Content marketing is essential for small businesses, offering a powerful way to reach goals and grow an audience.
By creating and distributing relevant, valuable content, businesses can attract, engage, and retain a clearly defined audience to drive profitable customer actions.
The more content to create, the higher the chances of success.
In fact, 60% of marketers report that content marketing generates demand and leads, while 81% see it as a key business strategy.
Tips for Building a Smart Content Marketing Strategy for Small Businesses
Define the Mission:
Establishing a mission helps set a clear purpose for each piece of content.
Not all content will achieve the same outcomes, so defining the goals is crucial.
These goals may include:
Generating qualified leads
Increasing brand awareness
Boosting customer retention
Enhancing customer engagement
Converting leads into loyal customers
Establishing thought leadership
Identify the Audience:
Understanding the audience is essential for crafting content that resonates.
Beyond defining content goals, need to know who are targeting.
Consider these tools to help to research and reach the audience effectively:
SEMrush (paid): Allows keyword-based topic research, offering insights on relevant content.
Quora (free): Provides ideas based on common questions people ask, highlighting popular interests.
Content Crowd (paid service): Connects the with freelance writers to scale content creation when needed.
Set Goals:
For each goal, outline specific objectives that guide the strategy.
For instance, if target small business owners, consider sharing educational content, DIY tips, or insights on trending industry topics.
Define Measurable Objectives:
The goals should be measurable and realistic.
Consider setting up tracking for metrics like:
Revenue: Sales, subscriptions, or paid downloads per month.
Leads: Form submissions, newsletter sign-ups, and conversion rates.
Brand Awareness: Website visits, video views, and social media engagement.
Customer Loyalty: Returning customer rates, bounce rates, and subscriber counts.
Engagement: Growth in social media followers, comments, shares, and other interactions.
Allocate Resources:
Identify the time, budget, and staff available for content creation and promotion.
If need extra help, platforms like Upwork and FreeUp can provide access to freelancers and virtual assistants.
Use a Content Calendar:
A content calendar is essential for keeping track of tasks and deadlines.
While advanced project management tools are useful, a simple spreadsheet can also work well. Include fields for:
Content type
Scheduled date
Platform (social media, blog, video, etc.)
Keywords
Motivational source or research notes
Optimize Content:
Keyword research is key to creating discoverable content.
Look for high-volume, low-competition keywords.
Google Autocomplete can also help identify trending searches and topics.
Repurpose Content:
Leverage the best-performing content by repurposing it for other formats.
A successful blog post can be turned into social media posts, infographics, videos, and more.
This approach saves time by maximizing previous work.
Update Evergreen Content:
Review and update evergreen content each quarter to keep it accurate and relevant.
Industry standards and regulations often change, and refreshing content ensures it remains useful and current.
Promote Content Continuously:
Promote high-performing or evergreen content consistently over time.
Invest in extending its reach through regular promotion on social media or other channels, getting maximum value from each piece.
Analyze and Adjust:
Regular analysis helps identify what works and what doesn’t.
By reviewing metrics, uncover opportunities to refine the strategy, ensuring ongoing improvement and alignment with the goals.
A well-planned content marketing strategy enables small businesses to build their brand, engage their audience, and achieve growth systematically.