Zoe Lambourne
Freelance Writer
Zoe Lambourne
Freelance Writer
Tips for Effective Content Creation for Homeware Retailers
How do you navigate an ever-increasing competitive digital marketplace? There's an expectation that 2024 will see an increase in content marketing investment.
The homeware market is no exception to facing stiff competition from other online stores. Content marketing can make all the difference for homeware retailers in attracting and retaining customers.
Whether you're a homeware brand just starting out or looking to revamp your approach, follow these tips for effective content creation.
Research and Planning
Know your audience. Build a profile of your customers. Who currently buys your products? What are their preferences? What information might they find useful? Who else do you want to target?
Research other homeware stores. Review the type of content produced. How could you put your unique spin on it? Could you offer valuable insights your competitors aren't talking about?
Use what you've learned to make a content plan. Devising a content marketing strategy helps you to be consistent and keep your objectives on track.
Content Distribution Channels
There are three distribution channel categories:
- Owned Media: Your company blog, social media pages and newsletter.
- Earned Media: Your content, shared by others on social media or backlinks from other websites.
- Paid Media: Where you pay to promote your content, such as paid ads on social media, Google Ads or sponsored content.
Using a combination of these channels in your brand promotion creates an expansive range to reach your audience.
Let's look at some of the options in more detail.
Social Media
Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook lend themselves well to furnishings and home decor, so creating sharable content should be part of your marketing strategy. These platforms provide an opportunity for visual storytelling. Let these images be your showroom.
Social media is where Gen Z and Millenials primarily go for product discovery, according to Hubspot's 2024 State of Marketing report. If you're targeting home buyers or those flying the family nest, social media channels can help.
Focus your content efforts on a couple of platforms so you can post consistently without it getting too overwhelming.
Video Content
Hubspot reported that 30% of marketers not using short-form video aim to start in 2024. Use video content creation to share tips and inspiring home styling ideas.
Engaging Blog Content
Social media posts are valuable but ephemeral as feeds move on quickly. Informative evergreen blog content offers value long after the article upload date.
Educating customers through instructive articles can help you answer questions they may have. Your blog should demonstrate experience, expertise and credibility in home interior styling.
Ensuring your blog is search engine optimised (SEO) can help attract more traffic to your website. SEO techniques include understanding the user's intent behind their search and inserting keywords relating to their enquiry. These strategies can be effective but shouldn't be at the cost of the content quality.
Sponsored Content
Sponsored or branded content is created to promote your business and shared by another website, brand or influencer.
Sponsored content should blend naturally with the platform it’s on, so look for partnerships where their content aligns with your brand and target audience. Sponsored content includes blog posts, social media, infographics, videos and podcasts.
Share Your Story
Telling your story humanises your brand. You're not just a faceless digital presence devoid of personality and emotion.
Who are the people behind the logo? Provide some history of the company's journey from its beginnings to where it is now. Share your values and how this shapes the way you operate.
Offer a glimpse behind the scenes. Include snapshots of your team, or create feature pieces about individuals.
Include content with company updates, trade fairs you've attended, or magazines your products have appeared in.
Channel Glossy Magazines
Glossy home interior magazines present an aspirational lifestyle. Curate Instagrammable pictures of new product lines. Incorporate a sense of aspiration, but make it seem achievable for your target audience.
Deep Dives
Create content showcasing new product lines. Share features to catch the eye of your customers.
For example, if you're launching a product range made from sustainable materials, give your audience some background. What makes it sustainable? What is the brand's sustainability ethos? Offer suggestions on how buyers might style it in their homes. Empower the reader to see how their sustainable choices can make an impact without sacrificing style.
Reaffirm your position as a trustworthy source of knowledge in interior design. Create content to highlight different design styles available in your range. Whether Scandi-chic, modern industrial, bohemian or cottagecore, offer suggestions on how your readers can incorporate pieces from your range to achieve the look.
Bring In the Experts
Amplify your credibility by inviting leading designers and home stylists to offer advice or discuss the latest trends.
Before and After Makeovers
The ever-popular TV home makeover shows highlight our continued love of a transformation story. Inspire your audience to revamp a living space or bedroom from worn to wow. Include before and after images. Explain the process, highlighting particular products used from your range.
Educate and Inspire
Hacks and how-to guides are a win for your audience and your business. You create an opportunity to show off your know-how or provide insight to help the reader solve a problem. Your audience learns something valuable.
The key to getting this right is not just to write about the first thing that comes into your head. Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and think about what questions they might have. What advice would be most beneficial? Do you have the secret sauce for an issue nobody's talking about? Video content can also partner well with hacks and how-to guides.
Everyone's budget-conscious these days. Spending out on pricey home renovations may not be a priority. But small touches can freshen up the appearance of a room. Offer tips to inspire your audience to opt for simple styling upgrades that won't break the bank. It could be adding a couple of lamps to transform the mood of a room. It could be new linen to give a bedroom that boutique hotel feel.
Tap into Trends
The way we live and work is evolving. More of us are carving out homeworking spaces. We’re more conscious about climate change. Our homes were our sanctuaries during the pandemic. The need for spaces to nurture our wellbeing is still a driving factor. Content that taps into these trends helps your brand stay relevant.
Seasonal Content
Crafting seasonal content calendars extends far beyond Christmas. The most recognised holidays and events should be part of your marketing plan. Tips on upscaling your outside space for BBQ season or showcasing a cosy home perfect for autumn are easy to slot into your calendar.
But what about the rest of the year? When you start to look, there are so many events to fire your imagination. The Chelsea Flower Show takes place in May each year. You could feature floral design products in your range. You could write an article with advice on using floral patterns in home decor.
If you search online, there seems to be a national day or week for some of the most random things. Did you know there's a National Ice Cream Day in July? Why not feature products with some scrumptious ice cream colours?
Special Offers and Discounts
We all like the feeling of getting a good deal. Encourage customer loyalty with a discount on their next purchase. Share promotional codes. Offer customers a discount for signing up to your mailing list.
Stay competitive by sharing promotions for seasonal discount events like Black Friday and post-Christmas sales.
Competitions and giveaways can also draw in customers.
Encourage Customer Interaction
Leverage user-generated content. It can help grow customer engagement and instil a sense of community.
Product reviews and testimonials from happy customers will help build credibility.
Encourage your customers to share pictures on your website or socials, showing their purchases in their homes. It helps others to see how these products could look in their home. The assorted customer images can show how versatile an item can be.
Interactive quizzes and polls can also boost customer engagement. It can also provide valuable information on their likes and dislikes or what they’d like to see more of. Use these insights to tailor your content and the type of products you offer.
Final Thoughts
Consistency and authenticity are central to effective content creation. Stay true to your brand's ethos and prioritise providing value to your audience.
Inspiring, informative, sharable and expert content will help establish you as a trusted homeware retailer.
Creating content such as blog posts can feel like a drain on your time. If you prefer to focus on other aspects of your business, why not outsource blog writing to me?
I'm a freelance writer specialising in blog writing. I love researching and crafting blog content that will keep your audience reading.
Please get in touch!
