Content Marketing For Small Business

The Internet has changed and shaped our lives since its’ inception. Banking, shopping, dating, education, information,tweeting, sharing ….the list is endless. All aspects of our lives are online in some form or other and as consumers with access to so much for free, we now take it all for granted. We expect a lot nowadays and Content Marketing is there to ensure we get it.

But what exactly is Content Marketing and why is it imperative for your small business?

Content marketing is everything from a Tweet or Facebook post to an infographic, blog, podcast, or video that offers your target audience engaging, relevant information. It is also everything on your website, photos, brochures, catalogues and email newsletters. And, It isn’t just for large companies. Any business big or small can develop a content marketing strategy but more about this later. For now, suffice it to say that it is an inexpensive and incredibly effective way of driving traffic to your site, building brand awareness and engaging with your audience in a lasting and worthwhile way. You may have a small business but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a big online presence. Joe Chernov, VP of Content @ HubSpot offers a short view of the HubSpot Approach To Content Marketing which you can watch here:

The word on the street is that ‘Content is King” and this is much more than just a soundbite. Content truly does hold the power, but why it does, is all down to Google. With Google’s latest algorithm updates (Panda, Penguin,Hummingbird etc) websites with poor quality or ‘thin content’ and/or repetition of keywords are demoted quickly down the search engine results pages (SERPS). Google is all about offering a great User experience and anything that detracts from this will be penalised. Old SEO practices of buying links and ‘keyword stuffing’ have been stamped out by regular Google updates. In other words, Content is not only King but also the key. In order for your business to drive traffic organically to your site, you will need great content and a plan to implement it.

Who are your Customers and what do they want? These are the questions you need to ask yourself.

If you are a Greengrocer, perhaps start blogging about the wonderful varieties of potatoes you have in stock, upload a video showcasing your seasonal fruit for a smoothie in a ‘How to’ Vlog, share a favourite Vegetable Curry recipe or find an Infographic online, detailing the availability of seasonal vegetables and post that. Perhaps some of the content they need is as basic as ‘hours of business’.

Answer the questions on your site that are being asked regularly by your Customer. There are endless ways to offer real value from your content that will cement your authority in your field while also building a loyal following and brand awareness.

Now you need to instigate a plan or strategy for that content and it’s not as complicated as it sounds. Creating great content and a strategy to match is however time-consuming and unlike Google Adwords you won’t have instantaneous results.

Your strategy needs to be planned, crafted, implemented and maintained and the following 7 steps will help you get started:

1. The first step of your plan is to know your goal. What does your company expect to gain? Are you looking to increase awareness of your brand? Are you looking to reach a new audience?

2. Now you know what you want to achieve you need to define exactly who your target audience is.

Create Personas for your audience so you can tailor content to suit them and not you. Remember this is not about you. It’s all about your customer and that goes for your website too. Do research. Trawl social media sites and work out what engages your audience and what questions they want answered.

                                                                                       

3. Prioritise where your Customers’ reside online and produce specific content that suits those channels. This takes time and energy so focus on what you think will make the biggest impact and start from there. The content you produce must also reflect your brand image and how you want your business to be perceived, so there is no space for typos and sloppy grammar.

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4. What is your Content’s USP? How will your material stand out from the rest. If you are a Travel company perhaps breathtaking scenery is your USP or ‘You’ve been framed’ style holiday videos. Find a style that sits with your brand and draws your audience in.

5.  Now use SEO and optimised content to rank as highly as you can on SERPS.

6. Measure and test. Test and measure.

Use every ounce of metrics at your disposal. Google Analytics, Facebook insights, WordPress Stats…..Whatever you have available use and use regularly so you can understand what works and what flops. Engagement with your customer is an ongoing relationship that will go through peaks and troughs like all relationships but it’s your job to work at it and minimise the troughs.

7. Schedule an editorial calendar for your content so you can remain on top of your strategy and so an overview can be understood at a glance. Metrics will help you understand when to publish content and why. For an email newsletter, once a month may be enough to keep your customers engaged. Too often or the wrong time of day and the bounce rate will increase, however a Tweet or Facebook-post a day may be just right. It will differ for every business, every objective and every different style of content.

It is important to remember that you are creating content for your Customer (and for Google). It may feel like a one way street with all the benefits going the way of the customer but trust and adhere to the plan and it will only be a matter of time before your business reaps the rewards.

Bibliography and Reference:

1. Annie Elliot. 2014. panda-or-penguin-animals-algorithmns-or-armageddon/. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.leapup.com/blog/panda-or-penguin-animals-algorithmns-or-armageddon/. [Accessed 12 August 15].
2. James A Martin. 2015. Wanna be a small business seo superstar?. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/emarketing/wanna-be-a-small-business-seo-superstar.html. [Accessed 11 August 15].
3. Convince and Convert. 2015. Content Marketing. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.convinceandconvert.com/category/content-marketing/. [Accessed 12 August 15].
4. Maria Haynes. 2014. google-algorithm-cheat-sheet-panda-penguin-hummingbird. [ONLINE] Available at:https://moz.com/blog/google-algorithm-cheat-sheet-panda-penguin-hummingbird. [Accessed 10 August 15].
5. Adam Stetzer. 2014. outstanding-content-marketing-tips-for-small-businesses. [ONLINE] Available at:http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2351403/7-outstanding-content-marketing-tips-for-small-businesses. [Accessed 11 August 15].
6. Tom Moore. 2015. http://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/how-small-businesses-can-use-visual-content-and-increase-conversions/. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.convinceandconvert.com. [Accessed 11 August 15].
7. How HubSpot Approaches Content Marketing – YouTube. 2015. How HubSpot Approaches Content Marketing – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLIwWEDX1hM. [Accessed 02 September 2015].