A Quick Guide on Content Marketing Strategy for Small Business

Paid advertising has always been a reliable marketing strategy, even before the launch of the internet. Today, you might be seeing variations of the same concept, but the ultimate objective remains the same: to drive sales.

But why is it that many small and midsize businesses (SMBs) fail when it comes to taking their business online? The lack of efficient marketing is among the top reasons.

While it is challenging to include all the features of content marketing here in one article, we believe the most important aspects one should be aware of while addressing the concept are listed in this piece. So dive into this quick guide and see how you can revamp your marketing approach.

What is Content Marketing?

We pointed out the “why,” but for those who are unfamiliar with the concept, we should also tell you the “what.” In a broader sense, it could be anything that your online platform can present to the audience. Blog posts, videos, articles, podcasts, images, and other appealing elements that grab the attention of the audience fall into the category of content.

There are many ways to create engaging content by doing it yourself or hiring professionals. For example, you can find a professional who can produce excellent articles regularly here as well as seek out expert graphic designers to do illustrations or videos for your website.

It might seem easy to create, but the trick is how to effectively pass it on to the viewers, to convert the views into potential sales for your business. In recent research conducted by Clutch, it was mentioned that 80% of small companies do not invest in content marketing. If you find yourself making that mistake, start by familiarizing yourself with the basic steps.

Know Your Audience

Well, this might seem to be the one thing that every digital marketer preaches by. This critical element, called the “audience,” holds the key to your success. Without knowing whom to target, whatever effort you put into, any quality marketing will be a waste of time.

So start by doing some in-depth research about who your existing and potential clients are, or could be. There are more than a dozen ways one can gather information regarding this by using online tools or conducting surveys through emails.

Add Some Personal Touch

What makes small businesses more appealing to the customers is how a customer can relate to them. For example, you feel more connected to the lady in a tiny grocery store rather than the cold shelves in a big supermarket. The same applies to e-commerce.

There is some feature that your store holds that makes it unique comparing to the rest. While creating content, try to focus on that feature, emphasize what makes your products or services stand out from the crowd.

Nurture Leads

You are certainly not going to want to remain a small business forever. To widen the horizons, every entity needs a strong customer base. Use the small size to benefit how you maintain relationships with your customers.

This Marketo study shows that about 50% of the leads are not ready to purchase. The concept of lead nurturing focuses on converting the generated leads to those who actually become sales.

In modern marketing, lead nurturing focuses on being attentive to current clients or potential ones across all platforms. For instance, providing swift responses is crucial for small businesses to develop the personal connection we mentioned earlier.

Boost Visibility

All your effort goes down the drain if the website or content marketed do not show up on searches. Visibility is an integral aspect of any marketing strategy’s success. Here is where the famous concept of SEO comes into play.

Along with the essential analytical tools and keyword research, you have to incorporate them into the content that connects you with the viewers. You would also have to keep up and check-in with how your competitors result in search engines to see which ways you can employ. Remember that keyword analysis should be done before you create content so you can integrate it organically.

Refresh and Promote

You might have done one round of content creation, SEO and have even generated some sales, but do not assume that the same strategy will work every time and for any audience.

The trends are ever-changing, so will your target audience and their interests. You must stay on top of every detail every time with promotions, either or the website or social media platform.

It can never be stressed enough how important it is to stay relevant to generate sales continuously. For example, Google is not only looking at the context of the content for its relevance. The freshness of the information is also a variable for search results.

Final Words

Every business, whether good or small, can only benefit from a good marketing strategy. With effective tactics, content marketing will improve your positions really fast.

The best thing is that content marketing is cheap, yet will work even in the long run. So keep it up as the audience is always looking for intrigue.