How To Leverage Content Marketing For Your Small Business

Content marketing is powerful for attracting customers to your small business.

What is content marketing? 

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is: 

"A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience - and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action". 

Planning and creating content aligned with your target audience, business goals and your brand is essential for meaningful communication and success.

It takes more than one piece of content to attract and retain a customer. Content marketing is a long-term game that will support you in building connections, trust and relationships over time.

Here are five content marketing tips for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Listen and understand 

Listen and get to know your audience because the more you understand, the easier it will be to create meaningful content that resonates deeply. Listen to what is being said and to what is not being said because this will reveal transformational opportunities. Through social listening and collecting relevant data and insights, you can create targeted content that attracts new customers, builds emotional connections and moves people to take action. 

Show up every day 

There is no such thing as an overnight success. Content marketing is a long-term investment in your business. If you want results, put in the work and commit time each day like you do in other areas of your business. To attract customers, you must consistently create and publish quality content that will help your audience. 

Do not add to the noise 

Create content of real value to the people you want to attract. What type of content does your audience want? What do they need to read, see or hear that will help them move forward and support their path to success?

Be you

There is no exact formula for how much content you should produce on social media because every business and community is different. Your content marketing, social media strategy and communication plan will be different to mine, even if we have the same business.

Run your own race and show people why your business is unique. Conduct research and see what others inside and outside of your industry are doing. Seek inspiration and ideas but do not copy what everyone else is doing because it will not work. Be you because this is what will attract the right people to you.

Make it shareable 

Target your content to your audience with the view to educate, inspire, empower and entertain. If your content is compelling and relevant, it will be more likely that your audience will share and engage with it online. If you talk to everyone, no one will listen. If you are specific, you will capture the hearts and minds of your audience. 

How do you use content marketing for your service-based small business?

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