Content Marketing Trends for 2023
Content Marketing 6 min read
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Home Blog Content Marketing10 Practical Content Marketing Tips for Growing Your Small Business
Content Marketing 6 min read
Content Marketing 4 min read
Content Marketing 6 min read
Content Marketing 4 min read
Content marketing, more than any other digital marketing strategy, is the most accessibly to small businesses owners who want to scale fast
Did you know that the marketing mantra “content is king” is almost three decades old? It was the title of an essay Bill Gates wrote in 1996, published on the Microsoft website.
In that piece, the tech visionary somewhat predicted what is now a norm for people on the internet, today. And that is, as Gates wrote, “Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet.”
Knowing what we know now, we can all say he couldn’t be more right.
If we dig a little deeper though, content is king because it hits all the digital marketing wins, from better brand awareness down to improved sales. The numbers and statistics prove the effectiveness of content marketing.
As reported by Content Marketing Institute in 2021, 88 percent of marketers claimed that they have successfully reached their goals of creating brand awareness and building credibility and trust through content marketing. Meanwhile, according to Google, 53 percent of shoppers say they always do research (ergo, turn to content) before they buy.
This is true more so in this digital-first era, and audiences are digital natives. Hence, content creation is indispensable to business success. It is, however, not a secret that creating engaging, relevant digital content isn’t easy. The struggle is real, especially for small businesses that don’t have a lot of resources.
The good news is that even though you’re a small business, you can create a robust strategy and make your content reign in the digital landscape. For our marketing team, these content marketing tips are the most important and impactful to business success:
One of the most important ingredients to content marketing success is knowing who exactly you’re talking to. A lack of understanding of the audience is often the reason many content marketers fail or, at least, find it hard to hit their reach and engagement goals.
The thought here is simple: If your target audience isn’t able to connect with your content, then why would they read through your blogs, let alone share them?
Hence, before planning what kinds of content you should put out, the first question you should ask is: who is our target audience? The more detailed you answer that, the better.
One of the best ways to understand customers is to draft a content persona – a detailed description of someone who represents your target audience. At the minimum, you must be able to fill out the most important information in this profile, namely:
Through surveys, online behaviors, and intelligent assumptions, you can create a detailed profile to better understand your audience and refine your digital content strategy.
There’s a certain level of trust shared when people buy from a brand. That trust can be earned through high-quality content online. When people see that your brand has expertise and offers authoritative advice on things that matter to them, there’s a greater chance that they’ll do business with you – with someone they trust.
One of the timeless, most effective tips for content marketing is, rather than hard-selling your offerings, talk about topics and issues that your audience care about. Then, discuss people’s common struggles and the ways your brand can address these pain points.
The content persona you created can help in identifying those struggles.
A competitor analysis can help you identify content gaps, the top-performing, which you can adopt and do better, and the low-performing, which you can avoid. Here are some actionable steps for reviewing competitor’s content strategy:
These are rich sources of excellent content ideas. Industry trends are a topic of interest for your audience. Meanwhile, content marketing trends can help you put a new spin to how you present content.
Recently, short-form videos have been the most popular in the marketing scene. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts have been gaining traction among online users because they’re entertaining and easy to digest.
Calls to action are important in any marketing strategy because we want customers to move along the sales funnel and eventually take the desired action. At the same time, people actually want to know what they ought to do next.
This is why in every piece of digital content, whether that is a how-to guide on your website or a funny gif on your social media page, there should be a clear, compelling call to action. Remove the second guessing or confusion on the next step in the process, and you’ll have a better chance at making your content marketing strategy useful for boosting conversions.
Learning how to do content marketing right involves understanding the sales funnel. Remember that customers are on a journey when they buy a product or service.
They start with the awareness that your brand exists, and then goes down to interest, in which they want to know more about what you offer.
The next phase is consideration, wherein prospective customers further learn about your products and services, weighing if it’s worth buying.
Then they come to the decision and action phase, where they proceed with the purchase transaction.
The digital content you produce must cater to where your customers are in the sales funnel. When done right, this should move them to the next phases until they reach the action stage. In general, you must have top-of-the-funnel content, middle-of-funnel content, and bottom-of-the-funnel content. For a small business selling clothes, a rough content strategy may look like this:
The bottomline is that you must have content catering to the needs of your customers, wherever they are in the sales funnel.
Some small businesses make the mistake of doing impromptu posts, publishing whatever they feel like publishing at the moment. This move isn’t sustainable, not to mention ineffective in making a real, lasting impact on audiences.
What you need is a content plan and calendar, which will make you more intentional and consistent in executing the strategy and help you monitor efforts.
Plot your content topics on a timeline, paying attention to the best times and days for publishing. Consider the special occasions, such as holiday celebrations, so you can join the conversation of the general public online. Include your own brand events as well in the content plan.
This is not just to avoid monotony in your brand’s online channels. It’s also to cater to different kinds of audiences. Some of your customers may be more engaged in long-form blogs, while others probably prefer snackable content, such as short-form videos and gifs.
To attract as many online users as possible, explore different types of content.
Don’t neglect the importance of repurposing and converting content pieces to other types. A how-to blog, for instance, may be turned into a video. An explainer video may be rehashed as an infographic. This is an excellent move when you’re running out of new content ideas.
Aside from repurposing content, you may also use these content creation tools to overcome the creative rut.
Publishing digital content regularly on the website boosts search engine optimization efforts, as it builds organic traffic. On social media, frequent posting increases visibility online and helps you build a following. For different social networks, the ‘ideal’ frequency varies:
Aside from the increased brand awareness, consistent content publishing can help you better fine-tune your content strategy. You’ll be able to find out what works and what doesn’t, as well as which days and times are ideal for posting.
You dedicate a lot of time and resources creating digital content, from brainstorming to executing to publishing, but the work doesn’t stop once it’s up on your website or social media page.
You must work equally hard to promote the content. It’s no use having the best content when your target market won’t see it. Here are some platforms you can use to direct attention and traffic to your content:
Remember, as you dedicate a schedule for posting content, include in your calendar the promotion of content as well.
Content marketing is today’s marketing. It’s tailored to the primary need of modern buyers, which is information. But specifically, it helps in these marketing areas:
Small businesses aiming to reach success should have content marketing in their priorities. As you embark on this journey, start with these action steps:
Are you ready to make your content king in the digiscape? Tell us your plans by connecting with the Propelrr team via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
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