Why You Should Craft a Compelling Content Strategy for Your Small Business You have the branding. You have the campaign strategy. You have a great product. So why is your small business not attracting and retaining its audience?

You have the branding. You have the campaign strategy. You have a great product. So why is your small business not attracting and retaining its audience?

The buyer's journey can be a long one, with plenty of opportunity for detour on the road from awareness to purchase decision. Our world is fast-paced and attention spans are shortening. Not only that, there is competition constantly vying for your audience's already limited attention.

You design marketing campaigns to enhance brand awareness and increase sales. But you are still struggling to convert consumers to loyal buyers and brand advocates.

Your audience is overwhelmed by choices. When all their options begin to look the same, they struggle to decide which product is best for them. They become paralyzed by their options and frustrated with the buying process.

So how do brands rise above the noise to make their voice heard? A content powerhouse.

Content marketing is a key component to any brand strategy. It is next to impossible for audiences to connect to a product unless they first connect to its brand story. To break through the chatter and enhance audience engagement, small businesses are carefully planning their content strategies.

Not only does this allow small businesses to establish themselves as a credible industry voice, it cultivates enduring relationships with their consumer base.

When organizations use honest and meaningful content to tell their brand story, they facilitate a profound connection between their audience and product.

How do you capitalize on this 2017 trend?

• Brand story: Take advantage of content marketing, but ensure the story is authentic and true to your brand
• Engagement strategy: Hone a message that evokes an emotional response and sparks curiosity about your product.
• Data and insights: Translate the raw data you gain from qualitative and quantitative analysis into actionable audience insights.
• Digital integration: A little bit of digital technology can go a long way if the content is strong and the digital channel is purposeful.
• Immersive design: Captivate your audience. Quality of content is important, but without strategic and creative design, your audience may never read that first line.

If you employ these tactics and invest in rich content, you'll build a strong foundation for the consumer relationship that lasts year after year.

Your business has something worth sharing. Let the rest of the world know too.