This post is part of a series on content marketing, which will be published every Monday.
So you have a website that’s up and running for your small business and you want to build traffic, or you have some products or services you want to sell online and want a marketing plan that drives visitors to your site. Maybe you’re just looking for a way to build a voice for your business, and create a brand online.
This is where content marketing comes in. What is content marketing? It is basically a term applied to selling your products or services by first building trust with your audience by giving them free information, or valuable tools and resources catered around your service, to create a trust and bond with customers. As a result when you do sell, you have an audience ready to pay attention.
Sound weird?
It is a different way to build awareness about your company and products where unlike a TV or radio ad, where the audience just tolerates your message, you build a real interest and make your site a destination to solve their problems. Because of that, people become active listeners about your services and pay attention to your message.
The beauty in content marketing is that you build an audience that is responsive to your offerings so that you spring to mind when they are looking for services.
Why you should apply content marketing to your business
It’s free
Or relatively low-cost. A small business owner can spend a lot of money pouring into an advertisement that runs on tv/radio for a short period, or they can build a responsive audience through a successful content marketing strategy, that might mean a blog or newsletter service.
Builds an audience that listens
Content marketing works in a field of marketing called permission marketing. Unlike traditional advertising methods such as TV or radio ads, people give you their attention, instead of your message being seen as a disturbance. Your business builds that connection with customers that money can’t buy, so that if they are shopping around for services they know where to go.
Long term impact
Content marketing can help your business in the long run, especially for small businesses looking to grow. By building an audience that listens, shares and tells friends and family about this site, you grow in e-mail subscriptions or just site visits. This interest can outrun any interest built from TV or Radio advertising.
How to get started in content marketing
Write what you know
It’s the advice given to writers everywhere. But don’t write boring puff pieces about your business. Write information that is useful, and applicable to your audience. The idea is if you produce free, valuable content for your customers they will give you their attention and in the long-run their loyalty.
The posts or articles can vary with the interests and needs of your audience, whether its business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B).
If you already have a mailing list for your customers, then a great way to build initial traffic consider starting a newsletter that starts articles that continue on your blog.
And if blogging is not your cup of tea, consider creating more interactions through social media sites such as Facebook or Pinterest by sharing helpful articles or news that people will find useful and engaging with your audience through those channels.
Got a question? Or need some help getting started? Contact me, and I can answer it through e-mail or in a future post, I’m all about making your life easier.
Daisy Quaker is a Badass 