If you’re currently exploring your Custom Web Development needs, you’re probably wondering how to set your site apart from all the rest and solidify your brand identity. When it comes to your website design, it’s typically within your best interests to promote your brand. But the same cannot be said for all of the content you publish on your website. It can be tough to position yourself as a leader in your industry without going overboard, but it’s important that you learn to recognize when you’ve crossed over the line into overly self-promotional.

What’s wrong with being promotional?
This can be a difficult concept for many businesses to grasp. After all, when you discuss your custom Web Development needs with your web design company, you’ll probably discuss how the design can support your branding and your business goals. But because your website also plays an important role in your marketing strategy, you’ll need to understand that being overly self-promotional — i.e., selling yourself a little too hard — in your blog posts or even in website copy can backfire.

Data backs this idea up, too. Around 43% of web buyers say that “blatantly self-promotional” content is a major turn-off. However, 87% of buyers say that content has either a moderate or major impact on their vendor preference. That means that providing relevant, interesting content is a must, but that content should not be disingenuous or overly self-promotional in any way. These days, it’s not enough to simply say you’re the best in the biz; you need to actually illustrate why by providing valuable information that web users need to know.

Here’s the thing. It’s not a bad thing to update your blog with an important award your company has won or list your credentials somewhere on your website. Those things give people a reason to trust you. But what you shouldn’t include in your website solutions or blog posts are messages that are too promotional to be genuine. In a survey conducted by Sprout Social, 46% of consumers said that “too many promotional messages” would cause them to unfollow a brand on social media. Approximately 41% of those consumers surveyed said irrelevant information would make them unfollow a brand on social media channels. Oftentimes, these two features will go hand-in-hand, but that’s not always the case. As Sprout Social was quoted as saying, there’s “a fine line between being informational and annoying.”

How do I know if my content is coming off as too self-promotional?
Something important to keep in mind: content marketing is not the same as advertising. Yes, content marketing is an important part of promoting your business and increasing traffic and sales. It’s also a key component that will usually come after your Custom Web development needs are fulfilled. But today’s consumers do not want to see blatant advertisements. Instead, they want to learn new, interesting information that your business can provide. If you’re able to educate (or even entertain) these web users, you may be able to improve your brand recognition and even your sales in return.

If you’re trying to fit in your company’s name as much as you can, take a step back and realize that this might not be the best way to go. A lot of companies want personal testimonials or company-centric information in every post. While an occasional company spotlight or press release is fine, this should not make up the bulk of your content. Instead of talking so much about the business itself or your products and/or services, focus instead on information that will benefit your readers. What will they find interesting? What can help them in their everyday lives? Once you’ve answered these questions, relay this information — which should be relevant to your industry and who your audience is — in a way that makes sense with your brand yet doesn’t hit web users over the head with a promotional tone.

When you take this approach to your content, you’ll be supporting all the hard work that your design company put in to meet your custom web development needs. In the end, you’ll be serving your business and customers much better.

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