Content Marketing for Small Business (Tips for Growing Your Business Online)

Managing a small business these days is far from easy.

According to the latest reports on small businesses by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 50% will fail within the first five years, and 70% within 10.

But what is the biggest culprit contributing to small business failure? Not surprisingly, it’s a lack of revenue.

Without a steady stream of leads, strong visibility, and a healthy budget, lifting a small business off the ground can be extremely difficult, but the same old fixes don’t apply any longer.

Buyer behaviors have changed. When people wanted to make a big purchase about 15-20 years ago, they’d walk into a store looking for a way to talk to the sales department or see a demo. Today, buyers are much more into self-service and are a lot more hesitant to reach out to someone in sales.

Business conversations used to be dominated by building face-to-face human connections. Now, implementing a strong digital marketing strategy and creating quality content is one of the only ways to get in front of your ideal buyers fast.

In this article, we’re going to share with you the basics of content marketing that have worked for hundreds of small business owners we’ve worked with.

We’ll go over:

• Why content marketing is so important for small businesses.
• Tips for using content marketing to grow your business, including which formats to use.

Content marketing is no flash-in-the-pan concept or latest marketing trend. It can truly help small businesses grow in both the short- and long-term, but lots of the small businesses we talk to are hesitant to tie up limited time and resources implementing a great content marketing strategy they’re not sure will work.

Here’s why you should consider going all-in on content marketing, along with some tips for getting the most out of your efforts.

Why use content marketing for small businesses?

One of the biggest challenges small businesses face is effectively reaching potential customers. Creating healthy brand awareness is difficult to support without large budgets to fund massive marketing campaigns. This is why building an ever-growing library of valuable content that speaks to both your customers — and search engines — is key.

By putting pen to paper, you can turn the odds in your favor.

When you publish content online that helps educate your ideal customers and find you, the content continues working for you long after you wind down for the day. And, as you add to this content, your online presence grows steadily stronger.

Think of content marketing like a garden: After a few long, laborious days at the beginning of the growing season — planting seeds, adding nutrients, providing enough water and sunlight — your beds reward you with lots of blooms and beauty that last the entire growing season. You’ll have to weed and water regularly, but once a garden bed is fully established, it grows well for some time.

For small businesses, the fact that content never sleeps and continues working, gathering prospects and leads, even while you sleep, is only one of the many perks.

Content marketing also helps small businesses:

• Reduce marketing costs: In general, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing while producing three times the leads.
• Increase search engine ranking and organic website traffic volume: When publishing content on your website, your goal is to rank well so prospects can find you. Research shows 95% of all organic clicks originate from the first page of search engine results, and the top five results gather about 67% of that. In short, if a small business is going to be found, its content needs to be high up in the search engines to make a difference. Content marketing done right will help you do this.
• Shorten sales cycles: You can create sales enablement content designed to close deals faster. This is what we call assignment selling, where sales reps use educational content about products and services to resolve concerns and answer prospects’ questions before they get closer to making a purchase.
• Establish thought leadership: This is where you showcase your subject matter experts (SMEs), which could be you or someone you hire who knows your products and services inside and out. When SMEs write your content or appear in your videos, your prospects will learn so much more — and the more people learn from you, the more they trust your business and feel comfortable buying from you.
• Build trust with your target audience: The more people learn about your business and how you can help them, the more honest content you create for them to consume, and the more they get to know you and want to buy from you. Be honest and transparent with your content, and your target audience will appreciate your candor.
• Compete with larger, big-box stores: As you improve your online presence and make it easier for people to learn how your solutions help them solve their problems, it enables your business to compete with the bigger brands in your industry. Content marketing truly levels the playing field and gives everyone the opportunity to succeed, not just the businesses with monstrous marketing budgets.

Now that you understand why you should be implementing a content marketing program for your small business, let’s take a closer look at how small businesses do it.

How to use content marketing to grow your small business online

Using content marketing for small businesses does not have to be complicated. Still, it’s way more than just blogging (although blogging is one of the biggest contributors to a healthy content marketing campaign).

