The rise of content marketing has revolutionized the way in which companies communicate with customers, and completely changed the game when it comes to how small businesses compete. By offering informative articles, video tutorials and instructive guides, start-ups can now reach more customers faster than it was previously possible. Through content marketing, you can attract relevant customers even in small niche industries where entry is often difficult. Read on to find out more about how content marketing can help to grow your small business.
- Build a Reputation as an Authority
Building a loyal customer base can be a difficult feat for a small business, especially in the beginning. Customers find it hard to believe in ‘the new guy on the block’ and would rather opt for a more experienced company with a proven track record. So what can you do to grow your customer base?
One effective method of content marketing would be to consistently provide credible advice and value-added guidance on a particular topic. A business owner can reach a wide audience via social media platforms and Q&A sites like Quora at a very low cost per acquisition. Things like articles, free information guides and e-books are all different ways in which you can display your knowledge and expertise in order to gain trust and build a reputation for yourself as a thought leader in your particular industry.
The most important thing to remember when building your content, is to stay true to your brand and use your own unique voice and perspective as a distinguishing factor. Show your audience that you know what you’re talking about and soon enough they’ll start to give you a chance. In a nutshell, combining originality and creativity to deliver credible knowledge is a great way to quickly establish yourself as an authority in your field.
- Increase Your Customer Base
With so many voices clamouring for attention, it’s tough to build an audience. But, even with a small online community you can build a loyal customer base, because research shows that smaller communities tend to be more engaged than huge followings.
With a small, engaged community, just one interesting post can spark lots of conversation that builds interest in what you have to offer. Oftentimes you’ll find that your group of followers is made up of people who know each other, some of whom have come across your platform through word of mouth. And the more engaged you are with your audience, the more likely they are to share your content with other relevant consumers.
In this way, content marketing allows small businesses to attract new customers instead of seeking them out through slower, more traditional methods. Plus, consumers tend to be more attracted to a company that’s led by an influential thought leader, and will readily trust and buy into what they have to offer. Just look at successful enterprises like Virgin and VaynerMedia. Both have influential thought leaders at their helm and their position as authorities in their respective fields has earned them more consumer trust and led to lucrative transactions. So be sure to provide high quality content that solves a particular problem faced by your target audience, and you’ll have more conversions and buying customers in no time.
- You can Learn More about Your Industry
In order to lend credibility to your content, you have to supplement the claims and statements you make with facts gained from thorough research. The research process then exposes you to valuable information and insights that keep you on the pulse of what is happening in your industry. So the more content you create, the more compelled you are to do research about your field, and in turn you’ll become more knowledgeable about your industry.
Final words
Managing the content writing and distribution is very time consuming. And it is going to be hard to do this at scale. Hiring an seo services expert or a social media manager/content manager will help you focus on what you know best i.e your business and free up time to focus on growing your firm.
