7 Tips for Content Marketing for Small Business

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), half of all small businesses fail after five years.

One of the main reasons they fail? Unsuccessful marketing initiatives. Long gone are the days when word-of-mouth marketing is enough to sustain your business.

The good news is this is something you can control. While digital marketing is a vast field, exploring it can be exciting. From building marketing campaigns to creating impactful website content, there is so much you can leverage to ensure potential customers can find your business online.

Today, we will guide you on how to make a small business content marketing strategy. Let’s get into what you need to know about content marketing for small business owners!

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a broad term that includes many types of online marketing, such as:

• Email marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Online marketing
• Search engine marketing
• Social media marketing
• Thought leadership marketing

Further, there are many types of content that you can create in content marketing, like:

• Articles and blog posts
• Case studies
• Checklists
• Customer testimonials and reviews
• eBooks
• Email newsletters
• Infographics
• Landing pages
• Memes
• Podcasts
• Quizzes
• Social media posts
• Templates
• Video content
• Webinars

The possibilities are truly endless and offer lots of opportunities for you to connect with your intended audience.

Is Content Marketing Effective for Small Businesses?

Yes, content marketing for small businesses is incredibly effective compared to other types of marketing. You'll especially reap the rewards when you focus on creating a consistent tone and high-quality content that delivers value to your customers.

What do we mean by that? Creating a content marketing strategy that solves a problem, answers a question, or gives something of value to your customers ensures they don’t feel “sold to” or like you’re pawning off a gimmick on them. Read on for tips to feel authentic and not like a sales pitch.

Key Questions to Ask Before Starting Content Marketing

To create the best content, there are some questions you should ask yourself before crafting your strategy. Consider the following:

1. What is my expertise?
2. Who is my target audience?
3. How can I make exciting and valuable content for my audience?
4. Which channels should I post on?

7 Tips for Content Marketing for Small Business Owners

After you answer the questions above, you can start drafting your content marketing strategy. We’ve compiled some content marketing tips based on our expertise and some of the industry experts to help your small business succeed:

1. Determine Your Target Audience

Who do you want to attract? By understanding your customer base, you can retain existing customers and attract new ones. Think about what they like to read or what content they want to consume. What are their pain points? What platforms do they like to hang out on? How do they share information?

The more you know about your target audience, the better you can speak directly to their needs and desires. This helps refine your content and better connect with viewers.

2. Create a Content Marketing Plan

A marketing plan is essential so you can create a calendar of content to follow. A content calendar allows you to create content in bulk and have it read to post without needing to stress about it last minute. It also allows you to be strategic in how you post.

Whether you plan to focus on search engine optimization (SEO) and keyword research or following TikTok trends, by creating a content marketing plan, you can then track what is working and what isn’t. Then, you can alter the strategy to ensure the best results.

3. Determine the Correct Channels to Use

Knowing where to focus your content marketing efforts can be confusing with so many social media platforms. While being on several platforms is helpful, you don't need to be active on every single one.

For instance, if you offer business consulting services and want to connect with other professionals, LinkedIn is a great place to be. But if you’re an eCommerce store selling vegan, cruelty-free makeup, you probably want to be active on Instagram and TikTok.

If you plan on being active on multiple platforms, repurpose your content. There is no reason you can’t change the format of the content and cross-post it on numerous channels to reach a wider audience with minimal effort. Adjust your tone and format to reflect that platform’s style.

Then, use social media metrics and Google Analytics to track the progress of your content. This ensures you’re posting in the right places.

4. Solve Real-World Problems

This is a biggie: every piece of content you create should serve a purpose. Great content always presents a solution or provides a helpful suggestion to the audience.

Remember, your audience trusts you and views you as a thought leader. Thus, it’s better to create in-depth content that doesn’t sound generic or repetitive.

When you solve problems for your customers, they’ll stick with your business as it evolves.

5. Use a Variety of Engaging Content Forms

With so many types of content you can create, don’t stick to just one format. Mix it up to keep customers interested and reach a broader audience. But, again, you don’t need to make every type of content.

