5 steps to develop a Content Marketing Strategy

We have already established the importance of content to your overall marketing strategy, defined what constitutes content and determined that content is king.   The next step is natural: developing a strategy.

As you should know by now I have an affinity to the number five, it doesn’t mean that there are only five steps to creating a content marketing strategy but let’s make it efficient and share five simple steps to start you off on the right foot.

Establish goals – As with any other activity, in business or in life, goal setting is critical for success; and, for your content marketing strategy, it is no less important.  Identify the main purpose for including it in the overall strategy.  Do you want to educate, inform or entertain? Do you want to increase sales and visibility or build brand awareness? Define those goals that are important to your business as you start on the journey towards developing engaging, relevant and valuable content.

Know your audience – Who are you targeting and where are they located are two of the most pertinent questions to be answered in this step.  It is also important to identify specifics such as age, gender, income level, geographic location and education.  Aim to create a customer avatar i.e. your ideal customer type.

Decide on the content type – Are your messages best transmitted through blogs or short, engaging social media posts?  Will you use trivia or quizzes, e-books, images, videos, infographics, webinars or podcasts?  Or maybe you could use a combination of a few.  Bottom line is; decide on what information you will share and the best method to use.

Identify the best channels – While all social media channels are popular, all are not equal.  Some social media outlets appeal to the younger, more modern demographic while others go for the more conservative or professional types.  The most important decision is to identify the best social media channels for your company’s messages and those are usually the ones on which your target audience lives. 

Measure and measure again – Ensure that there are key measurement indicators that identify when the strategy is achieving the set goals or falling short.  Measuring throughout execution of the strategy is important.  It helps to determine when adjustments are needed to achieve the desired outcome.  Use the SMART technique to assist you.

5 reasons why Content Marketing must be part of your business’ Marketing Strategy

If you use digital marketing as part of your business’s marketing, content marketing should be central to your marketing strategy.  After all, digital requires content to be effective.

For many, the concept of content marketing may seem foreign but closer inspection will prove that it is not so new at all.  Do you post on social media? Is there a description of your business or product available on your social media pages or website? Yes; that’s content; and content marketing would be the consistent creation and distribution of this information which is used to attract and retain a specific audience.  This of course, is with the ultimate effort of driving profitable customer action.

One of the most persistent issues facing many small business owners is the lack of a sustained marketing budget.  The most sizeable part of the business budget is used in the areas of product development and for other business set-up costs often time leaving nothing for marketing.   Content Marketing is one of the strategies that can fill the gap while the business works on its budget. 

Content Marketing has proven time and again that it is a valuable addition to any marketing strategy.  The Content Marketing Institute reports that while it costs 62% less than outbound marketing, content marketing generates more than three times as many leads.

The following are five reasons why this inexpensive yet effective marketing tool must be included as part of your business’s marketing strategy:

-       Builds brand awareness – Imagine you had this great product but no-one knew, not even the people you made it for… content marketing is one of the most significant marketing tools that a business owner can use to build awareness and increase visibility around his brand. Writing your own copy means that you have the opportunity to position the business the way you want it to be perceived by your customers.  Content Marketing provides the opportunity to coin your business’s message using clear language and delivering it using platforms that your client group utilizes.

-       Attracts buyers – Using the concept of the consumer buying process, customers first recognize the need for an item and then goes searching for the information to lead them to the specific item.  When you have well-written copy about your business offering, that is easily accessible and readily available, you have already won in the eyes of the consumers, especially if yours is the only information he can find.

-       Easy to share on social media – One of the biggest benefits of content marketing is its shareability.  Sharing useful, relevant and timeless information on social media can impact your business positively and when your customers share your business information with their friends; it extends the life of the post and increases business visibility.  Encourage your customers and other stakeholders to share positive news about your business on social media; done right, it should result in leads that will positively affect your bottom line.

-       Builds expertise, credibility & authority – Aside from sharing information about specific the product or service you provide, you could also extend your knowledge sharing to include industry-specific information which positions you as an expert on the specific industry or subject.  Your customers and industry-peers will come to trust your knowledge and heed your guidance when making decisions.  Sharing your expertise will also position you as an authority on the subject matter and yours could become a credible voice for your industry.

-       Inexpensive way to share your message – Content Marketing provides the most inexpensive means of sharing your message and long after the content has been posted, it will live on in perpetuity on the internet.  Content Marketing is like the gift that keeps on giving.

A 3-Step Guide to Designing your business' Marketing Plan

I have found that many small business owners either don't factor marketing into their business planning or attempt to do it themselves, most times without the requisite skill or knowledge.

As a practitioner, I can confirm that marketing is both an art and a science, and attempting something for which you have no skill can sometimes end up with unwanted results.

By now, it would have been established that marketing for any business of any type or size is critical to business success.  But for small business owners who have insufficient resources, the ability to position their businesses in the market is sometimes severely hampered.  In this 3-step process, I will show you how to design a marketing plan that can help your business gain visibility, connect with your ideal client avatar and steady your business bottom line.

 

1.    PLAN – The planning stage comprises research, concept development, strategy and budget.

·         Just as research was important in the beginning stage of your business so it is important when the issue of marketing your business arises.  Research provides an opportunity to identify the best channels to use for your marketing messages.  It also provides another necessary piece of information; cost.

