Why to do content marketing and how to start

Content marketing is an incredible tool for your business. I think it’s the best form of marketing because it does so much for your brand. You have an immense amount of knowledge and expertise that will help your clients and community - and you can do it in a way that works for you. 

Reasons to do content marketing

In case you need some more motivation, here are some of the ways content marketing can help you business:

• It shows you know what you are talking about. You can use content to demonstrate your expertise. Rather than just telling people you are great, show them through sharing advice, tips, ideas and opinions to help them.

• Content marketing is the least cringe way to promote your business. Marketing can feel slightly awkward sometimes (especially if it's your own business), but adding value and helping people often feels less salesy that simply saying 'buy my products / services’.

• It's an opportunity to be creative. Creating content is an incredible opportunity to be creative. Find a way to get in flow and see it as a chance to share your art / ideas / wisdom with the world.

• It helps you connect with and qualify your audience. When you share content you are giving people a taste of your work - and it allows them to get to know you, and what you stand for. If someone has already consumed a lot of your content there is a strong chance they already like what you do and will be dream client.

• If your work is to help people, you are doing that when you share content. If you are in the business of helping people sharing content is a way to do just that whether people buy from you or not. It’s win win. 

How to do content marketing

So how do you actually do it? I would recommend think about…

What are you trying to achieve?

The first step is to identify your goals and objectives. Think about what you are trying to achieve with you business and what  do you really want to get out of it. Often this is the bit we overlook, and it can be the hardest part of the process, but it is an invaluable part of the work. 

Who are your target audience? 

Then consider your target audience - who are they, where do they hang out, what do they read, listen to and watch, how old are they, what are their hobbies, what do they need to know about your product and how can you help them.

What channels to use?

‘Channels’ is marketing jargon for ways to reach your audience - e.g. Facebook, Instagram, your blog, a newsletter etc. Use your goals and customers (and personal preference) to choose the platforms that are right for your business. You do not need to be on every single social media platform. I’d recommend picking one of two to start with - test the waters, see what works, and you can always add more later on. 

What do you have to say? 

Content marketing is all about sharing your expertise with your audience. Think about what your customers want to know - what questions do you always get asked, what do you wish people knew about what do you do and how you can add value and insight to help people. 

It can be useful to think about key themes or content ‘buckets’ for your content. These will be the broad topics that you talk about. For example if you are gym with a focus on encouraging non-traditional gym goers you might want to focus on everyday exercise, normalising fitness and sharing behind the scenes content. 

What kind of content do you want to create? 

Choose the formats that you like. There are loads of platforms / ways to create content - you 100% don't need to do use all of them - but you can choose the platforms and mediums that you like. If you like writing, share blogs and newsletter or if you are more visual you can create cool graphics, or you can experiment with videos / podcasts.

Creating the content 

Then it’s a case of starting to create your content. Think about frequency and consistency. Ideally you don’t want a blog with only one post from 2007, or a Twitter profile with one tweet last November. Plot out a schedule that works for you. There is no golden ratio. I often recommend looking at what is realistic for you and your business - maybe it’s one blog a month, and 3 social posts a week (you can always outsource this if it’s a struggle).

You can then repurpose your content on different channels. While you don't need to be on every platform, once you have made some content you can make it work harder for you - for example blogs can become Instagram posts, podcast topics or newsletter content.

Measure and review 

Content marketing works best when you stay close to the content, so you can understand what’s working and what your community and clients want and need. Marketers love analytics for a reason - the help us to learn what’s working and how to do more of the same. So if your blogs on tips are always the most read, make more! Or if you are spending hours on graphics but no one’s seeing them, your energy might be better spent elsewhere. Use Google Analytics and built in analytics on your newsletter or social platforms to see what content is working well. And don’t forget to ask your clients how they found you and what content they like and enjoy so you can best spend your energy.