For example, create an email list so you can talk to customers directly in their inboxes instead of waiting for them to see you on social media. Post a mix of infographics, videos, and photos on your social media pages.

Whatever content you create, always include a call-to-action (CTA). This encourages viewers to interact further with your business long after they’ve viewed the content.

6. Be Consistent

Building brand awareness through consistency is essential to building trust with your audience. If your message or quality starts to slip, your viewers will notice, and they may abandon your company. It makes you come off as untrustworthy.

Yes - we know you may run out of ideas or lose your enthusiasm as you continue with content marketing. But this is precisely why creating a plan and calendar is crucial to keep your efforts on track and consistent. If you have a plan in place, you can keep your momentum going when you feel uninspired or perhaps your last post didn’t do as well as you’d hoped. Not every post will go viral. And that’s ok! Some are a springboard for your heavy hitters.

7. Be Careful Creating Content With AI

Creating content with AI can seem like an easy and effective way to create relevant content while staying on top of marketing trends. But you do still need a human touch. Search engines notice AI content creation when it feels mechanical, and they don’t like it.

No need to be wary about trying new AI marketing tools, but make adjustments and leverage AI tools in the right way to get effective content. Purely AI-generated content is typically not “out of the box” publishable, so make sure you are bringing life to your content so that it will perform well on search engine rankings.

Work With Content Marketing Experts

With this guide on content marketing for small business owners, you can develop a winning content marketing plan that shows results.

But we know you may still feel overwhelmed by all the information. So whether you’re all out of marketing ideas or just have no idea where to begin, let’s have a chat! We happen to be a very personable group of creative enthusiasts who love talking about all things marketing and digital!

Contact us at EraserFarm to learn how our team of marketing experts can help your business with its content marketing strategy. We’re happy to help.

by Cindy Haynes

7 Awesome Benefits Your Business Gets From Working With a Digital Marketing Agency

About 68% of online activities start with a search engine. Unfortunately, the majority of people (75%) never look beyond the first page of search results. If your website doesn't appear on the first page, you need to update your marketing. With help from the best digital marketing agency around, you can reach more customers online. They'll help you generate more website traffic, leads, and sales, too. Otherwise, you could miss a chance to reach customers. Your competitors are likely appearing in front of those customers instead.

On the fence about hiring a digital marketing agency? Here are seven benefits to consider first. After discovering these reasons to work with an experienced marketing team, you can make a more informed decision for your business. Read on to learn more today!

1. Access to Experts

How much do you know about search engine optimization (SEO)? Are you up-to-date with the latest web design and development trends? What about Google's Core Web Vitals or Instagram's algorithm changes? You're already trying to become an expert in your field. You shouldn't have to become a digital marketing expert, too. Unfortunately, failing to keep up with the latest trends could cost you customers. Consumers might think your brand is old and outdated. They might turn toward competing brands that appeal to their interests instead. Before that can happen, hire a digital marketing agency. You can leverage their experience and expertise. With their help, you'll never fall behind the latest trends. Instead, they could even help you become a trendsetter in the industry. Consumers will notice you've upgraded your digital marketing strategy. They'll recognize your effort to remain informed about their concerns, too. These consumers might feel more inclined to choose your business.

Failing to remain up-to-date with the latest marketing trends could hurt your business in other ways. For example, Google updates its search engine algorithm constantly. These algorithm changes might impact your search engine rankings.

Lower rankings might make it more difficult for consumers to find you online.

Meanwhile, you could waste money with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising if you lack experience and expertise. You might unintentionally blow through your advertising budget on day one. Instead of risking it, look for an experienced digital marketing agency. They'll remain available to answer your questions and keep your strategy up-to-date.

2. Ongoing Attention for Campaigns

Once you start developing digital marketing campaigns, it's important to keep an eye on them. Many businesses make the mistake of "setting and forgetting" their campaigns. If you're neglecting your campaigns, it could cost you money.

