If you’re a small business you’ve probably asked yourself more than once…
“Do I really need to blog?”.
I get it, you’re busy running your business, and even if you feel like you’re a strong writer, you would rather be doing “your business” than adding yet another marketing task to your plate.
In this post I’m going to show you how you can get content created FOR YOU so that you can keep up with engagement without spending hours sitting in front of your computer trying to write a blog post.
But first…
Don’t confuse “Blogging” with “Content Creation”.
Content Creation – More Than Just Blogging For Small Business
Content Creation – to both grow traffic to your site and to develop an ongoing relationship with your customers – is key to winning at marketing in 2016…and beyond.
Plus – it’s not as hard as you think.
Here’s why Content is important to growing your business…
#1 – You Get Free Traffic
Well-designed content, written with the user experience AND SEO (search engine optimization) in mind, will start to bring you consistent FREE traffic.
When you consistently create content that engages your site visitors, gives them the information they need, and solves a problem/pain point for them, they’re going to share it.
Did I just say FREE traffic?
Yes – free traffic….
But there’s a catch…
You need to make sure you are utilizing at least the bare bones best practices of good SEO for small business.
#2 – Give Google What Google Wants
Yes, it’s true, over 83,000 new blog entries are posted EACH DAY.
But Google loves all of this content, as long as it’s relevant.
If you’re a florist, don’t just blog about the Kardashians because they’re newsworthy, make sure your content is important to your prospects.
#3 – Your Content Will Create “Raving Fans” and Reduce Your Acquisition Costs
The internet has given your prospects tons of options to choose from when it comes to shopping around.
Being #1 in the Yellow Pages is pretty much irrelevant – you need to make sure you’re beating out your competition by sharing your knowledge and developing a relationship with your prospects.
For example…
If you’re a plumber, create a YouTube channel with all kinds of “How To” content. There will always be people that will do the fix themselves – but by providing that information to everyone, you establish yourself as an expert in your field, your professionalism will shine through, and people will trust you with their plumbing problems.
Provide MORE value than your prospects expect and…
You… Will… Win…
Where You Should Start Creating Content
Some of these tips don’t even involve you having to write a word…
1) Video Testimonials
If your customers are OK with it, have them provide you with video testimonials (they can record something on their smartphone and email it to you)
2) User-Generated Content
If you have great products, make it easy for your customers to share photos of themselves either wearing, using or otherwise interacting with your products or services.
Have a Food Truck?
Encourage mid-afternoon selfies by writing cool quotes on your menu board, finding a quirky stand-up cutout from a thrift store, whatever you can provide so that your customers can have fun and create some fun content.
3) Blog Monthly or Weekly
Not ready to jump in with frequent blogging? Just start small – once a week or even once a month is fine.
Look for content all around you.
As long as your keep your Buyer Personas in mind, you will find plenty of relevant content to write and share.
Click here to access my Free Marketing Content Planning Worksheet.
What did you just say?
I don’t have to create all this content myself?
Are you a clothing store? Have your customers share pics of themselves in your clothing on Instagram.
Are you a Wedding Planner? Pinterest is a great place to have your clients share photos of their weddings.
Don’t leave the burden up to you to create fresh content – your customers will typically love to share their experiences with your products or services as long as you make it easy for them to do so.
5) Photos are Content
Just like videos may be easier for you to make and share, photos are another great way to create fresh content that will continue your ongoing dialogue with your prospects and customers.
Just make sure you label all original photos and include your URL so that you bring in new visitors as it gets shared around online.
6) Become an Event Hub
Even if you’re not in the “event business”, sharing local events with your followers on social media is a great way to create content and keep the conversation going.
Are you a landscaping company?
Summer is here – find out about local events in your area and post links on a consistent basis from your Facebook Page.
Do you provide legal services to businesses?
Become the hub for information on local business networking meetings.
Providing your customers with information on events will get your posts shared – and spread your company name all around town.
7) Inspire and Delight
Want content to get shared?
Work on inspiring your prospects.
Do you focus on small business owners? Create inspirational memes about success, challenge, courage, etc and post them on your social media channels. Again, make sure you include your URL so that you still built awareness as your memes get passed around.
Yes – in today’s world of marketing, new content is important.
For some of you, that might mean that yes, as a small business owner you DO need to blog.
However, there are also a bunch of other ways to create great content that will help you attain the real goal – growing the customers you want, keeping the ones you have, and creating life-long fans of your business.
