When it comes to content marketing, the majority of small businesses (and even large ones) start with creating a simple content marketing plan based on collecting long-tail keywords. The reason they do this comes from the belief that quality content costs a fortune and small businesses can't afford it. As a result, they frequently miss out on some content types that work well with customers in the small business niche.
As a result, many companies come up with the same strategy and a list of articles they'll use to pursue customers. Many still unwittingly adopt traditional marketing thinking to digital marketing. When it comes to online content marketing, they decide on posting frequency and often follow the rule "as often as you can." They randomly publish blog posts, post a few items to social media, and hope to gain some followers and perhaps a few more customers.
All I can say about this approach is — it's absolutely wrong.
To start with, conduct audience research before you begin your content creation efforts.
One of the most vivid examples of how content creation works is the life story of Marcus Sheridan. To put it in a nutshell, Sheridan owned a swimming pool company and was about to go bankrupt. Then, he decided to try content creation and inbound marketing as a last-hope effort to attract customers.
Instead of thoughtlessly collecting keywords, Sheridan started with research. He found out that the majority of his target audience wanted to know the cost of a fiberglass pool.
At that time, none of the competitor websites or social media channels provided a clear answer to this question. Sheridan wrote a detailed blog post on this topic, answering all of his potential customer concerns.
The result? Sheridan's article contained great content, and his Google Analytics went through the roof. The post was shared widely via social media and generated over $2 million in sales.
Instead of publishing tons of fluffy content, small businesses should focus their marketing strategy on helping their users to solve their problems. This idea seems obvious, and yet only a fraction of small business owners follow this approach in their content strategy or social media efforts.
What are the content types for small businesses you can utilize to make this content strategy work for you?
"Seeing is believing," as the saying goes. If your small business sells physical goods, there is no better way to attract a new customer than to provide video content of your product in use.
Do you remember the "Will It Blend?" brand awareness series from Blendtec, a blender manufacturer? If not, here is one of their video marketing efforts.
As a result of the "Will it Blend?" content marketing campaign, customers went wild. Blendtec's sales went up by 700%.
The brand also received almost 900,000 subscribers on YouTube — no, I didn't enter a typo with that number — and was featured on The Wall Street Journal, The Tonight Show, The History Channel, and many more media outlets.
How much did it cost Blendtec to produce these content ideas? The initial cost of the first video was about $100.
After that, Blendtec's content marketing all boiled down to the price of items they blended (a can of Coke in one case). So no, you don't need a pile of money to create entertaining videos for your small business digital marketing. And even if you do, that won't guarantee success.
Evian spent way more than $100 on its Evian Roller Babies commercial. It holds the official Guinness World Record for the most viral video ad of all time. But can we call it a success with customers? Not really.
The same year the Evian "Roller Babies" video went viral and attracted 50 million views, the brand lost market share and sales dropped 25 percent.
The problem was that the commercial had nothing to do with the product. Customers weren't able to associate what they see with the promoted product. For them, it was just a cute video with kids, nothing more.
Even if you are a service company, you can shoot a video explaining what your small business does and answer the most common questions from customers. At the very least, you can make an FAQ video series.
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When thinking of interviews as part of a content marketing strategy, many small businesses believe that "it's too difficult and we can't afford it." Indeed, not every small business owner has connections with top influencer marketing types boasting billions of followers. This is especially the case when you're about to start a business.
The good news is you don't need to publish an interview with Elon Musk or Donald Trump on your social media channel. Being an expert isn't equal to being public and well-known.
Write down a list of people you believe to be experts in your local market. You're likely to see that the majority of them rarely give interviews, never show up in email campaigns, don't have their own Facebook group, do not dominate any given social media platform, and aren't published authors. (Well...some of them just don't want to).
So go ahead...give your existing social network a try and interview such an expert even if he/she isn't yet publicly renowned. Start small with a single Instagram story, maybe bolstered a bit with a modest Facebook ad or Google ad. It's a win-win situation when your small business publishes unique valuable content and your interviewee gets a chance to build personal brand awareness.
The third content type small businesses should focus on is educational content.
This one is straightforward. Users seek information — your small business provides the information. You start doing this via blog posts, social media content, email marketing, and a written content marketing strategy. Producing commercialized content is a necessary evil, but traditional marketing practices are unlikely to help you become an opinion leader or attract many followers.
Practice patience. Educational content won't likely bring your small business more sales right away. However, a consistent approach to your content marketing strategy will help you establish yourself as an authority. Show the world that you know your stuff perfectly well. A potential customer will be more likely to trust your small business in the future.
Write compelling case studies, feature them prominently in your email marketing, and post links on all your social channels. Formulating and playing a "long game" social media strategy is a great way to share product or service success stories connected with your customers. It provides a cornerstone for successful content marketing.
If you are a service company, a case study featured prominently on your Facebook page is a great chance to showcase your expertise and the way you managed to solve your customer's problem.
If you sell tangible goods, you can use just about any social platform to share an example of how it helped your users satisfy their goals.
77% of people take the time to read product reviews before they make any purchases online. Users don't believe everything you write about your own company or product. However, they are likely to trust a review written by another person on one of your recent posts. Why not let satisfied customers do your content marketing for you?
If you have only a few customers, you can publish the block with their testimonials site-wide. But if you have plenty of them, you can publish roundup posts in your blog comprising the most interesting and inspiring responses of your customers.
Small business marketing doesn't have to carry with it a huge price tag. When you are just starting out with content marketing, it's probably not necessary to invest in expensive camera equipment, a social media marketing package like Sprout Social, email marketing providers, or purchasing followers from a third party. Instead, ask yourself "What is my potential customer looking for when they Google my business?" Scout around for low-cost or free tools such as Social Media Examiner. Start answering common niche-specific concerns via blog posts or a one-off social media post and make time to interact with those who respond.
Avoid any expectation of overnight success. When it comes to online digital marketing, slow, steady, and (most importantly) genuinely helpful will enable you to win the race.
