As a Small Business there is a constant pressure to get and retain new prospects. To grow and succeed in business, you need more than raw leads, you need qualified prospects. Qualified prospects are knowledgeable about what products and services you offer. They understand the value and purpose of your services. They are comfortable that what you offer can solve the problem they have. They have you in the front of their mind when they are prepared to buy. Informing a lead so they can become a qualified prospect is the main purpose of a Content Marketing Plan. The toughest part is sometimes figuring out what to write about though.
For a Small Business, a content marketing plan centers around updates to their website. Some types of updates are:
Case Studies
Case studies tell the story of how your business or product has helped a client resolve a problem. This approach establishes credibility for your business since readers can relate to the featured client. Case studies typically outline a problem, detail the solution, and summarize results. This form of content marketing is particularly useful if you’re is in the B2B market or sell a product with a longer buying cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Question content addresses typical questions that prospects have when evaluating your product. This topic enables a business to position their product as a specific type of solution, that addresses a problem better than the competitor. These updates can also educate a prospect on the types of questions they should be asking when evaluating the various solution in the market place.
Changes to Technology or the Marketplace
Become recognized as a leader in your industry, an expert in the market, by conveying changes to the environment your solution addresses, and how it impacts your prospects and customers. Use these topics to become the go-to company that people call when they have a question or need for your solution.
Lists
A list is a piece of content that ranks various facets of a particular topic. For example, Inc® releases their list of the 500 fastest growing private companies each year. Other ideas include ranking the top 10 fashion trends for fall, the most important points in the history of photography, or anything else you can think of. The key to an effective list is to have solid research and explain the methodology of your rankings.
Marketing content, though widely varied, are all aimed at convincing people to try out or keep using particular products or services.
Not sure what content to include? Our Marketing Strategy meetings can help you get started.