Why Small Businesses Should Be Creating Content
As small businesses, we always seek ways to stand out from the competition. In today’s digital world, that often means creating content that can be repurposed across multiple platforms.
Content marketing is a great way to build brand awareness and establish yourself as an authority in your industry. It can also help you generate leads, convert customers, and increase sales.
If you're a small business owner with limited resources, getting started with content marketing can seem like an overwhelming task. But it shouldn't be. In this article, you are not just going to understand why you should start creating content for your small business but also the content strategies you can apply to grow your business.
Latest content marketing stats.
Content marketing stats highlight how important it is for companies to develop an effective content strategy that provides value to their target audience. Here are some of the most important content marketing stats you should know about:
● 84% of businesses have content marketing strategies put in place
● 79% of businesses use content creation for quality lead generation.
● Consumers are always looking for interactive content
● In 2021, 93% of marketers who used video marketing said it’s important to their success.
● 78% of video marketers got more site traffic after using video content.
● 71% of buyers said they relied on blog information during their online buying process.
What are the benefits of content creation for small businesses?
If you're a small business owner, you've probably heard the phrase "content is king". But what does it mean? And how can your business benefit from content creation? Here are some of the benefits of content creation for small businesses:
Improve your SEO.
Creating content is a long-term strategy. You need to think about not just today but how you can use your content to attract customers in the future. Creating and sharing relevant, high-quality content is the best way to improve your SEO.
What does this mean for small businesses? The more quality content you have on your website, the better chance you will have of ranking higher in search results and connecting with potential customers who are looking for what you offer. It's important to keep in mind that while there are some short-term benefits of good SEO (like improving rankings), it's also important not to neglect long-term goals like increasing brand awareness or driving traffic through social media channels by creating useful and engaging posts that add value to their online experience.
If done well, these posts should produce positive ROI over time because they give people reason enough to choose one company over another when deciding the best place to meet their needs.
Build trust with prospects.
When you create content, you’re showing prospects that your business is an expert in its field. By sharing relevant information with your audience, you can build trust and increase their likelihood of choosing you over another company.
Educate potential customers
Content can be used to educate customers about your products and services, which is often the first step in helping them decide whether or not they want to work with you. For example, if you’re a plumber who wants more leads, create an article on how to repair a leaky faucet. You can then use social media and email marketing campaigns to reach potential customers who might have this problem and show them how easy it is for them to fix it themselves.
Educating your audience on how best to use your products or services will make them more likely to engage with you to get the most out of what you offer. This can help increase sales because people feel more comfortable making purchases when they know exactly what they need from a company before buying anything.
Differentiate yourself from competitors.
One of the main benefits of creating content is that you’ll be able to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
Your customers will notice the difference when they see the valuable information and insights you are providing them. This is important because it helps them understand how you can help them, which makes them more likely to choose you over your competitors. You can do this by creating unique and interesting content that no one else has published before and writing about specific topics differently than others have done before. For example, if there are 10 things every small business owner should know about SEO (search engine optimization), but there isn't any information on how to create an effective keyword strategy for their website or blog post titles, then write about it! Your customers will appreciate having access to this type of info instead of wasting time trying to figure everything out themselves.
Increase conversions & sales.
The truth is that good quality content will help you generate leads and sales for your business. It will increase traffic to your website, which will, in turn, increase conversions. Content converts viewers into customers because it shows them what they want: how your product or service can solve their problems or meet their needs.
Businesses need to start thinking of content as more than just words on a page—it's a way to connect with customers through storytelling, brand awareness and loyalty programs like email marketing campaigns.
Increases your site visits
Creating content can help you increase your site visits in several ways. The first is by providing your audience with information they want and want to know. This will increase the time people stay on your site, allowing you to engage with them through social media or paid advertising and convert them into customers.
Another way content creation increases traffic is by helping you rank higher in search engine results like Google or Bing. When these engines see that there is more interest in what you're offering than other companies who produce similar products or services, they will place your website higher up on their list of results so that it's easier for someone searching for something to find out about what you do without having to go any farther.
Increases brand loyalty.
If done right, content creation also helps customers feel like they're getting insider information from someone on their level who understands what they need and want out of their careers or personal lives. Your expertise is valued by the people who matter most when buying products or services — so why not show off what makes yours different from everyone else's?
Contributes to a stronger social media presence
Content creation is a great way to build a stronger social media presence and your community. When you post regularly and share your content with the world, you increase the likelihood that people will follow you on social media. This means that they're more likely to see what else you have to offer, which in turn helps them get more value from their relationship with your brand.
