For small and local businesses, it can be hard to stand out against larger nationwide brands. However, content marketing can help your small business attract attention, and for relevant niches in your industry, too.
Content
marketing is a marketing approach that involves creating and
distributing relevant and valuable content to your prospective audience
in the hopes of driving a consumer action, and it has numerous benefits
for small businesses. It can give you the opportunity to not only expand your company, but also to build your reputation and establish a place as a trusted leader in the industry.
1. It generates traffic to your site
Content
marketing drives inbound traffic to your site. When potential customers
have a problem or a particular need, they’ll search for a solution.
Having that solution, whether it be information, a helpful guide or even
entertainment, means customers are going to visit your site and
possibly turn to it in the future for additional solutions.
Audiences love when content feels tailored to their interests or particular needs. In fact, that’s why custom content is favored by up to 68% of consumers.
By creating custom content for your site that tailors to your target
audience’s needs and interests, you’ll be building their trust and solving their problems.
2. It builds brand awareness
If
you’re consistently publishing fresh and unique content on your website
and promoting it on social media, you’re creating more opportunities
for your target audience to see your name and content. Plus, if you’re
pleasing your audience, they’ll be more likely to spread the word about
your small business to their followers and friends, which helps you
reach even more people.
But, content marketing can also help build
your link popularity. If what you’re producing is quality content,
people will link back to you. It can be difficult to rank against bigger
companies as a small business, but building link popularity can help
your online visibility, so your website and content will rank higher on a
search results page.
3. It can increase leads and sales
This
partially goes without saying, but the more people you have visiting
your site and viewing your content, the more likely they are to convert
into leads and eventually customers.
Even for small businesses,
customers rely on blogs and website content when they’re making
purchasing decisions; people like to know as much as they can before
they buy. Plus, creating content relevant to your company’s product or
services helps your audience truly understand what they will gain by
doing business with you.
It’ll also help you become a trusted
leader in your industry, and consumers buy from people and businesses
they trust. With content marketing, you’re quite literally showing your audience and customers that you know what you’re talking about, which makes you seem like a safe bet to buy from.
4. It establishes you as a thought leader
The
more you establish yourself as well-educated in the industry, the more
they’ll look to you as an expert or authority, especially if you provide
your audience with high-quality content that genuinely helps them.
Earning the title of thought-leader is always a
good thing, because then you’re in a position where people not only
listen to what you say, but they turn to you first for the answers they
need.
For small businesses, this is especially important. It shows
your audience that you’re just as knowledgeable as the bigger brands,
but you can also provide customers with the more personal, small
business experience.
5. It encourages engagement
If
you create interesting content, your audience is more likely to respond
to it, which opens the door for you to engage with them directly. This
gives you the opportunity to further delight your readers by either
continuing to entertain them or answering a specific question they may
have.
Beyond customers, though, it also gives you the opportunity
to engage with other industry leaders to discuss topics you’ve also
written about. This can broaden your network and help you build stronger
connections with other leaders, which allows you to establish yourself
as an authority in the industry as well.
6. It costs less than traditional marketing
Content
marketing for small businesses can prove to be more cost-effective than
more traditional forms of marketing, especially if you can generate the
content yourself. Lead generation through inbound content marketing
tends to cost only half of what businesses usually spend on outbound
marketing. Spreading your content through social media and email,
posting it on your website or contributing to larger sites to get your
name out there are all either low-cost or free.
Plus, inbound
content marketing means the customers are coming to you, so it’s more
efficient than traditional outbound forms because the consumers are
already aware and interested.
Source: www.entrepreneur.com
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