IMPACT partner and author of They Ask, You Answer Marcus Sheridan learned this when he nearly lost his swimming pool company, River Pools and Spas, to the 2008 recession.

As a last-ditch effort to save his small business, he stayed up all night, publishing blog post after blog post, posting as much educational material around fiberglass pools as he could to his website.

Shortly thereafter, his company’s web traffic, leads, and sales went through the roof. (Learn more about Sheridan’s success story and how you can apply this effective approach to inbound and content marketing here.)

Even though blogging is an integral part of content marketing, content creation should also include:

• Ebooks
• Video tutorials
• Checklists
• Infographics
• Comparison guides
• Newsletters
• Webinars
• Case studies
• Self-service tools

In this section, we’ll run through what each of these formats is and how to use them for growing your online presence and revenue.

But first, let’s go over one of the most important choices your small business can make when going all in with content marketing: Hiring a content manager.

Hire a content manager

Your content marketing undertaking won’t work the way you need it to if it’s reduced to a once-in-a-while effort. You need to publish content regularly — as in three pieces of content per week — to really see results.

Because of the time and effort it takes to effectively implement a successful content marketing initiative, one of the most important things you can do for your business is to appoint someone to be in charge of the entire process.

We typically call this a content manager. Here’s a video about why you should hire a content manager:

We’ve seen firsthand how hiring a content manager can influence results. Our IMPACT clients who’ve seen the biggest business growth from their content marketing initiatives have someone on staff who owns the content creation and management process from start to finish.

As Liz Moorehead writes in “Why you need a content manager on your digital marketing team:” “We’ve seen time and again with our clients that there’s a direct correlation between the companies that see significant gains and improvements in digital marketing and sales, and those that don't when they have hired an in-house content manager.”

IMPACT client West Roofing Systems is a perfect example, as can be seen in their success story. The team hired an in-house content manager and saw a 1,200% increase in website traffic and an 828% jump in lead conversions (among other amazing results) from their efforts.

Stories like this are the reason we tell each of our digital sales and marketing coaching clients that one of the first steps to success is hiring a content manager. And it continues to be one of the key factors in driving results for IMPACT's most successful clients.

So commit to hiring a content manager to ensure your content marketing undertaking can hit the ground running.

Know who your buyers are and what they’re interested in

Creating great content for your ideal customer is a waste of time if you don’t fully understand their needs. You might as well be throwing words into thin air.

Do your research, see what your competitors are doing, and use search engine optimization (SEO) and keyword research tools such as Semrush and Google Trends to keep on top of what your buyers are searching for.

Another helpful tip: Perform a Google search for the broad keywords and terms around your products and services to gain insight as to what your buyers are likely searching for. In your SERP (search engine results page), there is typically a section under the ads and the first few results that offer other search terms “people also ask” for.

Use these terms and related searches to create more content by answering these questions too. It’s a simple way to see where Google will be directing your prospects, and if you rank well for these search terms, your content will be showing up there too.

Once you know what your business’s buyers are, you can zero in on meeting their needs and focus on showing prospects how your products and services solve their problems.

Great content can drive traffic you didn’t even know existed, especially with longer-tail keywords that have higher intent.

You will be answering their questions — again, as thoroughly and honestly as possible — in the formats previously listed.

Here’s how to use each of these formats for your small business’s content marketing efforts.

Blog articles

Blog articles are the meat and potatoes of any content marketing strategy. This is where you can address all potential questions your customers are asking and help educate your prospects about how your products and services solve their problems.

From a search engine perspective, blog content helps your website show up when people search online for products and services like yours. As a bonus, every time you create a blog article, it creates a new page on your website, and Google and other search engines value websites that are fresh and growing.

What questions should you be answering?

When Marcus Sheridan saved his pool company from bankruptcy with content, he realized five specific topics consistently drove these results.

These topics, which we call The Big 5, should be addressed first:

1. Cost and pricing: All the factors that drive your product and service costs up and down.

2. Comparisons: Information about your products and services in comparison to similar ones that your prospects need to know to make their buying decision.

