Content is king—we’ve all heard this stated before. And it’s true. But in today’s world, it might be more accurate to say, “context is king.”
Context is about providing information that is relevant and meaningful to site visitors. It’s not enough to just have words on a page. There’s so much content available to people online it can be overwhelming. But in order for the content to create a contextual connection, it needs to provide value by answering a question or informing a reader about something he or she didn’t already know.
Content typically takes the form of articles, blog posts or white papers. But it can also be an FAQ section or other resource heading. It’s important to understand the difference between content and copy. Copy guides us around on a site—like the section headers and page headlines. It’s necessary, but fluffly and meaningless. Content, on the other hand, is the soul of your website. It tells people about your organization, your people, your stories and how you’re making a difference in the world.
One organization that does a fantastic job providing relevant content is the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. They exist to help other nonprofits manage their risk online. They have a very diverse audience and do a great job of delivering content for the wide variety of users they serve.
Read through the content on your site and think about it from a user’s perspective—does it connect with the people you want to reach? Does it offer them something of value? These days, content is not king enough—context takes the crown, and if your content isn’t relevant, you need to reevaluate what you’re posting.