Content Marketing for Small Businesses

A common stereotype linked to content marketing is that it’s only for big business. While this stereotype is….well, a stereotype – it’s a stereotype for a reason. At this point, mostly big businesses are taking advantage of content marketing. So what gives, small business? Take your piece of the pie! The flavor? Mixed berry with a heavy side of SALES.

So, what is content marketing? Content marketing is a technique; it allows you to create and distribute valuable (and relevant) content that will attract a specific audience and, thus, create new business. Why do we need it? Well, today’s modern marketer knows that “selling” doesn’t work the way it used to. These content marketing tips will help ensure that you stay on top of your game, and ahead of the curve.

Now, we all somewhat remember the “four P’s” of traditional marketing (let’s be honest here, I had to look them up): product, price, place and promotion. However, there’s nothing “traditional” about content marketing; in other words, the “P’s” have been updated: plan, produce, publish, promote, and prove.

1. Plan: Decide what content formats make sense for you and your audience. Blogging, infographics, social media, and video – these are content formats that Save Local Now uses because they make sense for the company and contribute to our overall marketing objectives.
2. Produce: It’s time to create the content. Put together a detailed content strategy behind Wlleverything you create. Trust me – it will help.
3. Publish: The home for your content should most obviously be your company website. Share the content on your blog page and your social media sites.
4. Promote: Your content needs eyeballs on it; reading it, learning from it. Post your content on social media, drive traffic to your blog and your website; make it easy to understand and easy to share.
5. Prove: Content marketing is an investment; it takes time, hard work and dedication to make it effective. Therefore, analytics are crucial. Track your website and page views, your time spent, search engine results, etc. and compare your results.

Content marketing is an open-ended conversation that you’re having with people who are genuinely interested in what you have to say. CHERISH IT. And have some patience! Like traditional marketing, this will take time. BUT – your content, so long as it is high-quality, valuable and relevant content, will appeal to your clientele; they will begin to trust you, start citing you in their own content, etc. When you push it to your social media outlets you will earn shares, “likes,” and retweets. This will help spread your brand; it will allow you to create relationships with people you would have otherwise never reached. Content matters, people – but only if you do it right. And if you do it right? Well, that pie that you’ve been missing out on will soon be yours to share.
Carpenter, Tom. “The 5 P’s of Content Marketing.” Business to Community. 9 June 2014. Web. <http://bit.ly/1n462t3>.

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Director of Sales + Marketing - (avid lover of beagles) - keri@savelocalnow.com - Put your money where your home is. Keep it local. Trust the experts.* - *We're the experts.