Expert content from real people drives business revenues up.
At the start of a new year, many of us look around our houses with fresh eyes. Do we need those extra towels? Why is this tool so hard to get to? What is in this closet anyway?
We become frustrated, then curious: Is there a better way to do things around here?
You can—you should—ask the same question about marketing your business.
Do I have my digital marketing house in order?
We’ll be talking more about what that means throughout the year. Today’s topic is a hot one: content. Specifically, how to put your brilliant ideas to work for your business—just by being you.
Consider this: you should be posting online about what you know best—your business.
You should be creating content.
If you operate a successful business, that means you have expertise in a subject (and others may want to know about it). If you talk openly about your expertise, you’ll position yourself as an industry leader. Being an industry leader often makes people want to learn from you and work with you.
Here’s how you start.
First, write one blog post about how to do something your business excels at.
Blogs drive traffic to your website, which is your company’s front door. On average, companies that blog produce 67% more leads than companies that don’t. If your website has blog capabilities, use them.
Zero in on a problem your business solves for your customers. Make it easy to read and write by using bullets or a numbered list of steps. Add a catchy headline, and at the bottom, link to your contact page so people can easily reach out. Freemium content analyzers like Headline Studio or Grammarly can increase the effectiveness of your headlines and post copy.
After you post, spread the love to people already interested in what you do.
Email marketing can have a high return on investment for small businesses. Do you have an email newsletter or addresses for a list of people who want to hear from you? Send them a link to your blog, and welcome them to reach out with any questions they have.
Get out there and socialize.
Do you have social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn? Often, business owners have these easy-to-use digital marketing tools in place, but they don’t make the most of them. Use platforms that best target your audience and post a link to your blog or, better yet, take smaller chunks of your blog and post them where potential customers are likely to be. Consider posting as you, in addition to using your business page. 76% of people say they are more likely to trust content shared by people over content shared from brand channels, especially Millennial buyers and younger.
Move your body!
If you like to talk about what you do, or your business lends itself to a demo or a visual process, transform your blog post idea into short TikTok or YouTube videos. If you prefer to spend time on Instagram, try out Reels. Whatever engages you will make your content more engaging and appealing to your buyers.
Repurpose with purpose.
One 800-word blog post can be repurposed into 5-6 short pieces tailored to your customer
segments. Float those pieces around for a couple of weeks to get the biggest ROI from the original post. Important: listen, respond, and converse with anyone who interacts with your content.
Listen for problems, offer solutions.
Seek to learn more about your ideal customers, and where they have challenges. If you can help with those challenges, let them know. Give them actionable insights to try out for themselves. As you listen, you’ll learn more about your customers’ pain points, and you can begin the content cycle again with a new blog post based on an important problem your customers and prospects are struggling with.
Easy!
OK, maybe not. There is more to it than this.
What we've described is the basic cycle of content creation and inbound marketing (leads that come to you because of your visibility) and, literally, anyone can get started with a couple of
hours a week. But to get the most views, leads, and ultimately sales from your efforts, it’s a little more involved.
Optimizing your content for search engines, enabling your website with powerful conversion tools, creating a strong brand identity, and automating the content marketing process so you can create once and benefit indefinitely—these are skills it takes longer to learn and put in place.
We know you can do it, but if you feel you need some help along the way, hire an expert to get you started. Happy creating!
Are you a small- to medium-sized business ready to strengthen your brand and increase visibility to your ideal customers? Jump on a call with us to hatch a plan.