3. Problems: Explains all that can go wrong with your products and services, and how to avoid or fix these issues.

4. Best-of lists: Which businesses, products, and services are best in class and why?

5. Reviews: Honest reviews that show if people are pleased with your products and services.

Start with these specific questions, and then teach your prospects everything you can think of about your products, services, industry, and process, focusing on your potential customers and how you can help with their needs.

Sheffield Metals, a B2B business that sells metal products to manufacturers and contractors, used this method when writing articles for their learning center. Their comparison article Metal Roofing vs. Shingle Roofing demonstrates the perfect way to structure your own posts.

After working with IMPACT to tackle The Big 5 and other They Ask, You Answer how-tos, Sheffield Metals increased their revenue by about $20 million! (Learn more about how by reading their case study.)

To learn more about how to write these articles, take our free course How to Write “The Big 5.”

Ebooks

Ebooks function like blog articles do, providing educational content and driving search engine results, but they should be longer and more in-depth and offer more value to a potential customer.

Consider “gating” this content by requiring an email address or similar piece of contact information for your prospects to access them. If you’re using marketing software such as HubSpot or Marketo, the contact information you obtain will be entered into your lead database, giving you the opportunity to reach out to them later.

As you get better at creating content, you’ll notice that much of what you create can be repurposed. If you take a group of relevant blog articles, you can combine them into an ebook, which is a great way to get even more out of the work you’ve already done.

Videos

According to Wyzowl, 84% of people surveyed revealed they bought a product or service after watching a company’s video. In addition, 76% of companies that use video see increased sales volume and revenue, and it’s estimated that this year, 80% of the content consumed by buyers on the internet will be video.

It’s no secret that video is an effective means of communicating, and as the dominance of platforms like YouTube and TikTok continue, it will only become a more vital marketing tool. The bottom line: Your content should be there, too.

But where should you start?

We recommend producing videos that will move the sales needle most, including videos we call “The Selling 7.”

These include:

1. 80% videos that answer the top questions your sales team gets asked on most of their calls, which saves your staff from having to explain the answers over and over again and shortens their sales cycle.

2. Bio videos to use in your client-facing staff’s email signatures. When prospects see their friendly faces and get to know who they are and what they love about their job, it humanizes your company and builds trust with buyers.

3. Product or service fit videos that explain who your products and services are and aren’t a good fit for.

4. Landing page videos that explain what you’ll do with the information you collect when prospects fill out forms on your website.

5. Cost and pricing videos that explain how much your products and services cost, and all the factors in your industry that might drive that cost up and down.

6. Customer journey videos serve as a testimonial for how buyers have gone through your process and are enjoying their results.

7. “Claims we make” videos that feature your staff and prove your company is what you say it is (i.e. friendly, inclusive, diverse, cutting-edge — whatever your claims are, show them).

Yale Appliance worked closely with the IMPACT team to roll out video content, among other inbound marketing initiatives, and saw incredible results. They now average up to 800,000 visits and 8,000 new leads each month. They are opening a third location and accruing about $117 million in revenue.

Many small businesses, though, can be intimidated by creating videos. But honestly, if you have a smartphone and a tripod, you can get started.

Can you go a bit further and look way more professional if you invest in equipment such as proper lighting, backdrops, and digital cameras? Of course you can. But if that iPhone is all you have to set up an awesome video-recording space on a budget, so be it. As we like to say here at IMPACT, done is way better than perfect.

Checklists and other tools

Checklists are a great way to convey a lot of information quickly while reminding prospects about your brand and improving brand recognition.

Try to reimagine blog articles or other longer-form content into a condensed resource your prospects can print out and take with them as they continue their educational search. With a checklist, you’re helping potential customers quickly learn about the topic at hand.

Your prospects might benefit from other tools as well. Maybe you sell real estate and want to offer people a way to calculate their mortgage. As long as it’s helpful to your leads, it’s valuable.

Infographics

Our attention spans in the digital age are lousy, and infographics are an easy way to help prospects digest information much more quickly and improve comprehension (by as much as 50%).

Similar to checklists, you can consolidate other longer-form content to either sum up what you’ve presented in text or present new ideas. Try to make them fun and engaging, with lots of helpful facts and statistics, such as this example from Pixaal:

Get inspired by examples posted on Behance or Dribbble. Once created, add them to your blog articles. This is great for sharing in social media posts and increasing your social media presence — or for being discovered in image searches.

