10 Reasons Why Content Marketing for Small Businesses is the Most Effective Marketing Strategy

Because 70% of people would rather learn about a company through content rather than an ad.

All of the following are proven reasons why:

1. Higher ROI for smaller investments (About 3x more!)
2. Reach more and/or new people
3. Promote your business without selling yourself
4. Attracts ideal buyers and leads
5. Increase leads and sales (Businesses providing fresh content get 126% more leads)
6. Better organic SEO (Average word count of first page Google results was 1,890 words)
7. Brand your business as an industry authority
8. Improve trust with customers (Nurtured customers make 47% larger purchases)
9. Give customers a medium to refer others
10. Returns customers to your site

For a quick overview of why content marketing is the best marketing strategy for your business click through the web story below:

Read on below for a more in depth look with more reasons why you should use content marketing for your business.

1.Higher ROI for smaller investments

Most people think that content marketing is expensive.

It’s NOT.

In fact, content marketing typically costs about 62% less than traditional marketing tactics.

Smaller costs = Better for a small business00

That’s not all.

While costing LESS content marketing is proven to generate 3x the leads.

Which of course comes with brand visibility to a bigger audience with more shares.

2.Reach more new people

High quality content is more likely to be shared.

Content will bring in more traffic to you day after day, month after month, all at no extra cost.

Paid advertising stops the minute you stop feeding it money.

So: The more good content you put out > the more questions you’re answering for people > the more people come to you.

3.Promote your business without selling yourself

You’ve probably been harrassed enough by companies to know…

Nobody wants to get pitched for something they don’t want at that moment

Content marketing gives the customer value beyond your product and service

That way when the time comes where they do need your product –

they’ll come straight to you instead of your competitor who’s posting ad after ad.

4.Attract ideal buyers and leads

Only people who are interested specifically in your industry are going to be searching for topics that take them to your content.

That is one of the best advantages of content marketing

Only the readers who are genuinely interested enough will take the next step

Going from blog to landing page

And from there finally converting/submitting information.

These are the best types of leads that will be worth the time of your salesforce

Because they will be the ones who convert.

#InboundMarketing

5. Increase leads and sales

More content = more leads

Businesses providing fresh content get 126% more leads.

Providing new content consistently keeps you in front of an audience that keeps growing.

More content means you’ll hit more search results which means new consumers.

And existing consumers will get new content reminding them of you again and again

Repeated exposure to your brand is statistically proven to get them to act on it.

The rule of 7(old truism) states that a prospect needs to encounter the brand at least 7 times before they’ll take action.

In 2018 and the digital age this is great as it’s become exponentially easier to promote your brand through the internet, social media, etc.

With content marketing this is further optimized as you offer value to the consumer with your brand.

So once again more content = more leads

6. Better organic SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

It’s a word that you’ve heard over and over when it comes to your online brand presence

It’s 2018, everyone knows about it and wants it.

Even as a small business or a freelancer if you don’t keep up you’re missing out on sales

But don’t worry, company size doesn’t affect how your content ranks in search.

What is important is quality and if you’re actually offering value to the consumer.

Average word count of first page Google results was 1,890 words.

So it’s all about that thorough content.(Has to be good enough to keep people reading through it)

Find out what your potential customers are looking for in your industry and create beneficial content relevant to those specific keywords.

Then distribute that content in as many ways as you can(free and paid):

Social media, publication websites, forums, etc.

Your website will start to rank higher for those keywords and bring in more traffic.

7.Brand your business as an industry authority

You know who the key players are in your industry.

These brands are most likely the companies you’ve seen creating and sharing the best content in the field.

Your customer will see that too and go to them.

The more customers interact with your brand the more likely they’ll purchase from you.

When you give them value you gain their trust.

Providing content with value consistently establishes you as an authority in the industry.

So much so people will default to you whenever relevant to their need.

70% of companies say it’s cheaper to retain a customer than acquire one.

This is why you want to establish that authority so you can build that trust that will initiate the first purchase and more than likely guarantee more to come.

8.Nurture trust in customers

On the note of retaining customers the best way to do that is taking care of them,

Or lead nurturing.

Which is how you get them to buy more and retain them as loyal customers.

Nurtured customers make 47% larger purchases than any other type of customer.

So how do you nurture a lead?

With content marketing.

As you provide content with value you establish yourself as an authority like we’ve stated.

From there the consumer begins to trust you and shares that content with others.

As you continue to provide it they will in turn provide their own info (subscribing and filling out surveys)

The more content they see and share the more brand engagement you get.

Using the info they provide you can then provide more relevant personalized content.

Consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer when content is personalized:

Content becomes a super effective trust building tool for you and the client

A relationship that allows your business and brand to thrive.

9.Give customers a medium to refer others

As we previously stated customers can share the content you market.

This is marketing GOLD.

Referrals are your best sales opportunities for multiple reasons.

Here they are:

1. They cost NOTHING
2. People are 4 times more likely to buy when referred by a friend.
3. Trust is already there – borrowed from the existing customer
4. Pricing isn’t something you have to worry about tiptoeing around anymore
5. The sales process moves a lot smoother
6. Referrals are actually more likely to give referrals so the sales are exponential!

Now you know how awesome referrals are…

Here’s why content marketing can help you get them:

Content marketing gives your audience and clients useful and beneficial value to use to refer others to you.

Instead of a simple referral link people can share personalized content that directly pertains to their friends, family, colleagues, etc.

Content and sharing/engaging with that content is what social media is all about.

So work on that content to make sure you get the most likes, shares, comments, etc.

10. Returns customers to your site

Everyone is looking to get traffic to their site

But how do you keep that traffic coming back?

The answer is content marketing.  (You’re surprised, I know 😉)

Anyone can run an ad campaign and get a rush of traffic

But it’s about taking that traffic from the stage of visitor to customer

And keeping them purchasing.

About 57 percent of customers in a survey read some form of content marketing at least once per month.

As we stated earlier producing quality content establishes you as an authority

Visitors who came for content will come back to you first seeking what they need.

Consistently providing content will get people into a habit of coming back to you as they expect it.

Returning customers see more content and more of your brand

Repeated exposure nurtures them from leads to sales

And so the cycle repeats

Content Marketing for Small Businesses in 2018 is the Most Effective Marketing Strategy

There will always be types of advertising that quickly spike your traffic.

Some work some don’t.

Content marketing increases your traffic by giving your brand more value.

This is value that you can keep and capitalize on for years to come.

Your target audience wants content.

They want useful content that benefits and solves problems for them.

Yes huge brands know this and use content marketing.

But the best part about it is is that it’s free!

You can use that content as a reference and create better content for your own brand.

Bottom line?  That’s all it takes to start.

Start using content marketing for the most effective results for YOUR brand now!

Now It’s Your Turn

So those were my 10 reasons why content marketing for small businesses in 2018 is the most effective marketing strategy.

I hope you enjoyed/benefited from them.

Now I’d like to hear from you:

Do you use content marketing for your small business? What results did you have?

Or maybe you have a question about content marketing?

Either way let me know by leaving a quick comment below.

Thank You.

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