If you have a small business, you know how tough it can be to stand out and grab people’s attention. Content marketing can be a game-changer, helping you connect with customers, build your brand, and boost sales. However, coming up with fresh and effective ideas can be overwhelming – especially when you’re working with a tight budget.
In this blog post, we’ll be covering five content marketing ideas that are perfect for small businesses. These tips are easy to implement, affordable, and designed to help you make a big impact.
What Is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is simply the creation of content and materials that are distributed or shared with a relevant audience. For example, if you create a blog post and share it on social media, you are doing content marketing. Similarly, if you create a video and share it on YouTube, you are doing content marketing.
If you create content of any form and share this content, that’s also content marketing.
Now, there are multiple ways of engaging with content marketing. A quick Google on the subject and you will find a variety of content marketing ideas, including (but not limited to):
- Blog posts
- Videos
- Social media posts
- E-books and whitepapers
- Podcasts
- Infographics
- Email newsletters
As a small business owner, you will have to decide which form of content marketing best matches your audience’s intent.
If you sell nail polish, for example, would an e-book engage with your customers over a video showing a person applying the product? If you sell a chemical component used in B2B manufacturing, would social media postings appropriately reach your very defined target market?
These are questions you need to answer for yourselves. But as we are discussing content marketing ideas for small businesses, we are going to assume the product is not complex and our marketing budget is low.
Here are 5 content marketing ideas for small businesses.
1. Videos
These days, anyone with a phone can take a video. But if you invest a little money in video recording software and an editing program, you can really take your videos to the next level.
People love videos because the information is much more digestible than reading text. These can be shared on your website, added to YouTube, and posted on other social media channels such as TikTok and Instagram.
Small businesses can create various video content, such as product demonstrations, behind-the-scenes looks, customer testimonials, and how-to guides.
Videos can increase engagement, and with a regular stream of videos, you can really stand out from competitors by adding video to your content marketing strategy.
We could decide, for example, to make a video of every product we sell or a video explaining every service we offer. When customers are looking for this particular product online, they may travel to multiple websites and be met with a product image and description, but once they land on your website, you will have a video. The customer will engage with the video, and here, you can convince them to purchase with you.
Yes, this requires effort, but it can be extremely beneficial in more ways than just converting this customer. The search engines will also realise that customers interact with your website, which sends a positive signal in terms of search engine optimisation. This can help you move up the organic rankings in search engines and acquire more traffic and potential customers.
2. Create Interactive Content
Interactive content, such as quizzes, polls, surveys, and interactive infographics, is a great way to engage your audience and make your content more memorable.
Interactive content not only keeps your audience engaged longer but also provides valuable insights into their preferences and behaviours.
This is what we are looking for from our content marketing efforts, engagement and consequential interactions. If we fail to engage customers, we will not get interactions, and interaction can lead to sales and customer data, which can bring valuable insights into our target market demographics.
One example of interactive content can be found on the Nike website. Here, you can interact with the website to design your own training shoe.
This allows the user to personalise their trainers, and after they have designed their own product, they can share the link. This link could potentially end up on social media or just sent to parents with their children’s preference on the style of trainers they want.
If you have a website, you should consider interactive elements and personalisation where possible, as it satisfies both our engagement and interactive elements.
3. Social Media Content Marketing
Social media platforms are powerful channels for content marketing.
Each platform has its own strengths: Instagram is great for visual content, LinkedIn is ideal for professional and B2B content, and Twitter works well for quick updates and customer service.
Use a mix of posts, stories, reels, and live videos to keep your content fresh and engaging. Also, encourage user-generated content by running contests and asking for customer feedback.
Additionally, live streaming on social media channels can create real-time engagement with your audience, fostering a sense of community and immediate feedback.
Have you heard of a TikTok shop before? Many small businesses live stream their shop and also perform live product demonstrations.
This form of social commerce has really grown over the last few years and should be explored by all new small and start-up businesses as a potential revenue stream that is made possible with content marketing. https://www.emarketer.com/content/5-charts-showing-tiktok-shop-s-potential
4. Invest in Paid Ad Content Marketing
Paid advertising can amplify your content marketing efforts by reaching a larger and more targeted audience. Platforms like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Instagram Ads allow you to create tailored campaigns that can drive traffic, increase brand awareness, and generate leads.
Start with a small budget to test what works best for your business, and then scale up. Use compelling visuals and clear, concise copy to capture attention and ensure that your ads lead to high-quality landing pages that convert visitors into customers.
If you only target a specific locality, you can drop adverts in this area only to reduce ad spend, and you can also target people with particular interests.
You can link to your interactive content, display your videos, and really promote your small business’s benefits.
5. Develop Post-Sale Content Marketing
Content marketing shouldn’t stop once a sale is made. Post-sale content is crucial for customer retention and loyalty. This can include thank-you emails, instructional videos on how to use the product they have purchased, follow-up surveys, and exclusive offers.
Creating a post-sale content strategy shows customers that you value their business and are committed to their satisfaction.
Many businesses make a sale and deliver a product, and the journey ends there. If you can make the whole purchase journey a memorable experience, you will increase the chances the customer will return and make repeat purchases.
Content creation takes effort, as you have to produce content that matches your customer’s intentions. One example could be we have already created a video to draw a sale in; now, we could create another video they receive post-purchase with more detailed instructions on how to use the product and things to consider when the product arrives.
If data suggests customers value delivery, we could create content based on the delivery they receive post-purchase. We could also ask customers for pictures or videos, which we could use on our website in what is known as user-generated content (UGC).
Here, we will receive content from our customers, which we can then use to our advantage in social groups and on your website. Our content marketing strategy can take advantage of these areas other companies neglect or fail to draw content from.
Need Help With Your Content Marketing? Contact Us Today
By investigating these five content marketing ideas, small businesses can build a strong, engaged audience and foster long-term growth. The key to successful content marketing is consistency, creativity, and a deep understanding of your audience’s needs and preferences.
If you need help with your content marketing strategy or ideas that can benefit your small business, contact us today and speak with one of our marketing specialists.
Posted on Friday, May 31st, 2024 in Digital Marketing.
