Everyone is talking about content right now.
And how important it is for marketing your business, attracting an audience (although I hate using that word and prefer to think of it as customers, being a bit old school!)
But anyway, the idea is that producing something that will interest, amuse, educate, engage people to get eyes on your business is all over the internet, everyone seems to be talking about it and it does work.
Marketers who prioritize blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI. (HubSpot, 2019) (Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)
If you’re a small business and want to promote yourself online, then producing “content” is a great way to get people that don’t know you to get to know you and your business.
I’m not going to say free because your time costs money!
But it’s still a much cheaper way of attracting customers than traditional advertising.
But what bloody content? And where the hell do you start?
Because it seems so overwhelming, doesn’t it?
There are some great resources out there, courses, paid and free, downloads with an idea for every day of the year.
But so often, these seem distant and not that appropriate to your business.
Especially if you’re not a coach or a consultant.
If you’re business is not the typical online digital one but you want to use the latest trends in marketing? What do you do then?
I have a client that sells glulam beams. Inspirational quotes and stories about their early struggles are just not going to cut it.
Because that is not what their customers care about!
And after all, this is marketing your business so it needs to be something that they want to see or what’s the point?
What is content marketing?
Content can be anything we produce to attract customers to our business and keep them interested in us.
That is not advertising your product or service for sale.
When you’re thinking about content, it can be anything from educating to entertaining.
You can use it to make people laugh, cry, get angry or happy!
It can be videos, podcasts, blog posts, random social media posts, emails, animations, almost anything really!
If you’ve ever received a newsletter from a company that gives out other information or insight, then that is content marketing.
It’s not directly about selling your product but it is useful to you which in turn makes you remember that business over the competitors.
Why do we produce content?
It’s a form of advertising. It’s the new kid on the block (except it’s not really new!) and the term usually used to describe it is Content Marketing.
Ie. it is producing content that showcases your products in a way that informs or entertains current and potential clients or customers.
It’s been steadily replacing that old marketing staple, the advert!
Content marketing gets three times more leads than paid search advertising. (Content Marketing Institute, 2017) (Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)
What we are trying to do with content marketing is to provide something that can showcase us, our businesses, our products and services.
It’s added value to customers and potential customers.
We use it to build loyalty, to gain people’s trust, to help them get to know our business and hopefully keep it top of mind when they’re looking to buy.
Where do we put the content?
The answer to this is pretty simple.
You put the content where your customers are most likely to see it.
Depending on your business, this might be your website, social media ( Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin etc) or it could even be printed and sent out in the mail!
And this is where it can seem overwhelming, because there isn’t just one place your customers can find you.
When you’re starting out with content marketing, keep it simple!
After all, this is only one part of your business and maybe only one part of your marketing strategy.
Pick one channel, at the most two, and focus on that first.
Think about where you get most of your customers from and what you are most comfortable using.
Once you’ve got one licked, then move on to the next one.
Because you can’t do everything, all at once. Especially if you’re a small business, flying solo or with a very small team and budget!
What content should we create?
What we don’t want to do is post or create random information that doesn’t have a specific purpose.
The whole point of producing content and getting out there is to attract customers to our business. If you’re a builder and posting pictures of food every day, they could be the greatest images in the world but of no actual use to you in marketing terms.
We can produce content that entertains, inspires, educates or just helps them in some way.
It can be through writing, video, audio, images, graphics, animations, links to other articles.
Again, start simply. Don’t try to start a podcast, a blog and a video series all at the same time!
When you’re thinking about what content, think about what your customers would need or want to see as it relates to what you’re selling.
If you’re a hotel in a tourist location, then they probably want to know what the hotel is like, see images of the rooms as standard.
But added value could be by telling them about the local beauty spots, the activities on offer in the area, the events that may be taking place.
In my home town in Suffolk, we’re surrounded by medieval villages, beautiful locations, great local shops, farmers markets, blimey the list goes on and on and can provide lots of content that visitors would like to know if they’re planning on a holiday or short break.
If your customers are brides, planning out their wedding, what’s going to be inspiring or helpful to them?
Of course, they are going to want to see your product or service but what else would they be interested in? Could you link in with other wedding suppliers?
Maybe you’re a photographer and you can take inspiring photos of wedding locations so the brides can imagine themselves having that fairytale wedding they long for?
Or a builder. What would you produce if you’re transforming houses?
Your customers are going to want to know that you do great work so seeing it would be a great way to show them.
And with the popularity of house building or renovating programs, it’s likely that they’re going to love seeing before and after pictures.
Take a look at what types of content other businesses like yours are sharing, what ideas could you take into your business?
Action Steps
Start with what you already have or know.
- Set aside a couple of hours to brainstorm this out.
- Dig out all your great testimonials and list them out – this is a great start as you should be sharing these – often!
- Write down any big areas that you know your customers are already interested in.
- And store all these ideas in one central place so you can go back to them and start filling in the detail.
I’ve created some questions prompts below for you to have a think about – as you answer these questions, think about your customer, what would they want to know, have help with or how do you want them to feel when they think of your business.
Once you start getting it out there, you’ll be able to see pretty quickly what people like and don’t like.
Then ditch what doesn’t work and replace it with more of the stuff that does!
Questions to start you off
- What are you selling?
- Why are you selling it? What do you think is great about it?
- What do your customers say?
- What have you tried already?
- What type of content are similar businesses putting out there?
- What sort of content do you like to see?
- Is there anything that you put out that you know your customers like?
- Who are your customers (in a couple of lines)?
- Why are they looking for your product or service? What are they looking to do?
- What are the things that are most important to them when they’re considering buying from you?
- Are there any great customer stories you can tell? For example, you’re a wedding photographer and your client has given you permission! How did they meet, is there a funny or emotional story behind it? Or you massage dogs, what’s their story?
- Why did you start your business?
- When did you start?
- How did you start?
- What did you feel like when you made the decision to start?
- What was the biggest early challenge?.
- What was one of the hardest things about starting a business?
- What are the benefits of your product or service?
- Where did the idea come from?
- Does it/they save time or money for your customer?
- How have others benefited/used the product/service?
- If it’s a product, where is it sourced, is there a story in where it comes from, who makes it, how it’s made?
- What problem were you hoping to solve from this product or service?
- Does it solve that problem and how does it do that?
- Are there any recent news stories that affect you, your business, industry?
- List out any stories that may be affecting you – what do you think about it? Think about them in relation to your business or your customers – how does it affect them, can you learn anything new, do you disagree or agree with the article/thing?
- Are there any other related businesses that you can partner with, that will be useful to your customer? i.e. you’re a bed and breakfast and you get your bacon from the local farm pig farm? How did they start, who are their customers, what’s their story?
