CORNERSTONE CONTENT
The Allyson Group
Cornerstone content, sometimes called “evergreen content,” is content that best represents what you do — insofar as it informs customers (and other stakeholders, like potential donors, funders, depending on the industry). In the nonprofit and social enterprise sectors, the content may also be targeted to attract and motivate a certain kind of talent.
For the business owner or nonprofit executive in charge of a website, cornerstone content is usually the content that most precisely describes the work you do. It should be of immediate use to the person seeking your services. It should guide the right people to you, and help establish you as their trusted source.
How Cornerstone Content Functions
Cornerstone content:
- helps users understand how the product or service solves their problem
- explains how to use the product
- establishes authority, with both users and search engines (which then send other users to your site)
- anchors the site with information that won’t need to be updated often
It tends to be very much “explaining” content and is usually long enough to explain the topic in detail.
The Format for Cornerstone Content
Length Matters
Cornerstone content is usually long-form, 1200 words or more. Most subjects take more than a few words to explain, and cornerstone content is, by definition, comprehensive.
Images Matter
The internet is a visual medium. And some percentage of your customer base are visual learners, which means they get more information from pictures than from reading. The images that go with cornerstone content should tell the story with as much clarity as the words. Video has greatly expanded the reach of brands, adding a new dimension to storytelling for marketers and brand communicators.
SEO Matters
You have a website for the following basic reasons: to establish your expertise and to help people access the product or service you offer. Optimizing your site – and all its content – to be easily found by search engines is a service to your customer. Optimization requires structure, taxonomy, and formatting. These are all systems of organization that make it easier for a user to navigate a site and quickly find the information they need. Whether you are going full out with content marketing, or just want a clean and tidy site that provides a good user experience, optimization matters
Types of Cornerstone Content
Suitable topics for cornerstone content are ones that won’t soon change. Consider the fundamentals of your business. What needs explaining? Often cornerstone articles focus on:
- helping and explaining your subject area and its parts
- backgrounding your subject area
- the “about us” section and your organizational history
- product information that won’t change
- how-to information – print and video
This is not a comprehensive list, but sufficient to make the point.
Need Help? Give Us a Call!
At The Allyson Group, long-form content is a specialty. With our Content Planning process, we can help you identify your cornerstone topics and make a plan to write them. When we do the writing, we deliver content fully optimized for the web, with images, meta tags, and an abstract for each of your social channels.
