Whenever I’m asked to provide a social media strategy or a marketing strategy, I almost always deliver this alongside a content strategy. They go hand in hand and that is why I will always be a fan of content marketing. 

Yes, it’s playing the long game and won’t provide you with quick wins (necessarily), but content marketing is a powerful tool for growing your business long-term. It’s the most personal form of marketing because it allows you to connect one-on-one with potential customers. As a result, it builds trust and credibility for your brand or yourself as a freelancer.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is the use of content (such as blogs, ebooks, videos and infographics) to attract and retain your ideal clients.

What are the different types of marketing content?

Content covers a lot of different things but here is a list of the typical types of marketing content:

• Blog posts
• White papers
• Webinars
• Infographics
• Social media posts
• Ebooks
• Podcasts

Why content marketing is important for a small business

Content marketing is a long-term strategy, so you might be wondering how exactly it will help you make money quickly. The short answer: It won’t. Content marketing is about engaging clients and prospects in meaningful ways that allow them to get to know you better over time. As a result of those interactions, you have an opportunity to turn some of these people into clients down the road.

And while having a strong online presence is important no matter what stage of business you’re in, having one as an entrepreneur or freelancer makes things even more challenging because most people aren’t familiar with what type of work freelance professionals do—or even who they are at all! Content marketing can help change that.

Here are the top 7 reasons that you should be focusing on content marketing:

1. It’s more personal than other marketing methods

Content marketing is more personal than other types of marketing. What I mean by this is that it’s an opportunity to connect with your ideal clients. You can use content to tell your story and share your journey which will help your ideal clients to get to know you, like you and then trust you meaning any potential leads that you get will be much more aligned to you and your values.

2. Literally anyone can create content

No matter what size business you have, you can create amazing content. You have so much knowledge in your head that you can share with your ideal clients. You are already an expert in your subject matter, all you need to do is start writing your knowledge down and sharing it with the world. 

It doesn’t matter what industry you are in; you have knowledge in your head that you can share with your audience. 

You don’t have to be an expert in running Facebook ads or creating fancy ad campaigns, just start sharing what you know with your ideal clients. 

3. You can produce high-value content on any budget

You don’t have to spend a fortune to produce valuable content. The great news is that you can get amazing content out to your audience without having to spend fortunes on content creation or PR agencies.

Canva is literally AMAZING for creating on-brand, beautiful graphics without having to learn graphic design. They have thousands of editable templates which are super easy to use. If you haven’t heard of Canva yet – where have you been?!

And you can easily get your content out into the world via social media – get posting your knowledge and graphics on your social media accounts (use relevant hashtags to help your content get found) and it won’t be long before the client enquiries start coming in.

4. It’s an opportunity to show off your expertise and become a thought leader in your industry

By writing content that’s useful, educational, and helps people solve problems or answer questions, you can position yourself as an authority on that topic. Your audience will turn to you for expert advice and trust you as a valuable source, which then makes selling your services that bit easier…

5. It’s the best way to sell authentically and organically

Once you’ve started to build a level of trust with your audience, they’ll be more likely to buy from you when it comes time for them to make a purchase decision. You can always add a CTA (call to action) at the end of your content which can promote your services, courses, etc.

6. It’s a great way to capture leads

Have you heard of the value exchange? Increasingly, people are prepared to share their data if they consider the exchange to be sufficient, or if the product or service they receive in an exchange is one that they place a high enough value upon.

So, if you want to start collecting email addresses to start building your email list then you can offer your audience a valuable piece of content (something that helps solve their problems) in exchange for their email address.

Furthermore, the quality of your leads will be better quality as you have brought them in through a piece of content that is related to your industry and service offering as opposed to paying for leads through ads, which, if the targeting isn’t done right, could be a load of dud leads! 

7. You can use it to build brand awareness and credibility

Content marketing is a powerful tool for growing your business long-term. Content marketing helps you reach new audiences and hence build your brand. When you start to get recognised and trusted as an expert or thought leader in your industry, you will have opportunities to speak on your topic. Whether you’re asked to write an article, white paper or appear on a podcast – you will increase your brand reach exponentially.

To summarise

Content marketing is a powerful tool for growing your business long-term. It is the best way to connect with customers on a more personal level and to sell organically and authentically, especially on social media. Although content marketing isn’t a ‘quick win’ when it comes to sales, when it’s done right, it gives you the chance to build trust and credibility with your audience and ideal clients. This will then help you generate leads and sell to your audience …without having to spend any money on adverting!

Are you looking to step up your content this year? 

Register interest for my new content course here and save with an early bird offer. The first 5 people to register will get access to this course for FREE!