Content marketing: why you need it + how to do it
Have you ever found yourself clattering away at the keyboard banging out a blog post or some other content and wondered what is it all for?!
Or maybe you haven’t started your biz yet but you’re feeling overwhelmed by all this talk of CONTENT! BLOG POST! SOCIAL MEDIA! PODCASTS! VIDEO! ARTICLES! CONTENT! CONTENT! CONTENT!
Indeed, a lot of people and businesses have a little panic and just sort of blast content out into the world with no clear purpose or strategy. Sometimes they get lucky and that works, but usually not.
The thing is, creating great content and sharing it effectively helps you build your biz and grow your client list without feeling like you’re selling yourself or convincing someone to like you.
It’s called ‘content marketing’.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing involves creating and sharing online content that’s valuable, relevant and consistent (and that’s not directly promoting your business) to build a devoted audience and ultimately get more clients or make more sales.
The key is creating content that’s truly relevant and useful to your audience.
Content marketing isn’t really about driving sales in the short term. It’s more about building a name and reputation for yourself or your business, establishing trust with your audience and building a following.
It can be an effective way to attract new readers and potential clients.
It’s also good for brand awareness and it will contribute to business growth over time.
How do you ‘do’ content marketing?
Using content to get clients comes down to three things:
ATTENTION
VALUE
TRUST
Use content to get people’s attention and offer them value to build trust. If you can do those three things, you’re well on your way to a growing client list.
But before you do anything, you need a bit of a plan. A strategy.
Years ago I (Ruby) worked at a communications agency when content marketing was just becoming a big thing (in Australia at least). In the early days, the temptation was to just pump out content sausages like a sausage factory and hope for the best.
I think a lot of small businesses take this approach with their marketing, really just spraying content all over the place. But that’s not a great way to do it. It’s a waste of your time. It waters down your brand. And it can make it hard for people to know what you specialise in and what your main message is. (Note to self: don’t be a sausage factory.)
Look mum, I’m doing content marketing! Here’s how.
1. Set some goals
First up you need to get clear on your goals. What do you want to achieve through content marketing – right now and longer term?
Are you trying to drive people to your website? Need to grow your email list? Trying to sell a new course? Want to boost your social media following? Clarify your goals because they will shape your strategy.
2. Define your conversation pillars
Next you need to define the key topics you want to be known for – what you want to become an authority on. What are your conversation pillars? These will be informed by your target audience and by the services/products you sell.
3. Consider your audience
Now think about how and where you’re going to use content to get people to do the thing you want them to do. Consider your target audience and ideal clients.
Where do they consume info? Where are their eyeballs? Are they looking for information on something in particular? Do they use Instagram or LinkedIn or Snapchat? Do they turn to Forbes or Elephant Journal or Medium for info on certain things?
These insights will give you clues about what sort of content you should be creating and where you should put it. In the early stages of your biz, you probably won’t know these things for sure, so don’t stress too much. It’s more about making some informed guesses and trying things out to see what works, then course-correcting as you go.
4. Create and share quality content
When it comes to creating content to share with the world, think quality over quantity. Whatever you create will contribute to people’s perception of your brand and the offerings you sell.
You want to be generous with your content and give people real, practical value. And be sure to optimise it with keywords!
Content can include blog posts, social media posts, articles, infographics, video, audio (like podcasts), reports, speeches etc.
It’s important to share and promote your content effectively to get it in front of your audience (otherwise what’s the point?).
Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post full of tips on getting your content noticed.
5. Test and measure
An important part of content marketing is evaluating what works and what doesn’t. What topics are doing well and what topics aren’t getting much love? Maybe you’re getting much more traction on Instagram than Facebook or vice versa? Perhaps your how-to blog posts are getting loads more traffic than your interviews? Use these insights to refine your approach.
Are you starting a new business (or recently launched one) and feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about how to create content to get clients? We step you through it (and so much more) in LaunchKit.
LaunchKit is an all-in-one kit that steps you through everything from building a rock-solid brand foundation to sharing your biz with the world. It also includes a simple marketing plan, a social media guide, website writing templates, real-world examples, handy templates and tools and so much more.
Join us in the comments! Tell us – what’s ONE thing you’ve learnt from this post that you can implement in your business ASAP? Or let us know what you find most challenging or confusing when it comes to content marketing or creating content for your biz. We’re here to help!