Is Content Marketing Effective for Small Businesses?

May 11, 2022
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There’s a reason the “godfather of new-age marketing” Seth Godin made this bold statement in 2015.


“Content marketing is the only marketing left.”


Actually, there are several reasons why he said so all those years ago. But, that’s a discussion for another time. What Godin meant was that marketers should focus on creating content that their target audience can genuinely relate to and consume. Repurposed and thinly veiled advertisements won’t cut it anymore!


The marketing industry has changed significantly since those comments were made. Nevertheless, the requirement to produce content according to the above-mentioned approach remains as strong as ever. To say that the world has moved away from traditional advertising methods would be an understatement.


These days, the brands aren’t that much concerned about bombarding the public with eye-catching messages. Instead, businesses have turned to inbound marketing to get the most out of limited budgets. This ensures that the right people can find a brand when they need it.


Think of the digital marketing sector as a theater of short attention spans. In there, every performance is just one click (or screen tap, depending upon your device!) away from being consigned to the dustbin of irrelevance.


This is often tough to take for marketers, but it’s the sad truth. Online business promotion isn’t easy by any means. You can be in a niche market and still face lots of competition. As mentioned already, simple ads and promotional emails aren’t enough nowadays. To stand out in your chosen market, you need a well-thought-out content marketing strategy. 


Small Business Content Marketing

For small business owners, content marketing may appear complicated and overly pricey. You probably believe that this is something only the big brands can do well. Not to worry!


Given the considerably low cost and hardly any barriers to entry, there’s a level playing field for businesses of all kinds when it comes to digital marketing. Even mom-and-pop shops can now devise an efficient content marketing strategy to entice more customers and grow their venture.


We would even argue that content marketing holds greater value for small businesses. This is because such companies have to function within their limitations. They don’t have the resources usually available to a big corporation. And since content marketing is known for delivering the highest ROI (Return on Investment) among all marketing tools, small businesses have a lot to gain from it. Furthermore, this is a long-term ploy that can continue benefitting businesses even years after implementation.


Perhaps this is why an eye-watering 70% of marketers today are investing heavily into content marketing. Also, an astonishing 72% of professionals in the field believe that a sound content strategy is indispensable to the success of their companies!


Why Should Small Business Owners Focus on Content Marketing?

Delivering interesting, engaging, timely, and relevant content can help small businesses become thought leaders in their industry. As a result, your firm will get better recognition while also building loyalty, respect, and trust with the consumers.


Through content marketing, you can identify customer pain points and illustrate how your product/service can deal with those issues. This will generate a ton of quality leads, which you can then work on closing and turning into repeat sales.


Moreover, content marketing can help you generate lots of evergreen and high-quality content. Suppose you’ve created an infographic detailing the steps involved in a process that isn’t likely to change, or your team of writers has produced an engaging blog post about the history of your industry. Such stuff can eventually turn into valuable intangible assets for a business with virtually no expiration date!


Multi-purpose content is another reason why small businesses should invest in content marketing. At a relatively much lower cost, you can create marketing material for various platforms and types of campaigns. Examples include a YouTube video on a common industry topic or a blog post about the needs of a specific community.


Once this content has been created, you can share it on all your social media channels. You just have to make a few tweaks here and there depending upon the requirements of a particular platform. This saves both money and time, while you can position your organization as one of the leading names in the field.


What Purpose Can Content Marketing Serve for Small Businesses?

The ultimate aim of any marketing effort is to increase the customer base by creating brand loyalty and driving sales. Content marketing happens to be one of the most economical and effective ways of doing that in the multi-channel environment of today.


That’s mainly because content marketing provides value to the audience. You can’t say the same about paid advertising. Thanks to this value delivery, building trust with potential customers becomes easier.


The numbers indicate that around 70% of people would prefer understanding a business by reading an article about it. This is just one form of content marketing. Your small business can generate so many different types of content for a variety of platforms. All of them can help you come up with a robust marketing strategy.


And as already mentioned, there’s no better way than content marketing if you want to position yourself as an industry expert, raise the profile of your venture, and gain valuable exposure for your products and/or services. In a nutshell, this strategy ticks every box.


Content Marketing: The Benefits for Small Businesses

Small businesses can benefit from a well-prepared content marketing strategy in many different ways.


Significantly Lower Cost Compared to Traditional Advertising

Conventional advertising media, like direct mail and television commercials, are often out of reach for small businesses. Besides, these platforms no longer have the effectiveness or audience pull that they once had. As a result, they won’t necessarily be the right sources to get to your target audience.


On the other hand, there’s a whole new world of affordable and addictive platforms for small business ads courtesy of digital marketing. From SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and social media marketing to community building, email marketing, and influencer partnerships, there are so many options for you to distribute high-quality content. Doing so would help you build brand awareness among key audience demographics.


