Why Small Businesses Should Focus on Scaling Their Content Marketing

Having a small online marketing team doesn’t mean your company can’t scale content marketing initiatives. It means you must know what the best strategies are and have your team focus on a few they can do well. I’ve seen the following strategies work incredibly for small businesses:

Scale Content Marketing Initiatives

When attempting to increase traffic, most businesses focus on increasing the volume of their content marketing strategies. Small enterprises may be better off scaling their reach, though. This ensures you’re making the most of current creation strategies without increasing staff demands. Here are a few ways to do this:

·         Identify the website pages that receive the most traffic, and create appropriate content for internal linking to increase traffic.

·         Gain visibility by joining relevant discussions on social media attracting a lot of traffic. This will improve page ranking for similar search terms.

·         Participate in writing for popular publications in your industry. Guest blogging is a way to get your name or brand recognized by new users.

·         Become a brand authority in your community. This could mean setting up stands at related industry trade shows or posting on popular forums.

Leverage Relationships

Content marketing is a time consuming task if left up to one person or a small team. Thus, small businesses need to take advantage of other options to collect quality content. Tap into sales representatives, loyal customers, or industry experts. Sales representatives, for instance, can give a unique perspective on content because they have close interactions with customers and provide insight into their consumer base while keeping priorities in check.

Loyal customers can be more passionate about your product or service than your own staff. Find a consumer whose life your company simplified or improved, and you’re sure to have a heart-grabbing post at your fingertips. Partnering with a celebrity or well-known authority in your field is also a remarkable way to improve your reputation. This route can be expensive, but increased traffic and sales may outweigh costs.

Each business must assess its unique needs. If the expert is part of an enterprise that complements yours, you may swap content creation or engage in link sharing as an alternative to increased spending.

Create Content That’s Difficult to Replicate

Is there something unique your company does? If so, leverage this by writing about how you came to offer this special service or why the process is unmatched. This will set your business apart as a thought leader. Content that fits this strategy will be information-driven, comprehensive, contain additional functions, or have increased visual appeal. This puts you ahead of competitors due to improved quality of service, but because there’s little or no similar information online, your enterprise may enjoy improved search engine results.

Utilize Technology to Scale Content Marketing

Small businesses trying to keep staff count and budget down can benefit from using applications that track production schedules as well as performance. This data can be used to ensure team members understand who’s responsible for individual tasks so work doesn’t get duplicated or overlooked.

A project management tool, for example, can aid management in tracking post times and ensuring followers are engaged and receiving responses. Perhaps the best asset is the ability to track leads and measure their quality. You can also track other metrics and help your team determine what strategies are working and demand expansion. Those that are less successful may warrant scaling down or cancellation.

Increase Your Budget

This may sound like an unrealistic option, but you’ll be amazed at the effectiveness of sharing statistical data with the right people in your company. Money can be allocated from one strategy to another that has more potential. For a moment, forget marketing to potential customers, and focus your energy on educating key management roles on the importance of scaling content marketing.

Stay Ahead of the Game

My last recommendation for all small business owners is to keep your eye on the future of content marketing. With limited staff and budgets, you must stay ahead of the competition. Do this by continuously reviewing content strategies to focus on the most productive areas of your market. Stay aware of changing SEO, social media, blogging, lead qualification, and inbound marketing trends.