6 Content Marketing Strategies Every Small Business Should Steal

6 Content Marketing Strategies Every Small Business Should Steal

Source: Forbes Got big dreams but a small budget? You’re not alone. Most small companies are in the same fix. But this doesn’t have to be a deal kil

This Week in Content Marketing: Advertising Industry Prepares for Plummet
This Week in Content Marketing: Could Brands Cure Traditional Media’s Run to Eyeballs?
New Automation and Content Marketing Capabilities Added to Oracle Marketing Cloud

Got big dreams but a small budget? You’re not alone. Most small companies are in the same fix. But this doesn’t have to be a deal killer – it just means you need to be smart. You need to think differently than your larger competitors.

Many of the big-splash strategies of the Fortune 500 simply won’t work for you. You don’t have a whole floor of people to throw at this. You don’t have a Pepsi-size budget. But again – .

The good news with content marketing is that it’s one of the most effective types of . In fact, many content marketing “teams” are just one person. 68% of them are three people or less.

But while you don’t need a big budget, you do need some media skills and a knack for creating engaging content.

It doesn’t even have to be super-slick content.

Case in point: PewDiePie. The gamer/comedian has nearly 50 million subscribers on YouTube. He’ll earn $15 million in 2016 according to the December issue. But he’s not going to win any awards for production quality. And he doesn’t need to. It’s not a priority for him or his audience.

To give you an idea of what’s possible (and to potentially save you a bundle of money next year), here’s a few ideas for super-effective content marketing strategies that can be done with small budgets, by small teams. They range in price tag from zero to less than $100,000 max to set up the entire program. And they could well get you more attention – and more business – than a Superbowl ad.

Remember how I said the one thing you really need for content marketing is media skills? Well, to borrow the words of Joe Pulizzi, the Founder of the Content Marketing Institute, “you can build it, or you can buy it.” Influencer marketing is buying it. “It” being the media skills and content marketing capabilities, of course.

This is a different route than what larger companies take. They’ll try to build “it” by hiring a team of content marketers. But bootstrappers can achieve a similar effect if they partner with the right influencer.

Here’s why this works: Influencers, by definition, have audiences. You, the start-up content marketer, do not have an audience. Building an audience is the key asset – the point – of your content marketing.

Influencers are also adept at creating content that resonates with their audiences. They know exactly how to create high-impact content on a budget that most big companies can’t even buy coffee for. You, the aspiring content marketer, can hire an influencer with these content creation (and content strategy) skills.

Now, before you roll your eyes and think “I do not have $10,000 a month to blow on some kid with an Instagram account”, consider this: Smaller influencers are often most effective. And you do not need to go after an Instagram influencer unless your audience is made up of Instagrammers.

Find an influencer that’s talking to your ideal audience. Find one that’s got a world view that’s sympathetic to yours. That’s the person to partner with.

Continued from page 1

  1. Storytelling

OK – so you can’t launch a Hollywood-quality animated short film like Chipotle did. But I know your company has stories. Like where your Founder got the idea to launch the business. The hurdles he or she hit launching the business. What the first year of business was like, and some of mistakes and surprises along the way.

Most of us get why storytelling works. Done well, it’s the single best way to connect with people. But as soon as you sit down to write, or someone puts a camera in your face, all the ease and fun of the story often gets drained out. We tend to prim up, and try to sound professional and authoritative… and there goes all the charm of the story.

Here’s a way…

COMMENTS

WORDPRESS: 0
DISQUS: 0