You can also build relationships with influencers by creating useful content and asking them to share it. You can even partner up and create joint content together. The possibilities are endless!
Builds stronger customer relationships
By creating content, you can build a stronger relationship with your customers. Your customers will feel like they know you and your business better. Your blog posts can be about important things to the customer base, like helpful information or product recommendations.
You'll be able to understand better what your customers want from their experience with you and how they like to interact with you online. This helps give more value back to them by offering them content tailored exactly to their needs, which builds trust between the two parties.
Opens doors for partnership opportunities.
Partnerships are a great way to get your content in front of more people. This can be especially helpful if you're a small business because you probably don't have the resources to spend on advertising and marketing as bigger companies do. Keep an eye out for opportunities where your company could team up with another brand or organization with an audience similar to yours, then reach out and ask if they'd be interested in working together!
When two companies work together on something, each party gets exposure from the other's existing customer base and grows its customer base.
Shows your expertise in a specific niche.
Content creation helps you stand out from the crowd because it shows that you're an expert in your niche. When people see quality content from one of their peers, they're more likely to trust them and become loyal customers—which means more money in your pocket!
What are the types of content every small business should be creating?
The answer is simple: all types of content. That might sound like an obvious answer, but there's a lot of confusion about what to create and how much time and energy to spend on it.
So let's break down the types of content every small business should create:
Blogs
Blogs are a great way to share your expertise with the world. You can write about everything from industry trends to the latest news in your field or even provide better tips for your customers on using your products or services. Blogs also help establish you as an authority in your industry, making them useful for SEO purposes and attracting new customers through social media shares and links back to your site from other sites that link back to yours.
Videos.
Videos are another popular form of content marketing because they are easier than writing blog posts or creating images or infographics. You can produce them more quickly and often at a lower cost than other types of content. Videos can be short animated clips or longer form presentations where you speak directly into the camera while filming yourself on video.
Infographics.
Infographics are visual representations of data that are easy to digest at a glance, making them ideal for sharing on social media sites like Pinterest or Facebook, where users might not have time to read or watch long blogs and videos.
E-books
Ebooks offer more value than blog posts because they include more detail on a particular topic or issue. They're also easier to consume than long articles because they can be read at your own pace instead of having to scroll through text on a screen.
Podcasts
Podcast listeners are an engaged audience — they listen for longer and more frequently than any other media consumer. Podcasts also make reaching new audiences easy by syndicating them across platforms like iTunes or Google Play Music.
Social media updates.
Social media updates include anything from sharing pictures on Instagram or Facebook, posting statuses on Twitter and re-tweeting others' posts on Twitter or LinkedIn. These are great ways to keep people updated with what's happening in your world while also increasing brand awareness!
How can small businesses create good content?
There are many ways for small businesses to create good content. Here's how to do it:
Know your goals from the beginning.
Before creating content, ensure you know exactly what you want to achieve with it. Are you trying to drive traffic to an event? Gain more followers on social media? Increase sales leads? Once you know what your goal is, write down specific goals and metrics that will measure whether or not you've reached it.
Have a plan in place.
Don't wing it! Set aside time each week (or month) to plan out your next round of content creation so you don't waste time or lose track of what needs to be done when it comes time to publish something new on your site or social media channels.
Know your audience — and be realistic about it.
Your customers are unique, so treat them as such when developing your editorial calendar. The best way to do this is by finding out who they are and what they want from your business by surveying them or looking at the data from previous campaigns. Your audience may not be as large as you think (or hope). For example, a local retailer might only have a few hundred local customers in its database — not thousands of potential shoppers worldwide!
Write about what you know.
If you're a plumber, write about plumbing. If you're a dog trainer, write about dogs. This is one of the most important things to remember when creating content for your business. If you are an expert in your field, then it makes sense that people would trust the information that comes from your website or blog.
Create long-form content.
Long-form content is more engaging and better for SEO than short articles. The longer the article is, the more likely people are to share it with their friends and family through social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.
Use photos and videos whenever possible.
These increase engagement and make your website look more professional and appealing to visitors who may be looking for something similar to what they are currently experiencing on your site.
Observe the metrics.
Look at how people interact with your website and social media accounts, and identify the types of content that get the most clicks, shares and likes. Use that information to inform future content creation efforts.
Conclusion
Content creation can help your business grow in many ways. You can grow your brand, reach more customers and increase sales by creating quality content relevant to your audience. It can also give you insight into what they want and need so that you can provide them with products and services that meet their needs.
