5 Reasons Your Small Business Needs Content Marketing Don't be the needle in the haystack. Make your needle sharp enough to cut through all the noise with custom content.
By Dan Antonelli Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Constantly clamoring to grab the attention of prospective customers, small businesses are competing with a lot of noise. Consumers are cutting through clutter by fast-forwarding television shows, subscribing to ad-free digital radio, installing ad-blockers to browse their favorite websites sans-ads and customizing what's in their social media feeds.
To avoid getting skipped over or ignored, savvy digital marketers must craft messages that their target audience wants to see. When small businesses communicate with their customers by providing information instead of offering a sales pitch, the consumer will listen. The message and the brand is no longer an interruption, but a valued information provider.
Related: 15 Ways to Get a Top Google Ranking for Your Small Business
There's a name for this tricky tactic -- it's called content marketing. Content marketing means consistently creating and distributing information that is valuable and relevant to those people within a small business's target audience. Ultimately, the goal is for your content to entice a consumer to do business with your company.
You might be thinking, "That's not what I do -- I'm not a writer!" But whether you sell gizmos, fix cars or build homes, content marketing for your company can help you attract and retain customers.
Here are some of the ways content marketing drives results for small businesses.
1. Boosts brand awareness.
Consistency is a key ingredient to a successful content marketing strategy. This means publishing fresh content at a regular frequency, creating many opportunities for a target market to see the company's name. Your brand becomes familiar to them, and you'll be top-of-mind the next time they need your services.
2. Builds an identity as a trusted expert.
If there are 10 plumbers in a town but only one provides helpful information that educates the community about plumbing maintenance, problems, options and innovations, that brand will stand out as the expert. By doing this, a brand is demonstrating its expertise, so prospective customers need not question or research its know-how. Since this small business is helping consumers without getting paid for this advice, it will also earn a reputation of being trustworthy.
Related: 3 Reasons Why Content Marketing Is the 'Only Marketing Left'
3. Encourages your customer to take action.
When consumers need to spend money or make time for a service, it's natural to procrastinate. However, once a consumer gets clear answers to his or her questions, or hears a story that he or she can relate to, that person could finally be motivated to make a purchase or schedule an appointment. Producing content that guides a consumer through the buyer's journey (awareness, evaluation and purchase) results in more sales.
4. Sharable content brings people in the door.
Creating a steady stream of fresh information on a variety of topics opens several avenues to drive traffic to a website -- through search, social media, traditional media and more -- which ultimately results in phone calls, orders or foot traffic. Marketing tactics that are already in place, such as pay-per-click advertising, digital banner ads, public relations efforts, social media accounts and search engine optimization don't work as well without content to promote.
These vehicles need something to talk about and link to. Publishing new, relevant content gives people a reason to click. Covering unique, timely and seasonal topics will interest a broader audience and encourage repeat visitors. It also boosts ranking in search results, making it more likely that potential customers will find your small business before one of your competitors.
5. Keeps your website fresh.
Most consumers today rely on the web to find information they need to make decisions. So, a website often will be a consumer's first impression of that business. A stagnant, stale website is less interesting and less professional than one with updated content that changes regularly. Undecided consumers who are researching their options might check out a website and social media presence more than once. When they come back, seeing something new and relevant makes their visit a better experience -- and shows that the brand is a professional organization.
