Content marketing is a significant part of any successful marketing strategy. Here are our top five content marketing benefits for your small business going into 2022.
For both business to customers and business to business marketing strategies, Content Marketing is the most popular form of marketing today. I mean, content is everywhere you look. From the moment we wake up, we are flooded with content from organizations we engage with. From images, video, audio, emails, text messages, social feeds, commercials, the list goes on … content is coming at us.
So as a business, there is no question whether or not content marketing is the best strategy to use. With the right guidance and strategy, content marketing can reach the right audience with the right message. Now it does require a good amount of effort, time, and resources to go from strategy to execution, but you can get it down with the right tools.
Today we are giving you 5 of our top benefits small businesses can experience by developing and executing a well-thought-out content marketing strategy.
1. Evergreen Content
Our first benefit of a strategic content plan is that much of the content generated when planned ahead is content that can be used in many ways for many weeks or months to come. Unless you plan content for a specific dated event, you can plan and coordinate content that can live on past the post date.
Creating fresh and new content can be challenging, and typically, it can be labor-intensive. So take advantage of this opportunity to save significant time by leveraging evergreen content. Creating some consistent evergreen content helps you to be flexible to share more timely on-the-spot content based on trends and what’s happening.
Those who plan and execute on some evergreen content successfully benefit from time savings, as well as boosts in customer trust and loyalty based on their willingness to be empathetic and flexible.
2. Increased Organic Traffic
Good content that ranks higher in the search engines attracts more clicks from those looking for the top-ranked answers to their questions and concerns. Having a good string of content on your website that adds value to your audience is key.
Since this traffic is based on consumers searching for specific answers, it is highly targeted. So having appropriately tailored content with strong calls to action can lead to prospects quickly becoming customers.
3. Content Tailored to the Customer Journey
When developing a content marketing strategy, you want to ensure the content produced supports your customer as they travel through the buyer’s journey. Creating content focused on each stage of the journey, from awareness to conversion, enables your reader to confidently complete each stage. While you help your potential customers along the way, you also build trust in your business and brand.
Here are some examples of ways you can use your content to match the buyer’s journey and further encourage a sale.
- Awareness: Content in this first stage of the buyer journey is designed to educate visitors, providing value on the desired topic. Content in this stage can be delivered via your blog, social posts, video content, infographics, whitepapers, etc.,
- Consideration: Content in the second stages takes your content a little deeper and enables your users to gain a deeper understanding of your specific product or service offerings. Here you can provide case studies, conduct webinars, share reviews from others, all of which demonstrate your leadership on the topic.
- Conversion: The conversion stage of the journey is when your prospects decide to make a purchase. Content helps your potential customers validate their decision to choose your product or services over others out there. Here is where you can provide a demo of your product, free trials, discounts, etc.,
- Retention: Keeping customers coming back is one of the most critical stages. Content during this stage supports your offering with continuous value and helps your customers ensure they make the correct decision to trust your brand. This content includes guides on your product or service, consistent newsletters offering
- valuable content.
- Advocacy: Content in this stage is focused on your customers, who are now excellent fans of your product and offerings. This content includes referrals, requests, testimonies, and personal webinars.
4. Content in Multiple Forms
The beauty of most content is it can be repurposed and reproduced in multiple formats for sharing across various platforms and channels, furthering your potential reach and brand awareness.
For example, a single case study can initially be created as a traditional combination of text, tables, and images but then repackaged and shared in the video, infographic, blog post, social post, social ad, podcast, or print formats.
By establishing a set process for repurposing content, you can introduce time and resource-saving efficiencies to affect your bottom line positively.
5. More Social Engagement
We all yearn for the day when people see our content and engage with it. Getting a like, a share, and especially a comment is a sign that indicates our content is resonating with our consumers. These signs of engagement are signals of social and organic proof. That is why we need to ensure we are doing what we can to include a clear call to action that we want our followers to take. If sharing or commenting is what we want people to do, be clear and ask them to do so.
Consumers today, especially younger, tend to use social media to support their favorite brands, products, services. They back the bands that they know, like, and trust. Therefore, their followers are also like to trust and purchase from brands validated by their peers.
Prepare a Clear Content Strategy
Small business owners are finally catching on to the magic that content marketing can do for the success of their companies. However, most companies are still preparing content on a whim with no plan at all.
By developing a content strategy around what content to create, for who and where to distribute it effectively, you can ensure your efforts are rewarded with the benefits presented above.
If you want to know more about developing a solid content marketing strategy, schedule a free consultation to speak with a Content Marketing Strategist today. We can take a deep dive into your business and develop a solid plan to create content that resonates with your followers and showcase your value at the same time.