Comparison guides

If you want to help prospects understand the similarities and differences between your products and services, comparison guides are the content you need.

These guides, also considered part of The Big 5, can be between your own offerings or between yours and another company’s, but the key here is to be extremely candid and truthful about the benefits and drawbacks of each, even if it means praising your competition.

This establishes trust with your customers by making them feel like you have their best interests in mind, even above your business’s. This might sound counterintuitive, but I’d bet you if a business owner told you his services might not be a good fit for you, that their competitor might better suit your needs, you’d trust this person far more than a competitor who told you to pick their company because everything they do is the best.

Our article 13 great examples of comparison blog articles explains which comparison articles your small business should be writing and includes lots of helpful examples of how small businesses like yours are already doing it (and seeing success).

Newsletters

They may seem outdated, but newsletters are still an effective means of keeping your prospects engaged. In fact, according to the Content Marketing Institute, 81% of marketers polled reported that the content they created most were newsletters. The key here is to make sure the information you send to your leads is something they need or want to learn about.

Once prospects have found you and have signed up, providing newsletter content is a valuable way to not only keep in touch but also continue sharing educational materials that lead prospects further down the content marketing funnel.

It takes an average of eight points of contact, or touchpoints, to make a sale. Newsletters are a great way to keep reaching out to prospects. Just try not to be too overwhelming in your email marketing initiatives. (We all know those companies that go way too far … it’s annoying. And you don’t want to be marked as spam.) And remember — educational and helpful is the goal.

Webinars

Webinars, online and interactive events that can be presentations or interactive workshops and training, are a great way to get out there and share valuable insight about your products and services.

Consider hosting cross-branded content by inviting someone from another company who is relevant in the industry to join you, thereby boosting your brand awareness. Record these events and upload them to your website or YouTube channel so they continue educating and drawing in prospects.

Be sure to optimize the recording with keywords and terms so search engines know how to sort your video and offer it in search results when you upload it. This will help you gather organic traffic and lead volume long after your event airs.

Case studies or testimonials

Case studies and testimonials are effective ways to show your prospects how you helped someone in a similar situation solve their problems. They can be a way for your current or former customers to share how their experience with your products and services is working and build your business’s reputation through custom content.

To create an effective case study:

• Choose a completed project that has measurable results. Make sure the client agrees with your measures of success.
• Gather essential information, such as background information, first-person accounts, and testimonials.
• Write your case study focusing on the main challenge you helped your client solve.
• Design your case study with web design best practices in mind, and also include a downloadable PDF.

People also love to watch videos of your customers giving feedback, so ask if they’d agree to be filmed while singing your praises. Most customers who’ve had a great experience working with you will be happy to help.

Self-service tools

When prospects come to your site, they want to easily find the answers to their questions, such as:

• How much do your products and services cost?
• What are your different offerings and packages?
• How do your products and services help the buyer?
• How do I make a purchase?

But here’s the kicker: most don’t want to chat with your sales team. They’d rather do the research and make their buying decisions on their own and reach out when they’re ready.

This has led to an increase in prospects preferring to engage with self-service tools rather than sales.

Self-service tools that B2B and B2C companies often use include:

• Product or service selectors
• Custom product or service builders
• Pricing calculators
• Chatbots or other conversational marketing tools
• Automated scheduling technologies

These are just a few of the tools you can use on your site to make the buying process easier for your customers. For a more in-depth look at how these tools work and which you should consider for your small business, take our course “Self-Selection and the Touchless Buying Experience” led by IMPACT coach Chris Duprey.

Draft your small business content marketing strategy

Now that you know why you should be implementing a content marketing strategy for your small business and which formats to use, it’s time to shape your action plan.

Keep in mind that much of the content marketing how-tos out there can be applied to small businesses in general, and if you’re a small business owner who has questions about how to implement content marketing strategies specific to your business, reach out to us.

We love to uncomplicate the process of navigating what can seem like a wild digital sales and marketing landscape.