Like creating content for your website? Great, us too! It's the back bone of everything we do. It helps tell a narrative, nurtures prospects, helps leads become customers. But where, how and one what should your content sit?
Most people are familiar with Wordpress, after all, it runs nearly 28% of the entire internet (you know, that thing Google keeps in a big black box). It's the worlds most used Content Management System (CMS) and all things considered, a great first port of call.
On more than one occasion, we've been asked by clients why they should consider using tools other than the "free" (there are some costs to consider) Wordpress. Most commonly, we get asked why our website isn't one that makes up the numbers.
So, in answer to those questions, here’s why we think the HubSpot content optimisation system (HubSpot COS for short) is the best choice for not only hosting your website, but for designing, automating and testing too.
Get down to business with HubSpot COS
If you’re running a business, you’re not creating content for fun. (Well, actually, you might be. It depends on who you are and what you do.) Your content has to entertain and inform, but more importantly it needs to convert interest into revenue, too.
That’s why it’s worth investing in HubSpot COS if your business regularly creates content. Allow us to introduce you to the HubSpot content optimisation system, part of HubSpot’s marketing software and one of our favourite toys.
HubSpot COS is designed to not only host your content, but to actively make it work as part of your overall inbound marketing efforts. Done right, it can help to collect visitor data in ethical ways, nurture leads and convert interest.
What’s wrong with WordPress?
So, what’s best for business growth? The HubSpot content optimisation system or WordPress?
WordPress should be enough, surely? Content is king, isn’t it? If I create something that people truly love and want to share, then I’ll be doing the right thing, won’t I?
Yes, these are all valid points. For serious growth, though, it isn’t that simple. If you’ve ever tried producing content on a regular basis, you’ll know how hard it can be to stay fresh and consistent, especially if you’re a business owner or a senior manager who’s tight on time.
We use HubSpot COS on a daily basis, but we’re not biased. We use WordPress on a regular basis, too. Both are incredible platforms for certain situations. We do lean more towards HubSpot COS, though, especially when it comes to growth marketing.
Here’s why:
1: WordPress isn’t as ‘free and easy’ as it may seem
One of WordPress’s greatest benefits is that anybody can sign up for free and begin their own blog, thanks to its ‘What You See Is What You Get’ editor.
However, if you want to make a viable business out of WordPress, you’re going to need some technical knowledge and a budget.
This is where WordPress can become a bit bloated. You’ll have to choose your hosting (which can have a direct effect on your SEO), buy a domain name, integrate them all, purchase a theme or use your design knowledge to build one from scratch.
You can also optimise your WordPress by adding various different plugins, but these can conflict with each other and, again, often come at a cost.
HubSpot COS, in contrast, has been designed with top-level marketing techniques in mind. There’s no need to add anything; the software includes marketing automation that would potentially take months of custom coding and constant management to create in WordPress. This gives marketers incredible access to a deep level of data, which can make all the difference to an inbound campaign.
2: HubSpot COS has a huge amount of natural features
As a content management system, WordPress does the basics incredibly well. It’s still the standard-bearer for a large part of the internet. The BBC, eBay, MTV and Sweden’s official website are all built on the WordPress platform.
Those sites will need constant maintenance though, with the slightest changes sometimes having a big knock-on effect on other parts of the site. The more you want your WordPress to do, and the better you want it to perform, the more technical you’ll typically have to get.
Happily, that’s not a problem when using HubSpot COS. As a content management system, it allows users to manipulate site details in real-time. When it comes to content marketing, too, the HubSpot content optimisation system offers features out the box suitable for people with little technical knowledge. For instance, smart content systems can change the content displayed to web visitors according to the buyer persona being targeted at the time. Complex idea, simple solution!
The HubSpot COS also includes a social media suite to pair social activity with scheduled content, marketing analytics, content creation tools, email marketing solutions and more, to offer a fully-automated all-in-one marketing machine.
3: HubSpot COS is a secure marketing automation platform
Marketing automation can be achieved through certain plugins through WordPress, or through a third-party service like MailChimp. That can cause its own problems though; again, you’re adding more things onto your site and creating something of a Frankenstein’s monster in order to achieve your growth goals.
Adding lots of WordPress plugins can also pose a security risk to your business. If you perform the majority of your business activities through your site, then adding the wrong plugin could present a serious security risk; not just for you but for the people who visit your site, too.
See where we’re going with this? The HubSpot content optimisation system comes with its own full-time security team to eliminate security threats and keep your data protected; crucially important with GDPR rules set to come into force in May 2018.
Best of all, it offers what we consider the absolute best marketing automation service around, helping businesses to streamline internal processes, better inform sales and marketing departments and complement creative inbound marketing activity. Using HubSpot COS, you can target the absolute best leads for business growth and keep their data secure.
Weary of WordPress and want to explore the benefits of HubSpot COS as part of your wider inbound marketing and growth campaigns? Contact Six & Flow today to find out more.
