Guide to Content Marketing for Small Businesses: Tips & Ideas
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Krista Hillis
63% of marketers are using content marketing; here's how to get started at your business.
Content marketing for small businesses may seem straightforward at first, but once you dive in, you quickly realize how complex it is. There are many moving parts and a lot of content types and metrics to track. Then there's the task of feeding the content marketing beast—it's hungry, especially as your business grows.
You need to maintain a significant investment in technology and talent to sustain your content marketing operations. If you don't, your competitors will quickly take your place. Gartner research shows that in 2022, 37% of CMOs increased their investment in content and messaging, and 41% increased campaign creation and management.[1]
The time to build a foolproof content marketing strategy for small businesses is now. Leveraging the latest research and data, here are the best content marketing tips for small businesses to stay ahead of the curve and boost your ROI.
Why do small businesses use content marketing?
Content marketers typically aim to create brand awareness, educate their audience, and build trust with their content marketing strategy. However, there's another reason content marketing has taken off—it can be measured and optimized. You can track your performance and tie that performance to your ROI.
Content marketing is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes, even those with small teams. Capterra's Marketing and Sales Alignment survey found that 63% of marketers say their company uses content marketing as part of their marketing or advertising initiatives.*
However, not every business is getting it right—Gartner finds that only 33% of marketers are confident that their content metrics are tracking directly to their business metrics.[2] So, while many small businesses think they have the right recipe, their strategies fall short. They miss out on the core reasons they began investing in content marketing.
The key is to build the foundation of your strategy and then scale your efforts, tweaking your strategy along the way. Above all, know why you are investing in content marketing. What are your goals? Let those reasons fuel a comprehensive, documented plan to track performance from day one.
Benefits of content marketing for small business
Knowing what's possible for content marketing can help guide your strategy. Those potential advantages will motivate you and provide insight into whether it's time to pivot.
Here are some of the benefits of content marketing for small businesses to consider:
Increases brand recognition, consumer trust, authority, and loyalty.
Identifies your audience's pain points and creates content that addresses those problems, helping you generate leads and increase sales.
Supports a cost-effective approach.
How to create a content marketing strategy for your small business
When creating a content marketing strategy, it’s easy to get lost in the wealth of available resources.
Plenty of the recommendations you read about will drive success when implemented properly—some will work for you, but some won't. The key is to start, remain consistent, and adapt. Building a successful strategy takes time and requires testing, so understand it is a work in progress.
To start building your reputation as an authoritative leader, keep the following steps in mind.
1. Deeply understand your target audience's needs
First up is identifying your audience so you can create a strategy that prioritizes content for them.
As Jess Munday, cofounder at Custom Neon, explains, "Content marketing needs to be a lot more than just churning out pretty pictures and catchy ads. The output must be strategized—who is your demographic, what are their pain points, and how best can we demonstrate to them our solutions? How can we devise visibly striking content that cultivates trust and drives desire?"[3]
Dive deeper into your audience to take this process one step further. "Where and what does our target audience read and watch, what are they searching for on Google, and what social platforms do they use? How are our competitors engaging with them? What are they driven by? Price, service, sustainability..." Munday says.
Your audience is unique because your brand is unique. Remember that as you're crafting your strategy. The sooner you pinpoint the people you're targeting and what they want from the content you create, the sooner you'll enjoy a healthy ROI.
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There is a difference between knowing your audience (e.g., how many followers you have) and understanding them (e.g., what your audience wants and needs). This process is continual as you dig deeper into your audience’s motivations, challenges, goals, and behaviors. Lean on consumer data and analytics. The insights you gain will form the building blocks of your strategy. Focus on how you’ll reach your intended audience, the type of vocabulary that will resonate with your intended readers, and speak to them in an authentic tone that’s representative of your brand.
2. Select your content channels
Content marketing possibilities run the gamut from email marketing and blogging to social media and podcasts. This can be the overwhelming part; however, you can use the many available types and channels as an opportunity to develop a unique approach.
The best combination will depend on your industry, audience, and business objectives. In terms of popularity, HubSpot found that images, blogs, and videos were the top three types of content created in 2022.[4]
Here are some of your options:
Update your website's landing pages and blog: This channel can boost your SEO, deliver value, increase brand awareness, generate leads, and drive higher conversions.
Leverage social media to target an audience with specific interests. Using this channel, you can also collect invaluable data. Short-form video content such as Instagram and TikTok reels are highly effective.
Consider video content and podcasts, which are growing in popularity. Gartner found that 44% of CMOs plan to increase investments in digital video advertising in 2023.[5]
Add gated content to help drive your email marketing strategy, especially when offering thought leadership pieces.
Use repurposed content to help crush your key performance indicators (KPIs). You can repurpose any high-performing content into varying mediums. If a blog post you wrote reached the first page of Google, turn it into a webinar or series of Instagram posts.
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Ensure you align your channels with the appropriate KPIs based on your goals. So, to increase brand awareness by launching a blog and leveraging social media, choose KPIs such as website traffic, reach, and engagement.
3. Establish a production schedule
Think of your content marketing strategy as a roadmap. When creating content, you'll need to map out a plan to get that content in front of your audience. The type of content you choose to produce will guide your distribution strategy. Images or infographics work well for Instagram, whereas links to blog posts may perform better on channels such as Facebook, Twitter/X, or email.
Once you have organized where to post content, it's time to create a calendar. Remember, consistency is key. Your calendar will ensure you regularly post fresh content, including repurposed content—which many marketers ignore.
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While there is room for changes, try to create a full calendar one month ahead of schedule. You should have a clear plan to keep delivering content across varying channels. Add details about the content you'll publish on each channel, accounting for upcoming announcements, seasonal considerations, and any ongoing series.
Measuring the results of your content marketing campaigns
In today's crowded digital world, differentiating your business is vital. You'll already be ahead if you stand out based on your content. To know whether that's the case, you need to measure the performance of your campaigns.
Stay mindful of these metrics, selecting those that align with your business and campaign objectives.
Page views report the number of website pages a unique visitor viewed, so track this metric to see how well your content resonates with your audience. The average time on pages is another good metric to consider.
The number of downloads is a straightforward metric to track downloadable content, such as ebooks, templates, and case studies. Dig deeper to see geographical locations or how the user found that content—which keywords did they use?
Conversion rate measures the percentage of users who completed a desired action. These metrics range from click-through rate to new visitor conversion rate. You may wish to track how many visitors fill out a form or the number of visitors from a social media campaign who make a purchase.
Want to dive deeper into your content marketing metrics? A data and analytics tool can help. Check out Capterra's directory of marketing analytics software to get started.
Create a winning content marketing strategy
Content marketing for small-business owners requires constant adaptation based on the latest trends, the data you collect, and your shifting business goals. So, whether you're a new small business or growing rapidly, there will always be a constant need for change.
To help you remain competitive and adapt along the way, be sure to stay updated with the latest Capterra resources:
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