As a small business owner, you're likely no stranger to the convenience of creating and sharing content in PDF format. Using modern office software you can easily put some text and graphics into a single file and export as a PDF to make a basic flyer. You might then email that to customers or add it to your website as a download. But this alone doesn't make the best use of your content. In this article we look at ways to help you improve on PDF marketing materials, so you can make the most of your content.
Why PDF marketing materials aren't the best for online use
PDFs are ideal for printing out documents, such as manuals, instructions, or brochures, where the layout and formatting need to be preserved. This is what PDFs were originally intended for.
User experience
But while PDFs might be perfect for printing out as you intended them to appear, and have made many improvements for online and mobile over the years, they aren't always the best to work with online.
One reason for this is that they can create accessibility and usability barriers for people. The small screens and varied sizes of mobile devices can make PDFs appear too small to read without zooming. They can also be difficult to navigate with pinch-zooming and scrolling. This can be frustrating when trying to access your content on-the-go, leading to a poor user experience.
'Frustrated' is not how you want your customers to feel about your marketing materials.
Missing out on SEO
In addition, by only publishing content as PDF, you could be missing out on valuable SEO and content opportunities. Your website traffic and search engine ranking position could benefit from you publishing your content in a different way.
Make more out of your PDF marketing materials
A better alternative to sharing PDF files is posting the information they contain on your website. However, as with many small or medium sized business owners, getting this done might pose a challenge.
Maybe you don't have the expertise in-house. Maybe the pressures of small business management just means other things keep taking precedence. Maybe you never get round to planning new content to keep your site fresh. Sound familiar?
That's where your PDF content can help you out. You're missing a trick if you don't publish your PDF information as landing pages, blog posts, or news on your website, for several reasons:
- This approach solves the 'what to post' question. Whatever you would have put in your PDF, put that on a landing page on your website. If you have a folder of your own PDFs, you can repurpose their content into web pages. This can be a great way to improve the content of your site.
- Unlike PDFs, landing pages are designed with ease of screen navigation in mind. They are also built for mobile friendly responsiveness and accessibility.
- By creating separate web pages, you can also optimize each page for specific keywords and phrases. This can improve your search engine rankings and drive more targeted traffic to your site.
- The versatility of web pages means you can think outside the box. You can create interactive and engaging content like quizzes and surveys. You can publish videos, related to the content. These can be fun and engaging ways to present your message and encourage user interaction.
- Once online, you can simply send a link to the new page on your website with a call to action. This is often better than emailing PDF attachments. While your customers are there, the likelihood is they'll be enticed to look around your website. This creates opportunities for new sales for your other products and services.
- Web pages are easily shared-on via social media, messaging apps or email links. This makes it easy for users to spontaneously promote your site for you.
Taking the opportunity to improve on the PDF marketing materials you have, by publishing the content as landing pages, blog posts, or news on your website, offers many advantages. Here at DigitalArena this type of regular website maintenance is right up our street. If you're looking for support making the most of your PDF materials on your website, contact us today for an affordable professional service.
TLDR
While making PDFs for communicating with customers might have been a convenient solution in the past, by themselves they're no longer the best choice for online marketing materials. However, your past PDFs contain a treasure trove of valuable information for your customers. By publishing the information they contain on your website, you can create content that's accessible, mobile-friendly, shareable, and which can improve your website SEO.
DIY, DWY or DFY?
At DigitalArena we want you to succeed online, and this can be achieved in several ways.
- DIY: You can Do It Yourself, as many small businesses and startups try to do at the beginning while they get going.
- DWY: We can Do it With You, by providing support, instructions, templates, in areas your business needs help with, while you carry out the majority of the activity yourself.
- DFY: Or, we can Do it For You as a full service, offering as many or as few of our areas of expertise as you like on retainer or project by project.
To find out more, please call us on 01530 452276 or email support@digitalarena.co.uk.
