Content Marketing

Many entrepreneurs run into challenges when it come’s to marketing their business. With all the advertising noise out there, it can be difficult to get people’s attention.

You need something captivating and interactive if you want your message to be heard. This is where content marketing comes in.

Content marketing is the practice of creating and publishing things like videos, blogs, podcasts, posts, stories and livestreams. By creating content that is interesting to your specific audience, you can raise awareness of your business and unlock new opportunities.

In general, content marketing is a great way to engage potential customers, address their concerns, and demonstrate value. In other words, content can do a lot of sales and marketing work for you.

Each type of content has it’s own benefits, I will outline some of these in this blog post.

1. Videos

The first type of content marketing that I want to talk about here also happens to be my favorite type of marketing, and that's video. Making videos allows people to put a face to your business, it shows that there is an actual real person behind the brand.

Another thing to consider is that it’s a lot easier for people to watch videos than to read blog posts, for instance, so people are a lot more likely to interact with your content if you have videos.

When it comes to platforms for video, you have YouTube, you have Facebook, but you can also upload to LinkedIn or Instagram’s IGTV if your video is less than 10 minutes long.

2. Blogs

Next I want to talk about blogs, because blogs are probably the most important content that you need to make if you want customers to be able to find you easily online. Essentially the more quality blog posts that you have, the better chances you have of someone searching for your services on Google to come across your website.

In your blog posts you can provide useful links and advice, and that's going to help build trust in your business. Blogs also work really well as reference material, so if you write a really good one that will be a continual source of traffic to your website for a long time.

3. Podcasts

Up next is podcasts. Podcasts are usually uploaded weekly and they tend to be long form content. Most podcasts are between thirty minutes to an hour and a half long. Podcast often feature guests, which is a great way to grow your network and get your message out to people outside of your circle.

Another advantage of podcasts is that listeners can experience your content while doing another activity like exercising or washing the dishes. In today’s world, time and attention spans are limited, and podcast fit well into your people’s busy lives.

4. Posts

Let’s talk about Instagram and Facebook posts, which are probably the easiest type of content to make as you can usually base them off of another piece of content like a blog post or video. Posts can be a great way to keep your customers up to date with all of your latest offers. If you develop a consistent style to your posts it can really help with brand recognition.

Stories

Next I want to talk about stories. Stories allow you to give daily updates to your customers on Instagram and Facebook, and because stories appear at the top of the page, that’s going to help you stay top of mind. Stories give your customers a good idea of what you do day in and day out and that can be a really important form of social proof.

5. Live Streams

It’s time to get into the fifth and final type of content that I want to talk about here, and that's live streams. Live streams are the most interactive form of content because you can take your viewer’s questions right away.

They also give your customers a chance to see the real you, unedited and unscripted. Another thing to note is that many platforms like Instagram and Facebook really promote live streams. So if you do a stream instead of just upload a normal video, you're actually likely to get a lot more view. And that's live streams.

Now you know all about content marketing and you’re ready to get the word out about your business. Get out there and make some content, that way you can start experiencing the benefits too!