A well-planned content marketing strategy is a crucial asset for any small business, though it’s not easy. You might find yourself sweating at the prospect of having to write blog posts three times a week or putting together a comprehensive whitepaper. but the truth is, all the hard work can really pay off.
Just ask those small businesses posting blogs on a regular basis and earning 126 percent more lead growth than those that don’t have a blog.
So, to help you get more out of your content marketing, we’ve put together the following tips.
Know Who You’re Writing For
One of the most important steps in building a good content marketing strategy is understanding your audience. If you try to write for everyone, the results could be vague and, most likely, interesting to no one.
But when you focus your aim and write for a specific segment, you can inject more truth and power into your content.
Think about your current customer base, your competition, and the pain points your business addresses. This helps clarify your ideal reader and the action you want them to take.
A Content Calendar is Key to Success
It might be tempting to create content as and when the mood takes you. Especially when your small business is operated by a skeleton crew with little spare time to flex their creative muscles.
But implementing a content calendar establishes a tighter focus and boosts relevance. For example, generating ideas for Christmas-themed content weeks in advance gives you the time to think carefully about the sort of answers your audience will be looking to solve in the run up to the season.
Planning themes and topics early reduces time wasted scrabbling for ideas on the day a blog post is due, too.
Use Long-form Content to Achieve Better Results
Research shows long-form content brings stronger results, with articles of more than 2000 words performing well for around 56 percent of creators.
That’s not to say you should never publish short posts, such as news updates, insights into forthcoming products, or simple articles offering a quick read.
Just make sure to publish long-form content that demonstrates thought leadership and gives readers something they can sink their teeth into regularly.
Experiment with Visual Content
Images help users process information and grasp the core topics or themes of a piece of content before they even start reading. Posts including images generate 650 percent higher engagement and earn three times as many links as text-only ones.
Try publishing infographics and videos on a regular basis, but spend time and money getting them to a professional standard first. When using images in your content, use original photos or graphics as often as you can. Only rely on stock visuals when you have no other option.
These content marketing tips can help small businesses build more effective campaigns and reach the right people. But it can be difficult to implement a strict plan when you have a company to run and a team to manage.
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