Many entrepreneurs and small businesses just starting out don't have the luxury of a lot of capital to spend on 'fancy' ad agency marketing campaigns. With very limited resources, entrepreneurs and small companies must wisely choose a marketing strategy that is both affordable and effective. Entrepreneurs and small businesses need high return on investment (ROI). Today there are a plethora of marketing options available, but one stands out as a proven winner for entrepreneurs and small businesses: Content Marketing
The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as:
"Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action."
So simply put, content marketing is a marketing tactic to attract clients and customers on a regular basis by creating content with the subtle intention of encouraging them to buy a product or service. It is using content as a soft sale which is supported by other marketing and sales efforts.
In the context of Content Marketing, 'Content' is not as clear-cut to define as one would think. Essentially, it is any text, image, video or audio (or a combination of these) which is created with the purpose of communicating a particular message via a particular medium or platform.
Sometimes called "non-interrupting marketing," content marketing is not just a tactic , but an ongoing strategy, a process with a long term objectives and goals. It is a way to consistently communicate with prospective client and customers without trying to sell something directly. Content marketing is a way to get your product or service in front of consumers by delivering information that helps them make a more informed purchase.
Consumers and clients are constantly distracted by the bombardment of countless advertisements, social media posts, and other media distractions. Many entrepreneurs and businesses find it difficult to cut through this noise and actually grab the attention of a consumer. By creating useful, valuable, and relevant information that a prospect looks forward to receiving and wants to engage with, entrepreneurs and small business can successfully target an audience and encourage them to purchase a service or product.
Here is my content marketing survival guide
#1 Be committed to consistency
The key to any effective content marketing effort begins and ends with consistency. This translates to creating new, fresh content on a regular basis. The more content you post to your social media, blog, website, newsletter etc, the more likely your efforts will deliver higher ROI. Eventually consistency will place your brand or business in a client or customer's front of mind, leaving your brand or business on a customer's mind when it is time to buy.
“Content Marketing is a commitment, not a campaign.” ~ Jon Buscall
#2 Know your audience
Content marketing can help companies stand out from the crowd, but to be successful, a business owner must know exactly who potential customers are and want they want. A business must identify what topics the ideal customer would be interested in and then write articles that fill that need.
“We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in and be what people are interested in.” ~ Craig Davis
#3 Use many content types and channels
Content does not necessarily have to just be an article or a blog posts; it can also be presented as white papers, case studies, podcasts, free ebooks, videos, slideshows etc. Your target audience may have different preferences when it comes to receiving different types of content, so a successful content marketer uses different formats when presenting and distributing information.
Just as your target audience may have different preferences when it comes to receiving different types of content they also have different preferences when it comes to the channels or platforms they consume their content. entrepreneurs and small business can't only be on one or two social media platforms or only have a blog, the net needs to be cast much wider than that.
“What you do after you create your content is what truly counts.” ~ Gary Vaynerchuk
#4 Never stop sharing
Once content is created, it is essential to share it across different social media platforms and other media channels. Every day, billions of people engage with each other on various websites and media platforms and the only way to cost effectively reach them is by sharing regularly and consistently with them. An effective content marketing strategy will harness the power of social media; good quality content has the potential to reach thousands of potential clients and consumers within seconds. Best of all, creating and posting on these platforms is (basically) free, so any entrepreneur or business can most definitely afford it.
“Content is fire. Social media is gasoline.” ~ Jay Baer
#5 Never fail to plan
If consistency is the beginning and ending of successful content marketing then planning fill the gap. Planning what content to create, when to post or share it, when to re-purpose it and when to take it down is key to ensuring that content marketing produces the best results for your business and brand.
Developing a content calendar and post schedule is an important part of the process and using automation tools implement these will not only streamline the process, but will leave more time for creating even more content.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
Content marketing works, and it is used successfully by both large and small companies. Good quality and relevant content will help build your brand and establish long-term, trusted relationships with clients and customers. Content marketing is an excellent way for entrepreneurs and small businesses to cut through the media noise and find new clients and customers without the need for a big advertising budgets.
If you have an content marketing ideas or tips that I should add to this guide, please feel free to share - I would like this to be an open and 'living' post.
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