Why Content Marketing is Essential for Small Businesses

With content marketing, even a small business can compete with the bigger fish online.

Small businesses often find it difficult to compete with larger companies when it comes to online marketing. Larger businesses have more resources and can afford to invest in expensive marketing campaigns, such as paid advertising.

But despite the fact that small businesses have limited budgets for investing in these types of campaigns, there are more accessible approaches that can help them capture audiences.

This is content marketing – an online marketing approach that is by far the most accessible among the lot. This approach is ideal for small businesses because it allows you to connect with potential customers just like the big enterprises, for a really accessible cost.

Why should small businesses do more content marketing?

Apart from accessibility, content marketing is an excellent way for building lasting and valuable connections with audiences. By providing valuable content that is relevant to their interests, you can build trust with customers, and encourage them to return for more information or purchase.

It’s a cost-effective way to reach customers, and it can be done using tools that are available for free or at a low cost. And the strategies are often not as complicated to execute. In fact, we’d bet some of you are already doing it yourselves, somewhat.

As a small business, content marketing allows you to access the same benefits that big businesses enjoy online. These would be:

1. Improved audience engagement.

Audience engagement is one of the most important benefits of content marketing. When you create content that is relevant to your audience and provides value, they will be more likely to engage with it. This could mean reading, watching, or sharing your content with others.

When you have a high level of engagement with your audience, it indicates that you are providing content that is valuable and interesting to them. This can help to build trust and encourage customers to return for more information or to make a purchase.

Content marketing is a great way to improve audience engagement, and it can be done using tools that are available for free or at a low cost. By creating content that is relevant to your audience and provides value, you can encourage them to engage with it on a deeper level. This can help to build trust and encourage customers to return for more information or to make a purchase.

2. Improved website traffic.

One of the main benefits of content marketing is that it can improve website traffic. By creating engaging content that attracts attention online, you can increase traffic to your website and attract new customers. In addition, content marketing can help you to rank higher in search engine results pages, which can result in even more website traffic.

If you’re looking to improve your website traffic through content marketing, be sure to focus on creating high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience. Create content that is interesting and useful, and make sure it’s updated regularly.

With a little bit of effort, you can see a significant improvement in your website traffic through content marketing.

3. Stronger brand trust.

In online marketing, trust is key to winning audiences over. And this is primarily achieved through content.

By providing valuable content that is relevant to customers, you build trust with audiences. Subsequently, this trust leads to audiences turning into customers that regularly engage with your brand and, eventually, avail of your products and/or services.

Content marketing is an effective way to connect with customers and build trust. By creating content that is interesting and useful, businesses can connect with customers on a deeper level and encourage them to return for more information or to make a purchase.

4. Better customer loyalty.

One of the benefits of content marketing is that it can help customers solve their problems. When customers are regularly exposed to content that is interesting and relevant to them, they are more likely to develop a stronger connection with your brand. This in turn can lead to customers being more likely to stick with you, rather than switching to your competitors.

This is especially important for small businesses, as it can be difficult to attract new customers. Content marketing can help to create a loyal customer base that is more likely to return and do business with you again in the future.

What kinds of content can you explore?

The beauty in content marketing is that even the smallest executions can bring you lasting and remarkable results. This is why businesses of all sizes invest in the creation of content.

If you’re looking for more practical content types to start promoting your brand with, here are a few you should consider:

1. Blog posts

One of the most popular content formats, blog posts can be a great way to provide valuable information to customers and connect with them on a deeper level.

Additionally, if you’re building towards search engine optimization efforts, this format can help you establish initial keyword associations for your website.

FURTHER READING: How Blogging Helps Your Business

When creating a blog post, there are a few key things to keep in mind:

• Start with a catchy headline that will intrigue readers and make them want to learn more.
• Write in an easy-to-read style that is engaging and enjoyable to read.
• Provide valuable information that is relevant to your target audience.
• Use images, infographics, and videos to break up the text and add visual interest.
• Include social media sharing buttons so readers can easily share your content with their followers.

With blogs, you provide customers with readily accessible information that they can use to further improve their experience of your brand.

2. Videos

Video content is the current favorite content format online. For any kind of brand, it can be a great way to engage customers and showcase your products or services.

Although arguably more costly than writing blogs or creating social media posts, the returns and engagements from videos make the investment well worth it. Moreover, social platforms are also becoming more video-forward, providing users with more accessible video editing and publishing tools.

Explore short-video formats such as what you see on platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and/or Instagram Reels. Shooting videos for these platforms don’t necessarily have to be done with fancy equipment. Often, you can just make use of your phone cameras, edit them with the tools and templates found on the platforms, and you’re ready to publish.

When creating video content, it’s important to keep the following in mind:

• Keep your videos short and to the point.
• Make sure your videos are interesting and engaging.
• Use visuals to up the text and keep viewers interested.
• Plan your videos ahead of time and create a story before you film them.
• Film in a well-lit area and use a tripod to avoid shaky footage.
• Edit your videos carefully, removing any mistakes or rough patches.
• Upload your videos to YouTube or other video-sharing sites, and embed them on your website.

By following these, you can create high-quality video content that will engage and inform viewers, helping to promote your brand in a more effective way.

3. Infographics.

Infographics are a great way to communicate complex information in an easy-to-understand format. They can also be helpful for increasing brand awareness and driving traffic to your website.

When creating infographics, it’s important to keep the following in mind:

• Make sure your data is accurate and reliable.
• Ensure that your infographic is easy to understand and visually appealing.
• Include a clear and concise title.
• Include key takeaways or facts near the bottom of the infographic.
• Use a variety of fonts, colors, and graphics to make your infographic visually appealing.
• Include a call to action at the end of your infographic.

4. Social media posts.

Social media is a great way to connect with customers and share your content with a wider audience. By creating engaging social media posts, you can help build brand awareness and attract new customers.

When creating social media posts, it’s important to keep the following in mind:

• Make sure your content is relevant to your target audience.
• Write in a style that is easy to read and enjoyable to read.
• Include images, infographics, and videos to break up the text and add visual interest.
• Include social media sharing buttons so readers can easily share your content with their followers.

By following these best practices, you can create social media posts that are not only informative but also engaging and visually appealing.

A formula for effective content

Quality content is content that is interesting and useful to customers. Whether you choose to explore just one, or even all, of the formats above, remember that great and effective content is:

• Relevant to your target audience’s interests, desires, needs, and/or concerns.
• Told in an interesting and engaging way by providing entertainment, education or emotional resonance.
• Provides value to customers by delivering information they can relate to or have yet to discover.
• Well-written and well-researched.

MUST READ: 15 Content Marketing Tips Straight from the Experts Themselves

Key takeaways

Content marketing is an excellent strategy for small businesses because it’s: 1) cost-effective, and; 2) generates consistent and sustainable results. Should you wish to explore it further as a way to grow your online presence, you can also:

• Build towards repurposing content. This is a technique where you adapt existing content into other formats so that you work efficiently.
• Always promote your content. Give your content a boost by promoting it to your loyal customers. This can be done through newsletter campaigns or, simply, on social media.
• Get structured. Create a content plan, calendar, and workflow so that you can get organized and ensure consistent delivery of content.

Do you have your own story of how content marketing helped you grow your online business? Tell us about it on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear them.

For more tips on how to leverage content marketing for brand growth, make sure to subscribe to the Propelrr newsletter for instant access.