Content marketing is important. You know that it is, but do you know why?
Imagine that you go to someone’s website or social media and there’s nothing but pictures. Not pictures and words, just pictures. Their entire public communication consisted solely of images.
Would you know what the business does? You might get the general idea, but without the words, it’ll be hard to know exactly what’s going on. While a picture says a thousand words, words can say way more than that – because they’re words.
That’s where content writing comes in. Content writing is the blog posts, articles, social media posts, newsletters, or any words that go out from your business to your audience.
Content Writing Needs Consistency
You might think that once you get your website set up that that’s it. But it’s not true! You need to consistently update your blog or articles section with new posts. Same with your social media. Why? If you don’t stay updated, you risk looking like a dead business. And a dead business doesn’t do business! Consistency means at a regular interval that works for you. Whether you’re posting a blog every day, week, fortnight, or month – just make sure you have a consistent schedule that you know you can commit to. If you’re worried about committing, build up a backlog of posts before you start posting, that way you have something to go up even when you’re not feeling creative. Just make sure you keep an eye on that backlog so that you don’t run out, always top it up when you can.Social Media Scheduling Tools
This goes for your social media as well and is where scheduling tools come in really handy. You’ve probably already chosen your preferred social media platforms; the ones that your target audience hangs out on. A quick recap: Facebook – your business should 100% have a Facebook page. It takes 10 minutes to set up and will often be searched on here before Google. Instagram – if your business has anything visual to offer (restaurants, books, travel, coaching) or if you’re the face of your business, get on Instagram. It’s a much more relaxed platform that will let you connect with your audience on a more personal level. LinkedIn – a much more “business” oriented platform, but one you’ll be able to use as both a business and a business owner to connect with others in your network. Twitter – a fun platform to share quick insights into your day, tips and tricks, and to share articles. Great for networking with others in your niche using hashtags. Pinterest – perfect for bloggers and other creative businesses. Of course, there are other social platforms, but these are the biggest ones right now that will benefit your business and that your target audience is probably hanging out on. You don’t need to be active on every platform, just choose two or three that work for you. This is where scheduling tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, and Planoly, plus the native Facebook scheduler, come in handy. If you’re creating content for one platform, it’s easy to adapt this for others. Here at Thankful Cow Solutions, we keep our Instagram updated the most. We then use Buffer to plan out our best posts onto Facebook and LinkedIn, making sure the same content isn’t going up at the same time. By spreading our content across multiple social media platforms, we’re utilising content marketing in a way that works for us. Plus, this makes sure our target audience can consume our content on their preferred platform. You can also, and probably should be, use your personal profiles for some relationship marketing and lead generation. After all, people connect with and buy from other people, so use these as part of your content marketing strategy!Let’s talk about newsletters!
Do you NEED a newsletter? It’s entirely up to you, but for a growing business – it’s highly recommended. Again, choose a frequency that you can stick to, make sure your signup is GDPR compliant, and get writing. An email list can be your greatest selling point and will always be there if anything happens to your social media channels. You can decide whether you want it to be all about sales, life updates, inner thoughts, tips and tricks, or just an update to your blog and business. When we send out a newsletter, we’ve been including a small life update, a link to our latest video, and links to two recent blog posts. Simple!What ELSE does content marketing do?!
It helps to position you and your business as an expert in your field. You’re sharing your knowledge with your target audience. Therefore, they see you as knowledgeable. You’re also helping your audience solve problems. By giving them quality information for free, you’re helping them implement solutions themselves. They’re also more likely to remember your site or social media when they’re ready to pay for a service. Remember, people don’t buy a product, they buy the person that’s selling the product. So make sure you give them the opportunity to know, like, and trust you!Amanda Sloan is a Content and Copywriter at Thankful Cow Solutions and host of Geek Herring. She’s a lover of geek feminism, podcasting, gaming, food, and wellness. You’ll find her talking and writing about feminist discourse, all things geeky, vegan food and nutrition, podcasting, travel, and positive mindset. Call The Cow to find out how we can help YOU move forward with virtual assistance, content, or copywriting. 🐮
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