Why does my small business need content marketing?
Short answer: to build relationships with people supporting your small business.
Content is a powerful way for your audience to understand your business.
Your core messaging summarizes your business offerings, purpose, and differentiators.
Your brand messaging is short & sweet, so people instantly understand what your business offers.
Many business owners fret that their marketing messaging doesn’t contain enough detail, because there is so much more they’d like to share with their audience.
Yet there can only be so much on your web homepage or landing page.
For those pages to be effective, they need to be concise, clear, and have a singular call to action.
We’ve all visited a website that had wayyyyyy too much going on at once. They’re hard to navigate, have too much information, and often lead to us clicking off the page. That’s why it’s so important to have one clear objective per page of your website.
So, where can you share all your stories, ideas, and insights?
Content marketing is how you share the nitty-gritty of your business purpose, values, and expertise.
It’s a way to expand upon your core messaging to connect authentically with your audience.
Why content marketing is important:
Imagine you’re at a gallery and read the bio of the artist.
Between the bio and the art, you have a sense of who the artist is, their medium, and their topic of interest. However, it’s a vague understanding.
Now, imagine you’re invited to dinner with the artist after the gallery show.
You can converse with the artist and learn more about their interests, history, and what inspires them.
You feel a personal connection to them and their work.
Content marketing is the dinner conversation.
It’s how you engage with your audience on a deeply authentic level.
Through blog posts, email marketing, social media, and multimedia content, you can drill down on specific topics relevant to your business and your audience.
Valle Creative Consulting offers a variety of content marketing services for small businesses.
It’s the core of what we do because it is so damn effective.
How does content marketing help small businesses?
Effective content marketing is all about developing a bond with your audience.
An important part of relationship marketing, prioritizing the connection between your business and your audience to build trust in your offerings.
Trust leads to repeat customers and happy clientele.
How does content build trust?
Content allows you, an expert in what you do, to share your knowledge, life experiences, lessons learned, and anecdotes with your audience.
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With educational content, you showcase that you really know your stuff!
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Your audience recognizes you as a real person and gets to know your sense of humor. Humor is tough to crack, but it is HUGELY effective in building connections with your audience.
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You highlight why others love your offerings by sharing customer success stories and testimonials.
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It’s an opportunity to share your values and why they’re important to you.
Essentially, content is a way to build genuine relationships with your audience through storytelling.
How is relationship marketing related to content marketing?
Well, the foundation of content marketing is storytelling. People inherently connect to stories and are more likely to remember information provided in a story format.
Plus, folks respond to stories better than direct statements. As noted in this NPR article,
“Messages that feel like commands — even good advice coming from a friend — aren't always received well.”
The same is valid for marketing messages. No one likes to be sold to.
Let’s use the art gallery example again...
Picture yourself admiring a piece of work hanging on the gallery wall. The artist approaches and says, “You should buy this one. Do you want it?”
Based on that interaction, you may feel put on the spot, awkward, and not inclined to purchase.
If the artist had shared what they were thinking and feeling during the creation process or shared a personal anecdote about the subject matter, you may feel more connected to the art and, therefore, more likely to purchase the piece.
What is content marketing?
Content Marketing - noun. A type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services.
Content Marketing Types / Formats:
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Essays and Blogs
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Educational Videos
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Vlogs
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Newsletters and Emails
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Social Media Content
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Podcasts
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Infographics
Why is content important in marketing?
Content serves several purposes in marketing:
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Lead generation
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Lead retention
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Nurture & convert clientele
Lead Generation: Content marketing helps grow your business by improving web traffic and site engagement.
When folks are curious about a topic related to your business, they’ll discover the content you’ve created to share your expertise.
You can capture their curiosity by thinking through your audience's questions regarding your business offerings and turning the answers into content.
Plus, content marketing opens doors for guest posts on other blogs and websites, allowing you to re-use what you’ve already created to reach new audiences.
Lead retention and client conversion:
Content marketing builds trust through educating and entertaining your engaged audience.
Folks who trust your business are more likely to be repeat customers and have a higher lifetime value.
What content should I be creating for my business?
The type of content you create depends on your audience and where they seek information.
It also depends on what type of content you enjoy creating. Some folks feel more aligned with video content, while others prefer the written word. A strong mix of the two is optimal for success.
I recommend that clients select no more than three formats and platforms to distribute their content.
Quality over quantity!
As I’ve mentioned before, marketing is an ecosystem, and finding the right balance for your business is essential for success.
WANT TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS WITH CONTENT MARKETING?
A strong content marketing strategy requires a deep understanding of your audience, your values, and your business differentiators. Let me handle the hard work for you.
Let’s chat. Find time for your free consult here.
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