Instead, consider the benefits of working with a marketing agency. They can keep an eye on your campaigns for you. They'll also know which key performance indicators to track. If your campaigns aren't meeting set benchmarks, your digital marketing team can make the necessary improvements. They'll know how to analyze and optimize your campaigns, setting every digital marketing strategy up for success. Then, you can generate more leads and sales. Optimizing your campaigns will boost your ROI, too.

Once you hire a digital marketing agency, you can use the time you would spend watching your campaigns on bigger tasks.

3. Improved Targeting

Are you reaching a broad audience with your current marketing strategy? Not every message will appeal to every consumer. In fact, about 74% of consumers get annoyed when content has nothing to do with their interests. About 45% won't spend time with branded content that doesn't align with their interests. Consider working with an experienced digital marketing agency that understands the importance of precise targeting. Segmenting your target audience into smaller buyer personas will help you personalize your messaging. Then, you can connect with customers based on their needs and interests. Improved targeting will help you save time and money. You can optimize your campaigns to improve your ROI, too. In fact, about 80% of consumers are more likely to shop when brands personalize.

Personalization could lift sales by 10% or more while improving your marketing ROI by eight times, too.

4. Better Tools

If you're not using the right tools, you might struggle to make informed decisions regarding your campaigns. For example, you'll need to gather keyword research before creating optimized content. Otherwise, you might choose keywords that have a low search volume. An experienced digital marketing agency will already use the tools needed to improve your campaigns. You won't have to spend time learning how to use these tools, either. Instead, rely on your marketing team to handle it for you.

5. Gain a Unique Perspective

It helps to gain an outside perspective. If you're too close to your business, you might not realize there are issues with your campaigns. You could struggle to improve your messaging, too. Gaining a unique, outside perspective could set your campaigns up for success.

Look for a marketing company that has experience working with businesses like yours, too. You can leverage their experience to further boost your campaigns.

6. Create an Omnichannel Approach

Remember, you're busy enough trying to grow your business. Handling an omnichannel marketing strategy as well can feel daunting. If you're not utilizing an omnichannel approach, however, you could miss the chance to reach customers.

The best digital marketing agency will know how to reach your customers on different marketing channels. They'll know how to create a cohesive customer journey, too. For example, you can promote your business on social media while engaging them through emails. Improving the customer journey could help you generate more leads and sales.

7. Save Time and Money

You don't have to take time away from your business and customers to focus on your campaigns. Neglecting your campaigns, however, could cost you opportunities. You might miss the chance to grow your business. Before that can happen, hire a digital marketing agency. They can save you valuable time, optimize your campaigns, and ensure you don't waste money. Instead, they can boost your ROI to set your business up to grow!

Set for Business Success: 7 Benefits of Partnering With a Digital Marketing Agency

Don't miss the chance to grow your business. So consider these seven reasons to hire a digital marketing agency. With help from an experienced team, you can set your business up for lasting success.

And, of course, don't worry about handling your campaigns alone. We're here to help.

Contact our team today to get started.

by Cindy Haynes

What Does a Marketing Agency Do?

In today's day and age, the internet is not an optional endeavor for businesses. In fact, by the end of 2021, experts are predicting that offline global revenue will be down by 20%. This is pretty scary news for small or medium-sized businesses that count on offline sales to survive. Fortunately, with the help of a great marketing agency, you can keep your business thriving in the years ahead, both online and off.

So what does a marketing agency do, you ask? These experts are responsible for taking the everyday challenge and time-consuming task of marketing off your hands. Of course, the benefits of using their services go much further than this. Follow along to discover exactly what a marketing agency can do for your business today.

What Does a Marketing Agency Do?

The answer to this question relies entirely on what 'kind' of marketing agency you're thinking of bringing on board. Some agencies focus only on specific tasks such as social media or SEO while others have a team of professionals that work together on your entire marketing approach. The latter is referred to as a full-service marketing agency.

