Skip to main content

Get Your Arms Around Content Marketing

Back in the afternoon, business owners and executives designed marketing messages due to their products and services that, such as a megaphone, were directed outward toward target customers and cast a wide net. The most common marketing media were print, radio and television.

Traditional marketing activities continue to be employed, but they've been joined by a more personalized strategy referred to as content marketing. Neil Patel, CEO of KISSmetrics, defines content marketing as "... the way for a business owner to educate customers and potential customers about your products and services. The target is to offer tips, help and education about anything which can be helpful to the customer. This sort of information may be shared in the form of a weblog, white paper, webinar, video. or social post... "


Content marketing directs inward and engages customers on a granular level. Solopreneurs and organization leaders can reveal a heavy comprehension of customer priorities and challenges, build trust and credibility and demonstrate how customers Guest Post Services might take advantage of using their products and services.

Michael Brenner, a Forbes Magazine Top 40 Social Media Marketer and head of strategy at NewsCred, points out that "Small businesses don't have the luxury of massive ad budgets... They have to drive brand awareness and (sales) leads with limited resources. Content marketing is a great way for small businesses to complete both."

Great. How can early-stage entrepreneurs, small company owners and Solopreneurs begin with content marketing? First, identify the content your customers will value and present it in a way that will lead them to your message. Consider your customer's viewpoint about the causes which they use your products or services: what are they trying to attain and what information might they appreciate? Speak (and listen) to your customers about their business goals and challenges and get a much better handle on where your products or services fit in.

Shelly Kramer, founder and CEO of V3 Integrated Marketing, advises marketers to "Tie your current business goals and objectives into your content marketing strategy" and to incorporate content marketing into social media. "Social and content need certainly to interact to ensure that you to be successful... You can't have success with content with no robust presence in the social media space... Understand the role that fresh, relevant content and social media channels play. There is great content being published on corporate blogs on a regular basis that no-one ever sees."

Next, choose your delivery platforms. Do customers visit your website often? Then posting a bright paper once a month or writing a weekly blog could benefit you. Are customers part of your LinkedIn group or Facebook fan page, or do they follow your organization on Twitter? Add those icons to your email signature block and website, to generate social media connections that alert customers to your content.

Along side fresh and relevant, volume, value and variety are your other guide posts. Brenner says "(Volume)... starts with this particular notion that you'll require to be present in our always on, always connected world. The next thing is value. Your content has to be good. I recommend that brands identify what they want to share with you and then make every effort to make the maximum amount of valuable content around those topics as frequently as possible. The final tip is about variety. Customers (and search engines) reward brands that deliver value in multiple ways, so think of text-based articles, videos, SlideShare presentations, case studies and all the data we consume across the digital, social and mobile web."

Finally, measure your content marketing ROI and monitor its impact. Patel offers three metrics: 1. Track content views; 2. Use Google Analytics (free) to track which types of content drives visits to your website; and 3. Measure your search traffic. "You've to offer it time. Don't expect great results in 3 months or half a year, however you will see traction. Within the first 3 months you should see more traffic to your site. Inside a year you should start to see good results and an opportunity to monetize traffic in your site."

Comments