Content marketing is an option for small businesses to increase their reach and brand recognition.
Content marketing is the creation and distribution of online materials that increase traffic to your site. Blogs, infographics and whitepapers can all be content types that aim to create interest in your products.
This post will explain why every business owner should have a content marketing plan and how to make one.
Why should your small business do content marketing?
Your business can be a thought leader within your industry by providing timely and useful content. This will increase your company's visibility and build consumer trust, respect and loyalty.
Content marketing allows you to identify the pain points of your customers and then present solutions. This can directly lead to sales.
Content marketing also has the added benefit of creating evergreen content. This is a term that refers to assets that don't become obsolete, such as blog posts about your industry's history or an infographic that explains how to complete a process that never changes.
Content marketing can also be made easier by creating assets that can be used in multiple marketing campaigns and channels. You can, for example, create a YouTube video about the community and link to it in your blog post. You can then link to the post or video via your social media channels. This will save you time and money while solidifying your expertise.
7 steps to success in content marketing for small businesses
This post will discuss the seven steps that every small business owner must take to create a content marketing strategy that works.
1. 1.Start a blog
Blogs are a great way to promote your services and expertise, as well as establish yourself as an expert in the industry.
You can actually drive 30% more traffic to your site if you have 21-54 blogs.
Blogs can be used to drive traffic.
- Boost your search engine optimization (SEO), rankings
- Your customers will appreciate you for delivering more value
- Increase exposure
- Increase conversion rates by generating leads
Start a Blog
Here are four resources that will help you build your blog and give voice to your company.
- The Best Blog Platform
- Three Easy Steps to Create a WordPress Blog
- Here are 5 steps to get your small business blog started today
- Neil Patel's Guide to Blogging Consistently
You are most likely to have a social media presence if you are actively involved in selling products or services.
It's not enough to be present. It is important to engage on the platforms your audience uses.
How can you decide which social media channels to use for your brand from the many available?
Before you post anywhere, identify your target audience. Social media is not for everyone. You are speaking to a set of specific consumers with particular interests. Once you have identified who you are speaking to, it is time to determine how you can reach them.
There are many strategies that you can use to find out where your audience is most active.
- To see where your audience spends their time online, you can combine all of the consumer data.
- Check out your competitors' social media profiles to find the most active users
- Google Analytics is a tool that allows you to analyze online consumer behavior.
These three steps will help you identify the platforms where your target audience is most active so that you can start delivering content on them.
Resources to help you build a Facebook presence for your small business
- In 7 Easy Steps, How to Create A Facebook Business Page
- How to create the most effective Facebook business page
- Set up your business on Facebook
- Facebook 101 for Small Businesses: How To Promote Your Business On Facebook
Small businesses can get started in email marketing by creating their own newsletters. You can notify your subscribers about new products and industry news.
Email marketing has a high ROI (return on investment) and an average ROI of $42. Small businesses can use email marketing as a powerful tool. Email newsletters are a great tool for small businesses.
- Build goodwill with your audience
- Promote sales, deals, coupons
- Increase customer value
- Small Business Email Marketing Strategy and Tips
- How to create high-converting email newsletters
- Ten Effective Ways To Get More Email Subscribers
- Small businesses can use newsletters to market smartly
4. 4. Create content that corresponds to a basic customer sales funnel
It is crucial to find the right consent for your consumer to make a purchase.
You can create a customer sales funnel with a content strategy and identify the stage your customer is currently at. Then, deliver content that speaks to that stage.
The marketing funnel is the process that people use to get to the conversion stage. From getting introduced to your brand, all the way to conversion. The four main steps of most marketing funnels are:
- AttentionA potential consumer may see your ad or social media post and learn about you via word-of mouth.
- InterestConsumers want to know more
- Desire:Consumers want to convert
- Take actionConsumer acts include buying your item or subscribing for your email newsletter.
This four-step process can be aligned with content creation. Make sure that you target customers at all stages of the funnel with relevant information. You wouldn't want to overwhelm a potential customer in the attention stage with a detailed content asset.