For the sake of simplicity, let's tackle what these full-service agencies really do for your business. Your full-service offerings will break down into two categories:

Digital Marketing Strategies

Digital marketing includes all of the online avenues your business needs to stand out. A digital marketing team will work together to create a cohesive experience for users and drive traffic to your website.

The digital areas they will tackle include:

• SEO (search engine marketing)
• Content marketing
• Mobile marketing
• Video marketing
• PPC advertising
• Email marketing
• Social media marketing

As you can imagine, each of these tasks is a full-time job in itself. For example, your SEO strategies will include both on-page and off-page SEO to not only make your website user-friendly but increase its visibility across all platforms.

We'll dive into the benefits of these strategies later.

Offline Marketing Strategies

While your online approach is growing increasingly important, it is still vital to tackle offline marketing strategies too. By integrating your offline marketing with your online approach, you'll be able to get the most out of both strategies to maximize your impact.

Your offline marketing may include:

• Radio and broadcast advertising
• Print ads
• Events
• and more

The Benefits of a Using a Marketing Agency

So why not develop these marketing strategies on your own? Even if you have a strong understanding of how marketing works, taking on these tasks for your business is simply unmanageable for many business owners. Beyond the sheer amount of time it takes to carry out marketing correctly, the landscape of marketing and advertising is continually changing, making keeping up with your online and offline approach a huge commitment. In addition to the time and headache you'll save by outsourcing these tasks, you'll also experience the following benefits:

Fresh Perspective and Ideas

It can be easy to get stuck in a rut, especially when it comes to marketing. Oftentimes, what worked in the past on social media campaigns or brand advertisements isn't compliant with new algorithms or trends. This is why companies will have great success for a while and then plateau or drop off overnight. While you may know and understand your brand the best, an outside perspective can help you tackle those roadblocks and plateaus to continually see results.

Increased Relevant Traffic

Even if you're rising up in the ranks on Google, your SEO strategies could still be unbeneficial to your business. This is because you could be targetting keywords or audiences that won't help you grow. Because your marketing team is so well versed with their techniques and research, you'll notice an impressive difference in the quality of your audience. Instead of reaching uninterested consumers or ones way beyond your buying radius, you'll have increased website traffic that actually matters to your business.

Improved Brand Awareness and Reach

While there are many objectives to marketing, perhaps the most coveted result is brand awareness. Exposure to your brand is essential to gain customers, earn trust, and establish authority. Fortunately, by tackling your marketing with a full-service approach, you'll increase your brand awareness on multiple platforms. This increased awareness then directly impacts your reach. The more active and available you are in your marketing, the more customers will begin to see and remember your brand.

Expert Knowledge and Experience

When it comes to marketing, there's a ton to learn. While learning about the ins and outs of SEO and social media campaigns is doable, it's likely something that you just don't have time for as a business owner. Beyond this, as you learn, you'll inevitably make mistakes. While these mistakes are all a part of growing, they can cost your business quite a lot of money and energy to fix. Because marketing experts are so well versed in their job, they are far less likely to make these big mistakes, and if they do, they are tracked down much faster. Couple this with years of experience understanding what does and doesn't work in your industry, and it's clear how advantageous bringing on a pro can really be.

Cohesive All-Around Approach

Finally, by taking your entire marketing campaign to one agency, you'll have the clear-cut advantage of consistency. Your customer's trust relies on your brand having a consistent and cohesive experience on all platforms. Without agents that understand what's going on from platform to platform, they won't be able to create that unified approach. Beyond this, with insider knowledge on your entire campaign, the different elements of your marketing can work together to drive traffic exactly where it needs to be!

Your Marketing Strategy for Success

Now that you know the answer to your burning question, 'what does a marketing agency do?', you can set forth with confidence. From choosing a marking agency that suits your needs to understanding the benefits you can expect to see, we know you'll be on the right track with your marketing strategy.

Ready to experience the difference for yourself? Get in touch with us today to discover how we can transform your marketing approach for success in the ever-changing market.

by Cindy Haynes