Content marketing is one of the biggest parts of digital marketing in today’s world. Small businesses, large corporations, and everyone in between can benefit from content marketing. So what is so special about content marketing for small businesses?
Why is it important and does your business need to be doing it? We will cover what content marketing is, why it is vital to small business success, share how to create a content marketing strategy for small businesses, and include tips along the way.
If you’re intrigued and want to learn more about this method of marketing your business, then read on.
What Is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is inbound marketing that focuses on creating high-value, informational assets that position your company as an expert in the industry. Content marketing can come in many forms such as blog content, video content, eBooks, social media posts, podcasts, etc., and attracts customers who might be interested in a business’s products or services
Content marketing offers a way to generate leads for your business without needing to spend tons of money on paid ads. It has grown tremendously over the years and now is used by 90% of organizations according to Demand Metric. In fact, per dollar spent, content marketing generates about 3 times the number of leads as traditional marketing. Now, how’s that for value?
Do Small Businesses Need Content Marketing?
Yes! Content marketing for small businesses is extremely effective. Using content marketing as a part of your grand marketing strategy can help you save money on paid ads. Content marketing delivers a high ROI for business owners and can easily be outsourced if your team doesn’t have the resources. This long-term strategy can help you build trust with customers, develop a recognizable brand, and become a thought leader in your industry.
Benefits of Content Marketing for Small Businesses
There are many great benefits of investing in a content marketing strategy for your business. Here are just a few of them:
- Increase organic traffic. Through SEO content, you can significantly increase organic traffic over time. By doing keyword research and crafting SEO content, you can improve your digital visibility in search results.
- Less ad spend. With increased organic traffic through content marketing and SEO for small businesses, you won’t need to spend as much on paid ads. Eventually, some companies are able to transition to only organic marketing.
- Build a recognizable brand. Get your name out there by sharing valuable content and building brand awareness online. The more high-quality content you produce for potential customers, the more recognizable your brand will become.
- Show your expertise. Content marketing for small businesses allows business owners to share their expertise and become thought leaders. By positioning yourself as an expert in your industry, customers will more easily trust in your brand.
- Up conversions and sales. Through creating strong content, small businesses can increase their conversions and sales. Content marketing can generate leads that turn into sales.
- Connect with customers. Small businesses can also connect with customers through their content marketing by providing value to them. Listen to your customers’ pain points and create content that helps relieve their problems.
- Boost your social media presence. Creating easily shareable content can increase your social media presence significantly. If your brand’s content is being reshared by customers and their friends, your brand awareness will grow..
- Beat out competitors. Adding more value to industry content than your competitors will help you gain customers. Research what your competitors are doing when it comes to content marketing, then do it better.
Now you know the benefits of content marketing and it’s time to talk strategy. Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to creating a content marketing strategy.
How To Create a Content Marketing Strategy for Your Small Business
Let’s dive into the steps you need to take to develop a strong content marketing strategy for your small business. Follow these steps to ensure you create a high-quality strategy that will drive results.
Define Your Target Audience
The first step in creating a content marketing strategy for small businesses is to define your target audience. Start by doing competitor research to discover who your competitors are targeting and decide if that is the same audience you need to target.
Next, create a buyer persona to help you speak to the right audience. A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer. This includes data points and demographics such as age range, location, social status, career, challenges, and more. This person is who you think would value your product and want to buy it.
Choose the Content Types To Create
Will you publish blog posts? Video tutorials? Infographics? Deciding what types of content to create is the fun part of planning your content marketing strategy. Now is the time for you to step into the shoes of your potential customers and think about what they are searching for online. Doing keyword research, looking at what competitors are doing, and considering market data all will help inform your content marketing strategy.
As a small business, you will probably want to stick to 2-3 types of content. Some common content types for small businesses include:
- Blog content
- Video content (YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram Reels)
- Landing pages
- eBooks
- Infographics
- Podcasts
- Ultimate guides
- Case studies
Identify Your Messaging Strategy and Brand Voice
Next, you will need to identify your messaging strategy and perfect your brand voice. Your messaging strategy is based on how you will position your brand and what the goals of your content are. Include what sets you apart from competitors and establish how you want customers to view your brand.
Creating a brand voice that resonates with your target audience is important for any successful content marketing strategy. A consistent voice and tone will help create cohesion in the content your brand produces and build trust with customers.
Set SMART Goals
You’ve probably heard of the term SMART goals before, right? SMART stands for goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timebound. This is a method of setting goals that small businesses can realistically achieve and measure their success. A few examples of SMART goals for a content marketing strategy are:
- Increase traffic by 40% in the next year
- Grow monthly impressions by 10% this quarter
- Post 2 blogs articles per month for the next 6 months
These goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound. Setting out goals for your content marketing efforts is a must for business owners.
Execute Your Strategy
Finally, you will actually begin executing your strategy by creating valuable content for your potential customers to draw them in and interest them. An essential part of content marketing for small businesses is speaking both to readers and search engines. Using SEO best practices, you can publish content that simultaneously provides value to your readers and ranks high on search engines.
Measure Results
Lastly, you will measure your results and see what progress you have made. As with SEO, content marketing can take a little bit to see results. But don’t lose sight of your goals. Measure your results using a few Key Performance Indicators or metrics such as the number of conversions, impressions, or click-through rates.
With these steps in mind, you can come up with a stellar strategy for your business. Want to know more? Next, we will share a few content marketing tips for small businesses.
Content Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
Here are several tips to help you implement your marketing strategy and grow your business.
Outsource To a Content Marketing Agency for Small Businesses
If you’re thinking to yourself, “This seems like a lot of work that I don’t have the time or resources for,” don’t worry! There are content marketing agencies out there to help small businesses like yours develop and execute a content marketing plan.
Focus on Only a Few Different Types of Content
At least to start, you should select only a few different types of content for your business to put out. This will keep your strategy focused and ensure you are creating the very best content you can. Instead of dipping into seven different forms of content, consider sticking to two to three types. This way, you can really hone your craft to find what works well for your business.
Don’t Forget To Promote Your Content
Just producing high-quality content isn’t enough. You can’t forget about promoting everything you create. Whether you send out email newsletters to subscribers, post frequently on social media, or run ads is up to you. Putting out content on a consistent schedule will help interested users to know when to expect new content.
It’s clear that small businesses everywhere need content marketing. We hope you gained valuable insight into why it matters and how to incorporate it into your marketing strategy.
Work With a Content Marketing Agency for SMBs
Ready to attract new leads consistently? The skilled team at Markitors (Powered by Elevato) is here to help. Markitors is a content marketing agency for small businesses with a proven track record of success. We have worked with hundreds of small businesses to grow their digital footprint, generate leads, and increase sales through content marketing. Our services include SEO Content, Digital PR, Technical SEO, Paid Media, Social Media Management, and Email Marketing.
To get in touch, email [email protected] today. We will set up a free consultation call to discuss how our services can help your small business reach its goals.
