Content Marketing Magic: A Small Business Guide

Are you looking to build a powerful content strategy for your small business?

In this guide, we will learn how we can create and distribute content effectively using industry research and expert knowledge.  By the end, you’ll understand how to use content marketing to grow your small business organically and boost brand awareness.

Does Your Small Business Need Content Marketing?

Whether you’re wondering this yourself or your CEO or CMO has raised the question, quality content and thought leadership help your business stand out. Unlike ads, which stop generating leads the moment they’re turned off, organic content delivers long-term benefits.

Interestingly, it’s not just online businesses that benefit from content marketing. Offline businesses can also see a return on investment. According to our State of Content Marketing 2023 Global Report, 99% of businesses with 11-50 employees—both online and offline—report positive results from content marketing. Additionally, 66% of these businesses have a well-developed or advanced content strategy.

Advantages of Content Marketing for Small-scale Businesses

Small businesses greatly benefit from content marketing as the following points illustrate-

• Make Your Brand Stand Apart from Competitors: Content allows businesses to differentiate their brand by ensuring effective communication of brand values, offering valuable information regarding product or services, and fostering a community centred around your brand. All of these factors collectively allow you to make your brand stand apart from the crowded market. 
  
  
• Foster Your Brand Identity: Irrespective of whether you are offering services or products, content marketing empowers you to make a lasting impact on your target audience. A robust organic social presence allows people to notice your brand, engage with your content, and talk about your services. 
  
  
• Engage Customers: Content such as social media post copy, blogs, and newsletters provide numerous touchpoints using which customers can interact with you. It not only allows you to form great relationships with the customers, but also improves your chances of getting leads.
  
  
• Attract organic visitors: Well-optimized content can bring long-term organic traffic to your site, reducing your reliance on ads. For example, Sugar Geek Show, an online cake-decorating platform, increased organic traffic by 269% from 2019 to 2021 through SEO-focused content. Their quality blogs became a focal point of driving revenues, amounting to as much as 60% of the overall income of the company. 

When and How Should Small Businesses Start Content Marketing?

When should your small business start content marketing? According to Dale Bertrand, Founder and President at Fire&Spark, the answer is: “Start yesterday!” A slow and steady approach works, as long as you’re adding value for your customers. Starting now allows you to build a content library that attracts organic traffic over time.

Pratik Dholakiya, Founder of Growfusely, adds that consistency is key: “Even if your campaign is small, focus on consistency. Keep long-term goals in mind, and content marketing will work for small businesses.”

Key Questions to Ask Before Starting Content Marketing

Before diving into content marketing, consider these three key questions:

1. What is my key expertise? Sharing authentic content based on real-life experiences is a powerful way to succeed in content marketing.
   
   
2. How can I make my content valuable to my audience? Research your target audience’s preferences and conduct a competitive analysis to create relevant content.
   
   
3. On which channels will this content be most effective? Content only works if it reaches your audience. It is imperative to research and identify areas that customers mostly use. Once you do that, you can direct your marketing efforts on those channels and improve your lead generation. 

Remember, content marketing takes time. It is vital to stay consistent and prioritize creating a long-term strategy of organically attracting customers. 

Expert Tips for Small Business Content Marketing

1. Build Your Foundations Before Creating Content

Content marketing will only work if your other marketing elements are solid. Make sure you have:

• A website optimized for users and search engines
  
  
• Design and copywriting capabilities
  
  
• Conversion strategies (e.g., email marketing and clear call-to-action buttons)
  
  
• Analytics to track progress

Sophie Joelle, Senior Content Lead at Flaunt Digital, emphasizes the importance of creating optimized pages and using editorial content to support internal linking. She suggests defining the unique tone and voice for your brand and utilizing keyword optimization for growth. 

2. Document Your Content Strategy Early

It’s never too early to document your content marketing strategy. Companies with documented strategies tend to be more successful. Define your audience, goals, metrics, content formats, and distribution channels from the start to avoid scattershot efforts.

3. Use Storytelling to Build Your Brand

Brand storytelling helps you connect with your audience on a deeper level. Stories connect with customers on a subliminal level and help you communicate the mission and values of your customers in an impactful way. 

Brian Moran, Founder and CEO at SmallBusinessEdge, suggests that small businesses must capture attention by including evocative stories in their content marketing. He also advises that these stories must be grounded on the company’s mission and unique background. 

For example, iFixit, an eCommerce site offering repair kits, drives organic traffic by focusing on its brand story around the “Right to Repair” movement. Their content must resonate with the overall narrative, creating authority and establishing healthy relationships.  

4. Organize Your Content Production

Content creation requires resources and planning. Consider:

• Resources and budget: Define how much content you can produce and what tools you’ll need (e.g., SEO tools, content management systems).
  
  
• Content creators: Decide whether to produce content in-house or outsource it to agencies or freelancers. Each approach has certain advantages and disadvantages and the perfect choice revolves around the specific needs and budget. 
  
  
• Content calendar: Develop a calendar that outlines topics, formats, timelines, and involved teams. This naturally ensures more order in your production schedule and helps in maintaining consistency.

5. Focus on Your Niche and Customers

Tailoring your content to your niche audience is essential. Dale Bertrand recommends marketers to think whether their content will add anything new to the customers that can help them make their decisions well. Michelle Buck, Marketing Coordinator at Crystal D, stresses that content should solve customer problems or address pain points. Whether it’s through blog posts, social media, or even creating the best description for your YouTube channel, always think about how your content adds value for your audience.

6. Be Bold and Experimental

Small businesses often face the challenge of limited reach. Sandip Acharyya, Founder of MarTech Sprout, advises against creating generic content. Instead, be bold and experimental—use humor, memes, or pop culture references to grab attention. Give your opinions and stand apart by providing key insights to the customers which they cannot find anywhere else. 

7. Repurpose High-Performing Content

Maximize the impact of high-performing content by repurposing it across different formats and platforms. A blog post can become a podcast episode, social media stories, or an infographic. This empowers you to expand your reach to more people with minimum effort. 

8. Choose Your Distribution Channels Wisely

Not all platforms are right for every business. Prioritize your efforts on platforms where customers spend most time. Research shows that small businesses primarily distribute content on social media, email, and paid social channels. Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are the top platforms for content distribution.

9. Track Your Metrics

It’s essential to measure your content’s performance. Perform analysis on user behavior, SEO outcomes, engagement, and conversions to find out what is working and what is not. Consistently analyzing these metrics will allow you to enhance your strategy, optimize your approaches and get better results. 

Final Thoughts

With over 97% of businesses including content in their marketing strategy, now is the time to jump on this trend and build a solid foundation for attracting customers organically. The objective must be to deliver pristine-quality and valuable content and make sure that the strategy is organized and driven by data-driven insights.