·         Distinguishing your product and service offerings from that of your competitors is important.  This is what happens in the concept phase.  Explain the features, highlight the attributes and expound on how the product will benefit the customers.  Developing the right concept ultimately helps the business to focus on fulfilling the needs and wants of its customers.

·         A marketing strategy is critical in the planning stages.  Having identified the channels in the research phase, it is now time to create the best marketing mix to implement strategies that are effective.  This is where the 4Ps take centrestage i.e. product, price, promotion and place.

·         Marketing can happen without a budget but it would not be as effective as it could be with a budget.  Small business owners are encouraged, no matter how small to make room in their business’s budget for marketing.  Marketing is the single, most effective tool to inform your target market about your business.  Bear in mind, it is pointless to open a business and no one knows.

2.    IMPLEMENT – The implementation stage comprises execution and engagement.

·         Execution is the phase in which your marketing strategy is actioned.  Book those ads, set-up your social media accounts, establish customer tracking and sales portals and actively do business promotions.  While you execute, never forget to measure.

·         Engagement: Meaningful interactions are important particularly to small businesses.  Remember, your resources are limited therefore each client interaction should be used as an opportunity to win customers.  Recall too that today’s consumers are getting multiple messages from multiple channels; how you engage will allow you to stand out. 

3.    GROW – The growth stage comprises attracting clients and converting leads to ultimately grow the business.  Effective implementation of the marketing programme will inevitably draw the customer’s attention.  And; in a world where ‘inquiring minds want to know’, the targeted customers will ask questions.  This is your opportunity to not only respond but to settle the questions and convert conversations into sales and repeat business.

Of course, marketing a business is not as easy as 1-2-3.  The reality is that the best option is always to hire a professional but the tips provided here should give you an idea what is involved in the process and how to engage with your marketing team.

Ten Benefits of Digital Marketing for small businesses

Digital marketing is advertising delivered through digital channels. Channels such as social media, mobile applications, email, web applications, search engines, websites, or any new digital channel. (Neil Patel)

1. Quick and easy touch points for customers – Readily accessible to customers at any time of the day or night, anywhere in the world
2. More cost efficient than traditional marketing – Digital marketing provides a higher return on investment as the spend is lower.  Business owner can also use analytic tools to identify exactly where funds are to be spent.
3. It provides real time results – In a world of instant gratification, digital marketing allows small business owners to see the results of their campaign as it happens. Thus, they can adjust if something is not working or increase the spend based on the returns being experienced.
4. It puts the small business in ‘big’ company – Digital marketing levels the playing field for large and small businesses. Because of the affordability of digital marketing, smart marketing campaigns can yield the same or even better results for small businesses.
5. It builds Brand Reputation – Your brand’s stories are more believable when they are in writing or shared by satisfied customers.  Use positive customer stories to establish your brand and build your reputation online.
6. Extends your business's reach beyond local borders - With digital marketing, business have the opportunity to target customers not just in their local area but in markets you've never imagined.
7. It enables distribution of your business's content - Content and digital marketing are first cousins.  Digital enables efficient content sharing.  Emails, social media status updates, blogs and video sharing are just a few of the ways that digital enables content.
8. It enables mobile marketing - A whopping 90% of internet users access websites using mobile.  Of course, digital marketing enables mobile
9.  Digital allows you to measure ... everything - As a small business, it is important to know how your marketing dollars are being spent and digital allows you to track the performance on each and every tactic.
10. It is the most powerful form of marketing - Digital is the most powerful form of marketing because it incorporates online marketing, social media marketing and mobile marketing. 

 

Five strategies to market your small business on a shoe-string budget

I've been asked about 'marketing on a budget' so many times that I’ve decided to write a short but sweet blog entry offering five ‘free’ marketing strategies to include in any shoe string marketing budget. So here goes:

Always have a business card – Use a design tool such as Canva to help you to create clean, brand-centric business card… The card should include all your contact information such as name of the business, telephone contact, email address, social media handles and a website if you have one.  In terms of cost; printing! Keep electronic cards handy though as many businesses trade online.

Networking – Networking is the single most effective form of marketing when you are on a shoestring budget.  Identify groups that have similar or complementary interests and see how you can benefit from building business relationships.

Collaboration – Another strategy that can build your business Identified during networking, look for businesses that both of you can benefit from a relationship for each other.  For example, you are a maker of bamboo straws and you meet a leather products manufacturer who can create holder for the straws, that could be a beneficial partnership.

Blogging/Content Marketing – My absolute favourite, maybe because I am a Content Writer.  One of the cheapest, most effective way to get the message about your business in front of your target audience is producing and sharing practical, useful content.  If you do not have a website, not a problem.  Sites such as Blogger and Wordpress will host your blog for free, providing free templates that accommodate both text and images and allows for building your audience.  Use your blog to share information about each of your products and/or services and target the blog to your ideal customer audience.  A blog is always best if supported by social media platforms that drive traffic to the blog.

Never miss an opportunity to share your opinion – Yes, you are in business to make money but you may get offers to share your expertise and there is no compensation… do not decline.  Use the opportunity to build your credibility and reputation as a thought leader in the specific area.