Why Should Small Businesses Invest In Content Marketing?

19 Apr Why Should Small Businesses Invest In Content Marketing?

Small businesses and young entrepreneurs are finding new and interesting ways to market themselves. The online world has given them the opportunity to look beyond brick and mortar businesses and rely on innovation. Phased and planned use of the internet has helped them to get the response they need. All of this requires good content. All online exercises without good content can be ineffective.

The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as ‘.. a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.’ that throws them in a positive light and even gets them business.

Small businesses especially need to invest in content marketing because it can help reach out to thousands of untapped markets and customers. Content marketing can help a small business in many ways:

1. It creates awareness: Customers have needs, but they are not always aware that your business can offer them a solution. Regular updates and brand visibility can certainly boost sales because the target customers are getting their answers from a source they can make a purchase from.

2. It boosts brand awareness: Consistent, fresh content that is published at a regular frequency creates opportunities for the target audience to get familiar with a brand.

3. Guide customers to your website: Share-able content drives customers on to the business website through search results, social media platforms and more, where good content takes over and hooks the customer.

4. Builds your identity as an expert: If a business can talk about all aspects of its industry and this information is shared across popular platforms, it helps demonstrate the brand’s capability and expertise.

There are so many ways to market content; that the trick really is to recognize the method most suited to your vertical. Info-graphics, pod-casts, webpages, blogs, videos, online help books etc. are some simple methods that can change the way a business uses its content.

A fine example of content marketing is The Lego Movie that was created to sell movie tickets. A 100-minute toy commercial had an audience. And coincidentally or not, Lego recently trumped Mattel, the creators of Barbie, to become the largest toy company in the world.

Your customers and competitors are hooked to content marketing. Are you?