Resources for creating a basic sales funnel/content journey
- How to use Content Mapping to create effective content
- How to create a customer journey map (Even if you don't know who your customers really are)
- How to create content for every stage of the buyer's journey
- How to create content for each stage of the buyer's journey
5. Create a Content Calendar
It is important to create buyer personas and deliver the content that they require during each buyer's journey stage. However, it is equally important to continue delivering relevant content in a timely manner.
Instead of trying to create content in an unorganized manner, create monthly calendars that include blog posts, social posts, emails, or any other content that you wish to create for the month.
This strategy not only keeps you organized but also makes it easy for your readers to become familiar with your brand and build trust with it.
Resource for building a Content Calendar
- How to create a marketing calendar that streamlines your campaigns
- How to Create a Content Calendar (plus a free template)
- What is a Content Calendar? How do you build one?
- The Complete Guide to Choosing Content Calendars
6. You can create a variety of content types
It's crucial to be unique in a highly competitive market. Your content marketing strategy is one way small businesses can do this.
Take a look at both your content and the content of your competitors. Find out what resonates with audiences and what doesn't. After you have established efficacy, you can now try to duplicate that success with your next content.
It's then time to be creative. Don't limit yourself to what is already out there. Turn your blog post into an infographic. Make your infographic a whitepaper. Make your whitepaper into a series quote-centric social tiles.
There are endless content creation options.
Resource for Building a Diverse Content Library
- How to use multiple content formats to diversify your traffic
- 40 Different Types Of Content You Can Create For Your Blog
- 7 Content Types that Gain the Most Engagement and Linking
- Diverse Content Marketing Strategies
7. Mine Customer Testimonials and Reviews
Local consumers use online media to find local services. Your reviews can be a driving force for your small business.
You can make those reviews as productive as your own by sharing testimonials and social posts on your blog and website.
You can make the review more personal by sourcing the best quotes, and giving a name to it. This creates a consumer-generated advertisement that speaks for itself.
Resource for Building Customer Testimonials that Work
- 14 Examples of Testimonial Pages You Will Want to Copy
- Templates for Customer Reviews
- Canva allows you to create attention-grabbing LinkedIn testimonial graphics in seconds (free).
How to create a small business marketing strategy
- You can fine-tune the buyer personas
You can create buyer personas to gain a better understanding about your audience and their pain points. You can determine who is buying your products and what content they require.
- Find valuable content for consumers
Content is not what consumers want. They are looking for content that solves their problems. Once you have identified buyer personas and worked out the best content assets to meet their unique needs, it is time to determine what content assets are most useful.
- Set your business goals
It can be overwhelming to set business goals that are in line with your marketing strategy. To make your benchmarks achievable and reasonable, use the principle of SMART objectives.
- Distribution channels should be solidified
Now you have your content and your goals. Now it's time to share your content. It would be great if all content could perform well on every channel. Unfortunately, this is not the case. To ensure success and reach, you must determine which pieces of content are suitable for each channel.
- Establish cadence
It is not enough to just deliver one piece of content. It is important to establish a routine that delivers high-quality content to your customers.
Many Questions about Content Marketing for Small Businesses
Why is content marketing important for small businesses?
Even though your business is small, there's likely to be a lot of competition. A content marketing strategy is essential to make your business stand out from the rest and increase your audience. It will allow you to show future and current customers your value.
What are some examples of content marketing?
Blog posts, infographics and social media campaigns are all examples of content marketing. Content marketing is any media that is accessible for free and leads to your site.
What is the best content strategy for small businesses?
A strong content marketing strategy for small businesses requires clearly delineating buyer personas. These personas will ensure that your content has a clear purpose and direction, which will result in little interaction with the audience.
How can small businesses create content to support their content marketing strategy
Content marketing for small businesses is about solving the buyer's problem. Once you have identified buyer personas, your content creation should be centered around their pain points as well as the point at which the buyer is in the funnel.
Small Business Content Marketing
Although your small business' content marketing budget may seem modest, that doesn't mean you won't be able to implement most of the eight strategies.
Once you have defined your buyer personas, your content marketing strategy will be successful. This will allow you to grow your audience and increase your overall sales.
What is the most successful strategy for small-business content marketing? __S.173__
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By: Neil Patel
Title: 7 Tips for Successful Small Business Content Marketing
Sourced From: neilpatel.com/blog/small-business-content-marketing/
Published Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2021 18:00:00 +0000