If you are not working to create content for your business, you are working toward a company that does not grow. Content is King and brings people into your world by telling an important set of stories to bring them into your world. Engagement is Queen and she truly rules the roost. Both need crowns, and both are equal and without either your business will fail. It is truly that simple and let’s look at what content is and how you need to be creating it today.
When I talk about content and storytelling I am not talking about doing a sales pitch. That is the worst thing you can do. What you are doing is writing valuable content someone needs that doesn’t do any sort of sales, even in the last paragraph of a blog article post, like this one. People have a brain and they already know you are creating content to bring brand awareness to your company. Treat them with respect that they have a brain. People want to read something that brings value and is a core factor in what the search engines are looking to provide.
There are six areas of content that we look at when it comes to reaching your target customers. You are an expert in your field, you have a passion for your service, and you want it to grow. These are areas we see working for our clients.
Magazines – I am not talking solely ads in magazines. You need to step further and get into the articles as an expert. You are in business and you are the expert in your field, right? If you aren’t then why are you in your field to begin with?
Pod Casts – A fast and easy way of getting your word out there and something you can do even if you are camera shy or even integrate with your video strategy. You can bring expert guests on to mix things up as well as further build your audience beyond it’s normal niche. A great benefit of podcasts is you can get in the Apple and Google stores, on voice assistant’s like Amazon’s Alexa, and other channels you might not have otherwise reached.
Search Engines – All of your content that is being created go to the search engines and you can’t create content directly on them. But you can! You can invest pennies on the dollar on ads, even under your competitor’s name, so that you can increase your business. The search engines work directly for your website and being your website is your best 24x7 sales tool they work very well together.
Social Media – Social media is brand new. Look at what television and radio have done for the world. They have changed the way marketing happens and getting word out. They haven’t gone away and have only recently has television started to decline with sources like Netflix and Amazon Video. With social media you have your channel, private groups, and like the search engines the ability to target your audience for pennies on the dollar. This is one of the lowest costs for your business to play.
Written (Blog, Website) – This is where your expertise comes out. Your website is what defines your company online. Yes, social media may have the largest audience of billions compared to your website that may only get a few dozen visitors per day. Your website is what defines you as the expert, it should showcase your company culture, and have a great sales funnel to draw people into several channels that answer specific questions
Video – Everyone says video is the best thing since sliced bread and we happen to agree with that to a degree. If you are horrible in front of a camera stay away from video and get someone who is good with video. Have no one that can still do video then do podcasts to get your good word out there. Video is a way to quickly tell your story, let people see the real you, and educate them on your greatness.
With all this great content then you should create content everywhere correct? WRONG! Major WRONG! Content should be created only where your audience is and not where it isn’t. Companies spend millions of dollars in the wrong areas and the areas we have seen that do not work for our clients are television ads, radio ads, and billboards. I am not saying that these are bad in anyway. We focus solely on small businesses that want to grow, have limited budgets, and we focus on the areas that bring the best return on investment (ROI). When it comes to growing small businesses ROI is what it’s all about. If you know these areas will work for your business then don’t do them because I said don’t do them but do them because you know they will work in your industry.
You are either now convinced on the importance or you will not create content as you are content with your growth strategy. If you are content, then I am shocked you are here as you should have already left. If you are still here though you need to create your content. This is the strategy that has worked for us religiously and we continue to do this daily.
I am ending here as the focus is to get you creating content. You have it in you and a desire or you wouldn’t have made it here. Your writing will initially suck. That’s okay. You don’t become a master by sitting on the couch “hoping” for something. You must work on it every day.