Applying content marketing best practices can help increase awareness and growth for small businesses.
There are a wide range of tactics. Social media marketing, email marketing, blogging, and SEO have shown to be effective. This works not only for generating fresh leads but for closing deals as well.
Here is our simple 5-point small business content marketing checklist.
1) Educate your audience
It’s always a two-way street. If you expect people to talk to you, you would have to give something of value in exchange for their trust. And there is nothing more valuable than knowledge.
Put yourself in your target audience’s shoes. Create content that addresses their problems.
Make sure they learn something of value with every page they visit or every social media post they read.
2) Use visual content
About 65% of the population considers themselves to be visual learners (source).
As a marketer, your job is to educate your audience on the value of your small business. And nothing captures a person’s attention better than a great image or an engaging video.
Tell your story in a visual way in addition to written content. For example, summarize a blog post in a short video. This allows for different learning types to engage with your message.
Here’s a great visual on differrent learning styles (see what I did there?).
3) KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)
One reason why prospects don’t respond to your marketing is because they simply don’t understand it. It’s too complicated.
Explain your solutions clearly and in a way that is relevant to their specific situation. This not only makes your content more simple, but more relatable as well.
I use checklists and action steps to help simplify otherwise complex instructions.
4) Be authentic
It’s not just about the numbers. It’s OK for your clients and prospects to see that there is a real human being behind your business.
Do this by writing in the first person (use pronouns like “I” and “you”). This helps the reader feel like the content is speaking to them, not some generic third person. You want them to identify with the subject of your content.
It’s also about emotions. Remember, to make a real connection, it helps to trigger an emotional response. Talk about implications of not addressing the problems that your products and services solve.
5) Be responsive
Content marketing is a two-way street. You can’t just put stuff out and then wait and see.
Be responsive when someone reaches out on social media or your website. It shows you are a professional and that you’re not just blowing smoke.
Be proactive by engaging in Linkedin groups and by searching for related hashtags on Twitter. Look through your Facebook feed for people asking questions.
Remember: give value with no expectation of return. This is the key to success!
Conclusion
Effective small business content marketing may challenge you at the start. But give it time. Once you start seeing the results, you’ll realize that it’s all worth it.
Need help? We love helping small businesses grow with great websites, SEO, social media, and content marketing. Let’s chat today.
