Mashable recently posted an article called “How 3 Companies Took Content Marketing to the Next Level”. It’s a good read, with tips from 3 big name companies on how to establish great content marketing strategies. Content marketing, or branded content, is creating and freely sharing relevant information, typically with the goal of converting prospects to customers, as well as customers to repeat buyers. We’re talking about blogs, newsletters, white papers, and free reports, just to name a few. It’s a great way to engage your prospect and customers, and build long-term relationships with them. It can also be very inexpensive, if you produce the content in-house, and utilize social media channels to distribute.
Are you intimidated by the thought of writing content? Don’t be! You don’t have to be a professional writer. If you have a small business, chances are you’re an expert in that area, or are very knowledgeable on a specific subject in your industry. Team up with a co-worker or staff member if you are still unsure of your writing skills. Or, even better, don’t write…make a slideshow or a video tutorial! Multi-media is hot, and engages a broad audience. Again, it doesn’t have to be made by a professional. More important than how you create the content or your writing style, though, is WHAT you talk or write about. If you publish and share great content, customers will come to you!
The advent of social media has made it incredibly easy to publish and share content. Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, SlideShare, YouTube and social news sites, such as Reddit and Digg are just a few of the ways you can share your content. You likely already have a social media presence anyway (if you don’t you should, but that’s another blog post!) so utilize those outlets to get your content out there and broaden your reach to potential customers. Do you have examples of how you have successfully used content marketing in your small business? We’d love to hear about it!
