.png)
Content Marketing: “ involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services”
When you look at huge corporations that run teams of people for every aspect of the marketing spectrum, it can be easy to think - “I don’t have the time, money or knowledge to replicate their marketing strategy”.
But you have to start somewhere.
Content marketing is about building a relationship with your customers/ clients/ readers, that doesn’t solely rely on your product. Building a brand that says ‘trust me’ is a skill, but there are plenty of easy, inexpensive and effective content ideas that will help you grow your business, without stealing too much of your time, or draining your finances.
Remember, content marketing in a long-term game. In theory, it takes 6-8 touchpoints to generate a viable lead, so don’t expect huge results in the first instance.
Give these content marketing ideas a go:
1) Share relevant content
Position yourself as a key influencer or knowledgeable professional in the industry. If you haven’t got the time to write blogs yourself, share other people’s that are relevant to your audience. Ensure you write your own posts though with a thought or an opinion to help generate engagement, and add that personal touch!
Top tip: Take a look at www.Feedly.com.- a great place to gather potential sharable content.
2) Take a Photo
You’re surrounded by prime marketing material. New employees, a work trip etc. are easy to snap moments that traditionally are excellent sources of engagement on social media.
3) Write some tips/how-tos
You have plenty of knowledge about your industry or market already stored in your head and ready to go, and people do want to know (use this blog as an example). Write about what you already know!
4) Make a video testimonial
Whether it’s an employee, customer, client or candidate, having people speak about your business on camera, is a massive thumbs up in the social media world (if this is a struggle, at least try for some written ones).
5) Create a survey
Short surveys are a great way to encourage engagement with your brand. Whether you’re putting together a salary survey, working out the details of an event or asking opinions about a particular subject, it’s an easy tool. Twitter has the built in poll option, but check outwww.getfeedback.comfor simple survey options.
6) Film something
It could be an introduction to your team, or an interview with an industry hot shot, or even sharing your thoughts on a particular subject. Video content is the way forward, and using a programme like iMovie is a cheap, easy, and time efficient way to edit.
7) Charity Work
Choose a charity that closely aligns with your company, so you can really add to that 'trust factor'. Take photos, write posts etc. but enjoy what you're doing (it's also a great opportunity for team building)
8) Create some graphics
You don’t need to be a creative whizz to make creative content. In fact, a lot of the time, the simpler the better is the most effective way. Try out www.canva.com for THE easiest way to create images in a variety of sizes and share these across you social media platforms.
9) Rinse and repeat
For blog posts, and written posts that perform well, it’s worth sharing them more than once. In fact, it’s encouraged. Be careful not to spam though, 1-2 times a week is enough.
Ensure you are utilising all marketing avenues too, to get the most out of every piece of content you create this includes posting to your social media channels and website as well email campaigns if you can.