However, not every type of content will suit your needs, and you must learn how and what to write. Content marketing can help with that, and if you don’t know what it is, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, you will learn what exactly content marketing is, where it is used, and how your small business can benefit from it. Read on and learn how to make your business thrive.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing focuses on the creation and distribution of online materials. In other words, it includes coming up with ideas and writing different types of online content such as social media posts, Instagram stories, videos, blogs, podcasts, etc.
A content marketer also needs to know when and where to post these materials, how to attract the reader’s or viewer’s attention, how to make the text more readable, which pictures to choose for an article, and many more other important details.
The key to content marketing is to make your piece of content valuable – so that it is interesting and useful for the recipient, whether it’s your client or any other person who came across your social media page or website.
Useful content is the core of modern-day marketing, and there is a reason for that. Instead of simply pitching your products, you offer the reader a relevant piece of information, something that will help them solve their problems – or something that will make them contact you for help. To learn more about how that works, make sure to check out Husky Hamster’s take on content marketing.
Where is Content Marketing Used?
Marketing is constantly changing, and that is because people’s needs and mindsets change. To be effective, you need to adapt. Traditional marketing, which focuses on showing how good your product is, does not work today. People don’t need your product – they need a solution to their problems.
Fortunately, more and more companies are starting to take that into account. Content marketing is being used widely all over the world, and many leading brands, such as Microsoft, Old Spice, or Shutterstock, take advantage of it. Even global leaders in Remote Simultaneous Interpreting use it to reach a wider audience.
Content is the present and the future of marketing, and it’s everywhere these days. Social media marketing campaigns rely on good content; SEO specialists help create good content, which is key for ranking high in search engines; PR strategies can’t be successful if they only focus on product without addressing people’s issues.
Can Small Businesses Benefit from Content Marketing?
Just like known brands use content marketing to help improve their image and stay at the peak of popularity, you can use it, too. Content marketing will help you show your clients what your company is about, how it can help them, show the portfolio of this company, and why they should choose it instead of any other company in the industry. Moreover, it will allow you to reach more potential customers and build your brand.
Here is how exactly you can benefit from content marketing:
- It increases sales;
- It helps save advertising costs;
- It makes your customers more loyal;
- It improves brand recognition;
- It teaches you to listen to your clients.
In other words, content marketing is a low-cost, highly effective tool for promoting your products and services that works for every business sector. If your advertising budget is tight, but you don’t reach as many customers as you want, content marketing is definitely something you need to consider.
How to Use Content Marketing?
When working on your content marketing strategy, you have a choice: do everything yourself or hire a professional. Even though the first option may save you some money, we highly recommend consulting an expert – this way, you will save much time and energy and will be able to focus on your key tasks.
Whether you hire a full-time specialist, a freelancer, or decide to develop your own content marketing skills, here are several key things you need to remember when creating any type of content:
- Find your target audience and analyze their needs. If you are selling women’s dresses, men working in construction may not be very interested in your products (although indirectly, they might – for example, when buying presents for their loved ones).
- Provide valuable content. Your customers have problems, and you should help them deal with them. For example, if your blog is about writing, tell your readers how to overcome writer’s block and where to find inspiration.
- Show your expertise. Talk from a position of a trusted advisor – give examples, explain the logic behind your advice, and try to genuinely help the customer. For example, post a case study of your work on your website.
- Choose your writing style adequately to your audience. Remember that many people don’t like pieces of text filled with exclamation marks or slang expressions.
How to Track Your Success?
Increased sales can signalize that you have reached success. However, very often, it takes some time for your marketing strategy to start working. It is essential to track your success to see what you can improve and when it is necessary to adjust your strategy.
You can do that by tracking the following factors:
- sales;
- organic links;
- social media shares;
- conversion rate;
- search traffic;
- any other factors that can show if people like your content – such as social media comments, pricing requests, etc.
Content Marketing: Final Thoughts
Content has become an integral part of modern-day marketing. This means that if you own a business – especially a small one – you need to start considering using content marketing for promoting your products or services.
Not only will that help you reach more people and increase sales, but it will also allow you to differ from your competitors and build customer loyalty. It’s also a great way to save money on advertising and take your business to the next level.
Now, if you are interested in implementing content marketing techniques on a daily basis, start looking for professionals who will help you do that – or think about developing your own content marketing skills. Good luck!