it also gets passed on to the smaller pages that helped it get there
(Think of it like a cascading waterfall, picking up more water as it runs down through the river and over the cliff – that’s what a content hub can help you do in terms of organic traffic and SEO.)
Looking for a way to elevate your brand’s online presence and engage your target audience? Our Content Creation and Management service is designed to help business owners expand their reach online, and create powerful content that resonates with their audience. From social media to blogs and email marketing, get ready to level-up your content marketing and let’s work together to create some bangin’ content!
This, in addition to other beneficial SEO practices like using backlinks, images, and mentions that help position the page – aka your content hub – as a valuable, easy-to-read, and educational space online, helps notify search engines that your ‘hub’ is what your ideal clients are looking for.
2. Establish thought leadership status
Another way a content hub can help boost your business is by helping establish it – and you – as a thought leader and expert in the industry.
After all, having a content hub that’s brimming with valuable content is a great way to show your visitors that you have a clear grasp on the matter at hand – and that they can trust your word and knowledge.
All of which can keep them coming back for more because they trust what you have to say.
At the end of the day, by compiling important and relevant information that visitors can find under one digital roof – your content hub – and sharing it with your audience, you’ll have the opportunity to pave the way for building thought leadership without the need to do too much or be pulled into all angles.
Plus, once your name and business start to get out there, and people start to recognize you as an expert, other thought leaders will start to link back to your content – which, as we mentioned above, can help improve your SEO.
BOOM! Talk about effortless marketing!
3. Improve client experience
When it comes to running a business and being a successful business owner, one of the most important things you can focus on is the relationship you have with your audience, clients, and community – we like to call this a branded experience.
So when it comes to improving your client and brand experience, and giving your community what they want, a content hub is a great resource to share!
When you build a thoughtful, engaging, and valuable content hub, users will easily find what they’re looking for with just a few clicks – and, in today’s fast-paced world, this matters a lot.
You don’t want people clicking aimlessly around your website, right? You want them to find what they need, when they need it, and be able to consume and/or share it when they find it interesting!
By establishing a hierarchy within your content, and organizing it so the scrolling and viewing experience is seamless and enjoyable, your clients will thank you – and they’ll show it by staying on your site, engaging with the content, and even making a purchase.
PRO TIP: When you have a content hub, you can use various pieces of your content throughout your client experience for onboarding, management, and/or offboarding. Think about it like this, if you have a video or blog post that shares about your unique methodology or process, you can use this in your onboarding process with a client so you don’t need to write things twice!
Our favorite content hubs
When it comes to choosing some of our favorite content hubs out there at the moment, there are a few that instantly spring to mind:
1. For all things marketing: HubSpot
A comprehensive resource for marketers, sales professionals, and business owners who want to learn more about business growth, HubSpot covers a wide range of topics: from marketing to sales, customer service, industry trends, expert advice, and business management.
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just getting started, HubSpot’s blog provides valuable information and actionable tips to help you succeed in today’s business world.
2. For DEI news and education: LeanIn
LeinIn’s blog is a platform for empowering women to achieve their goals and support gender equality. Their dedicated content hub features articles, videos, and resources on a variety of topics related to women’s career advancement, leadership, and work-life integration.
Designed to inspire, educate, and provide practical advice, LeanIn’s content hub focuses primarily on actionable insights and real-life examples regarding navigating the workplace, overcoming obstacles, and achieving full potential.
3. For organization and project management: Trello
Trello’s content hub is a go-to resource for people who want to improve their organizational skills and boost productivity. Their blog provides expert advice on how to use their platform to organize tasks, keep track of projects, and manage workflows effectively. It includes how-to guides, case studies, best practices, and features expert tips on time management, goal setting, and productivity.
With content for everyone, Trello’s content hub is a great place to learn how to improve your organizational skills and work smarter, not harder.
4. For content marketing and branding: The Quirky Pineapple Studio
Over at The Quirky Pineapple Studio HQ, we’ve worked hard to make sure our content hub covers everything that business owners need when it comes to brand messaging, content marketing strategy and branding. The blog covers a wide range of topics related to content creation, social media marketing, branding, and storytelling – providing readers with actionable tips, insights, and inspiration to help them create engaging, impactful, and memorable content.
Featuring real-life examples, case studies, and in-depth how-to guides, TQP Studio’s blog offers valuable insights and practical advice to help you stand out from the competition and achieve your branding and content marketing goals.
Want to DIY your content seamlessly, effortlessly, and sustainably? Our Converting Content Bundle has all the resources, tools, and actionable steps you need to design a powerful content marketing strategy that gets you and your business seen!
How to create a powerful content hub
You’ve read about the benefits of creating a content hub – now it’s time to set these ideas into motion!
Here’s what you need, to create a content hub your audience will love:
1. Decide on topics for your content hub
Kick things off by writing down a list of broad topics that can make up your content hub. Ideally, you want to choose topics that are large enough to host their own set of subtopics within them – so don’t try to go ultra-specific in the beginning!
2. Find subtopics
Once you’ve nailed your initial list of topics, start going through it one by one and write down relevant subtopics that apply to that specific one. As you do this, try and make sure to pair each subtopic with a relevant long-tail SEO keyword that will help you rank higher on search engines.
3. Choose a platform & display your content
This is where the fun begins! Finding a platform to display your content in a way that’s attractive, engaging, and easy to navigate is the best way to make sure people will want to read and view your content – so don’t rush this process.
Once you’ve settled on a platform, it’s time to start choosing the types of content you want to share. Here are a few ideas you can start with:
- Blog posts
- Educational videos
- Infographics
- Case studies
- Podcast episodes
- Free downloads
- FAQs
From there, make sure that you’re always linking your content internally, and that there are clear CTAs to take people where you want them to go: an email sign-up, a course page, etc.
4. Share your content hub
Once the hub is ready, it’s time to start sharing it! As you promote the content hub, make sure that you’re still being strategic and that the hub’s content aligns with your marketing strategy.
In other words, there’s no need to simply throw it out there and hope it sticks. Be conscious of where you’re sharing or promoting your content hub, and make sure that it’s filled with relevant information that a specific audience will want to see.
TL; DR: Here’s how your business can benefit from a content hub
When it comes to adding value to your audience’s day – a content hub can be a powerful tool that helps you help them in all of the best ways.
Easy to navigate and filled with information, creating a dedicated content hub can help your business by:
- Increasing web traffic and visibility online
- Establishing you as a thought leader or expert
- Improving the overall client and brand experience
And that’s just the beginning!
A great way to stay relevant without having to do too much – unlike what happens with other marketing tools like social media – is through a content hub that can continue to help you gain popularity without the fear of burning out in the process.
When it comes to keeping a content hub up and running, it’s not about doing it all… it’s about doing just the right amount with what you have. And that can make all the difference!
