A Full Guide To Content Marketing: Get Customers Without Ads

My heart sinks and my eyes are flooded with tears when I think of how unfair the world is to Small and Medium-sized Businesses.

You put your heart into all you do. From the products you make, to the services you render. And what do you get? Peanuts.

Everyone wants to squeeze out whatever cash they can from SMBs. SMBs are not respected, you are cheated and don’t get what you deserve.

You put in blood, sweat and tears to make your customers and clients happy yet they don’t recognize you. They see you as just another option.

 

What Is Content Marketing

What is Content

Content is anything on the internet or social media platforms that shares information or passes a message to your visitors.

Whether it’s write ups, images, videos, audio etc. Anything on your website/social media that passes a specific message to your audience.

Uses of Content

Content serves 4 main purposes.

1. Educate:- Keep your audience updated. Share knowledge to help solve their problems.
2. Entertain:- Everyone could use a good laugh every now and then. The idea here is to show your audience that your business isn’t only out for their money, but to make them happy.
3. Inspire:- Sometimes all people need is just a word of inspiration. Let your audience know that you’re with them through thick and thin.
4. Convince:- In the end, you want people to buy from you. Great content can convince your audience that your business, products and services are the best for them.

Content marketing

Marketing is simply telling people about your business with the aim of selling to them.

With content marketing you give your audience something valuable to consume for free (Articles, Videos, Images).

You educate, inspire and entertain them. Then finally convince them to do business with you. You connect your business to the needs of your audience, answer their questions, remove their fears.

3 Reasons Why Content Marketing is Important

1. Create and attract new customers

I say create because there are people who need what your business offers but they are not aware.

Take Dr. John for example. A dentist who runs his own dental clinic.

Everyone needs to see a dentist at least once a year. But not everyone knows that. With great content he can educate people about the need for regular dental check-ups and convince them that his dental clinic is the best fit for them.

2. Website ranking

This is important because 75% of users don’t go beyond the first page of google search. 

Content is a key factor for website ranking. If your website is empty and lacking quality content you can never rank on Google’s first page.

That means you won’t attract new customers over the internet.

3. Stand out from the crowd

Every day thousands of new businesses are created. There are so many others out there who do what you do.

To stand out you need to breathe life into your business through content marketing. You need to show your target audience that you know them, their dreams and their fears, that you care for them and that your business is the best fit for them.

What are the Benefits of Content Marketing

1. Get organic traffic

Traffic means people coming to your website.

Organic traffic means people who visit your website without you paying for advertisement. You didn’t spend money for them to come.

2. Reduce ad spend

Content marketing reduces ad spend in 2 ways.

First is, since you’re getting organic traffic, the amount you spend to acquire customers will be reduced drastically.

3. Loyal customers

Content marketing is a great way to bond with your target audience. Remember content isn’t only for marketing, but also entertaining and inspiring.

When your customers see that you genuinely care about them, they will love and remember you always.

4. Grow your business

Content marketing isn’t a one way street. This is why it’s so powerful.

It helps you get feedback and insights into what your target audience truly needs.

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Content Marketing

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Content marketing is highly effective and saves money. But it also has its downsides.

Advantages

• Increase brand awareness
• Save money
• Stand out
• Build KLT factor
• Loyal customers

Disadvantages

• Slower than paid advertising
• Requires more work (content creation)

Who Needs Content Marketing

EVERYBODY!!!

Even if you have millions of dollars to spend on ads, content marketing will help a great deal in breathing life into your business and earning the trust of your target audience. Paid ads put people off sometimes. It’s like all you want is their money (which is actually the case most times). How do you feel when an ad interrupts your YouTube video or disrupts a game you play?

How to Use Content Marketing to Grow Your Business

1. Know your audience

This is the most important part of content marketing. If you don’t get your audience research right, everything else will fail.

Ask yourself;

• Who is the ideal customer for my business?
• Who can I serve best with what I offer?
• What are their interests and how is it connected to my business?
• What are their desires and how can my business help them?
• What are their fears and pains and how can my business take it away from them?
• Where are they located and on what social platforms can I find many of them?

2. Create a compelling message

Now that you know who your target audience is, what they love and how to find them, create an offer they can’t resist. How can your product or service make their lives better?

3. Brainstorm content ideas

You know your audience, and you have a compelling message. How can you use blog posts, videos, infographics, memes, etc to attract your audience and pass your message to them.

Good content ideas should do two things.

• Be interesting enough to attract your audience.
• Be relevant to your business so you can convince them to buy from you.

4. Create a content marketing strategy

Put your ideas to paper and set goals.

What would you like to achieve with your content over the next 30 days and how will you do it?

a) Decide the channels you’ll use to catch your audience’s attention and draw them to your Business. e.g. Blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc.

You don’t have to pick all. Only the ones that will give you the best results. Consider where you can find a greater number of your target audience.

b) Create a schedule so you stay consistent. 

How often will you post content? At least once daily is recommended.

It is also advisable to stick to a particular time of day when your target audience is most active.

c) Set key performance indicators. This will help you know if your content marketing is effective. For example

• Increased follower count across social media
• Increase in number of visitors to your website
• More enquiries about your products/services

5. Create content

If you do everything above right, this should be easy.

Always have your audience and your goals in mind when creating content.

Other tips to note

• Use attention-grabbing headlines
• Use words your audience understands.

6. Promote

Conclusion – Start Now

No matter where your business is or what forms of marketing you use to attract customers, content marketing can scale your business to the next level. To build a business that will stand out in today’s world you need content marketing. You now have everything you need to start an effective content marketing campaign. Use it to your advantage and stand out from the crowd.

Frequently Asked Questions about Content Marketing

How long does it take to get customers with content marketing

It depends on your online presence and the resources you have.

Is content marketing worth it

Investing the time and resources needed to get you a consistent inflow of free traffic and long-term customers is absolutely worth it.

Anything else you want to know? Contact us.