You Can Easily Repurpose Digital Content 

Unlike a TV commercial, static ad, or window display, a well-written article on your blog is much more efficient at marketing your business. This is because its reach goes way beyond your own website. You can publish it as a “guest post” on another site, share it on different social media channels, make a video or infographic out of it, add it to an email newsletter, etc.


Simply put, a single blog post can be responsible for continuously sending traffic to your website long after its publication. This will ultimately generate a much bigger ROI than you could have predicted.


Hence, make sure to add some content repurposing ideas into your marketing plan. For example, if you’re planning the launch of a new product or service in the next 6 months, this is the time to consider each and every element of the campaign. Think about the blog calendar, social media posting schedule, videos, email promos, newsletters, and new website landing pages that might be needed in the lead up to the big announcement.


Doing so will help you be prepared for key marketing channels. A properly planned marketing and product launch roadmap would enable you to find the best ways of repurposing content that aligns with your goals. If you do this right, there will be lesser need of creating new content all the time.


Sharing Your Expertise Via Content Is Actually Easier Than It Sounds!

The customers of today don’t take too kindly to hard sales pitches. They’re a knowledgeable bunch (thanks to the wonder that is the Internet!) who’re looking for education rather than product/service benefits being flaunted in their face. This explains why nearly 70% of present consumers prefer learning about an organization through a blog post, feature article, promotional video, etc. rather than an advertisement.


Here again, content marketing plays an important role. It enables marketers to produce and share high-value content that can educate potential customers about your brand. This will ultimately have a positive impact on your lead generation and conversion rates.


Effective and efficient content is trustworthy in the eyes of your audience. This is why blogging is an easy way for businesses to position themselves as industry and subject matter experts. That being said, you don’t build trust overnight. For it, you have to consistently come up with valuable, engaging, and relevant content that can entice users on multiple digital platforms.


Blogging is also a wonderful marketing tool because it facilitates conversations that allow customers to trust and like your offerings over time. As a result, whenever they’re ready to buy such a product or service, your offering would be the first one that comes to mind!


Characteristics of Quality Content

Many small business owners tend to start sweating at the very mention of the words “content marketing.” Creating content is likely to give them sleepless nights, even though it’s no rocket science. The problem lies in the way they approach the content production process.


In truth, as long as you and your team have a grasp on basic writing skills, you should have no problem coming up with high-quality, reliable, and engaging content. Admittedly, viral content is somewhat harder to quantify. Since there are no rules as what may or may not be a hit with the public, generating viral-quality content is more challenging.


Nevertheless, figuring things out shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Following are some characteristics of top-notch digital content.


Original

You can try and copy stuff from anywhere. It also doesn’t matter how smartly you go about it. Doing so just wouldn’t work. Google’s algorithm has evolved over the years and its current form has been designed to punish duplicate content. Back in the day, you could generate endlessly repetitive material brimming with keywords in every line. That’s not possible anymore.


To attract visitors to your online channels, it’s important to come up with original content that can add lots of value to the business. For this purpose, you can build a team in-house or outsource the work because there’s no shortage of talented content creators and copywriters on the Internet. You can even look beyond your national borders for more economical services in this regard.


Informative

The hallmark of any great piece of content is that it educates people. By the time they’re done going through it, they know something that they didn’t before. This knowledge can take the form of a funny anecdote, practical know-how, historically relevant stuff, etc.


Remember to keep things interesting when trying to come up with informative content. However, don’t make the mistake of adding humor just for the sake of it. Similarly, don’t put in irrelevant stuff to make your content more engaging.


Tell the story by using interesting hooks that can keep the audience on edge. Avoid technical jargon as well; only add stuff that’s necessary. Also, consider your audience. Are they an experienced user or a newbie with not much understanding of your product or industry? These factors should dictate the direction your new content goes in.


Furthermore, the kind of content you need will also affect the level of creator that you choose to hire or outsource the work to. Any half-decent writer can produce some off-page blog posts meant to improve your SEO stats. However, if you want to be known as an industry expert, your team will need to have a thorough understanding of your offerings as well as the sector before they can sit down to create something unique and engaging.


Actionable

Lastly, good content advises potential customers about what they should do next. Basically, you add an effective call-to-action (CTA) into your content. For instance, a product review tells readers if they should buy something or not. In the same way, informative content shows readers/viewers how to deal with a particular problem that they might be experiencing. Furthermore, opinion-based content can help people make up their minds about an existing issue.



Parting Thought

There’s no doubt about the effectiveness of content marketing for small businesses. Contrary to what many small business owners think, this is actually a great equalizer when it comes to marketing. With a well-planned content marketing strategy, even a mom-and-pop shop can compete against bigger firms with huge marketing budgets!

P.S. Would you like to automate your content marketing and have a steady flow of quality leads coming in? Learn more about our content marketing services here.


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