Writing or Content Marketing
When you are creating content or having content created for you – Are you writing or are you content marketing?
For almost 10 years content marketing has grown and become a commonly used practice. Many companies hire people to specifically write blogs, internal and external communication documents and more. Content writers work alongside the sales department and ensure that messages are delivered. These departments have marketing specialists, digital creators and all types of experts to share content. Content is used throughout the sales process to drive potential clients along to the final point of purchase or through the typical sales funnel.
Now – You may say well this is all well and good for companies, but I am just a small business!
The only difference between a big company and a small business is the size of the team! You may be a solo operator or you may have a few staff. Either way, you can ensure that your content is more than just writing.
Fast results
Now more than ever people have less time to fluff about reading unnecessary information. So when you are producing content you need to make an immediate impression. This impression starts with the headline.
Length
Following any headline is the rest of the information – people don’t want to spend more than 3 minutes to gain knowledge or be motived to move forward in the buying process. If you are just writing rather than producing content marketing you are likely to be writing more than you need to.
Break it up
A lot of people skim read over content to see if it is worthwhile reading the whole thing. Don’t forget your subtitles and the use of bullet points make a real difference. Make your sentences less than 20 words in length so that you are getting to the point. Punctuation matters!
Plain English
It must be easy to read and understand. Without your content marketing being easy to understand it is just writing. If you use too many technical terms then again you are just writing – Do your clients care about all the technical terms or are they coming to you so they don’t have to care?
The sales funnel has changed
There is no one size fits all businesses sales funnel. The journey a customer takes is different for every business. As the business owner, it is your job to create a path for them to follow your lead and your content to purchasing. Buyers and the buying process is dynamic (non-linear) and your content marketing should reflect that.
Do you know the journey your customers take?
Pick a plan and stick to it
Having a content marketing plan that you stick to long-term is vital. Sure you can tweak and make changes but marketing and content marketing is a long road. By being consistent and sticking to your plan your ideal clients will travel along your path to purchase.
Know your ideal clients
How well you know your clients will show through your content marketing. If you are just writing it will be more about you than about them. Content marketing is for your clients and potential clients, not for you.
Lastly
Investing in good content and good marketing takes time and money but done well it pays off for your business. You will get the return on investment that you are looking for. If you can only produce new content for marketing one each month, then make it the best content you can. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that any content is good.
If you need help or advice on the topics covered – speak to Kelly at My Sassy Business.
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