As a small business developing a good content marketing strategy is not easy. You cannot just put out hundreds of articles on the web and expect them to automatically rank well on Google. No matter how well written your content is, if you are not marketing it, sharing it and promoting it, no one will read it.

To put it simply content marketing is a business analytics technique of creating content specifically with the intent to increase your web traffic, get new customers or simply increase brand awareness.

Though it will take an effort initially, over time a good content marketing strategy can help small businesses build trust, increase traffic and generate leads that convert. with that let’s look at 7 actionable content management tips that you can apply for your small business to drive sales.

Start With Keyword Research

The first thing you need to do before you begin writing any content is to have a clear understanding of your audience – who they are and what they want only then can you begin to draft accurate content for them. Turn towards keyword research to find out what topics are popular and get the most hits.

Not only will a good and in-depth keyword research provide you with information on the latest trends but you can also find highly relevant keywords that have few contenders. Creating content that targets your specific audience will help you bring more traffic to your page. Google Keyword Planner is one popular resource a lot of marketers use for keyword research.

Focus on Your Headlines

Your headline helps readers decide quickly if they want to keep reading your piece or not. Readers are busy so by writing an optimized keyword-rich headline that is intriguing demonstrates that it is worth their time. Your headline can ask questions, interesting ones. By ending a headline with an ellipsis you will pique the reader’s curiosity, the customer wants to know the rest of what you’ve said and this gets them in the mood to click on your post. Use the keyword research you did, if it fits into your headline then include it to increase traffic.

Create Style Guides

A style guide is a set of rules and conventions that describes the layout and aesthetics of all the contents that you publish. It includes standards for grammar, tone, logo usage, colours, visuals, word usage, point of view, and more. A detailed style guide ensures that your published content is consistent, recognizable, engaging and more enjoyable. It put your readers first and gives your site and brand a well-defined and cohesive look.

High Quality Guest Posts

A great way to get access to a new audience in your niche is guest posting in related niches. In guest posting, you find influential marketers or popular blogs to write for. Make a list of these and then write them a pitch, propose a relationship where you produce content that is non-promotional and relevant to the host site’s readers. this way you not only get valuable backlinks but it increases your site’s credibility in the field too. Or you can do vice-versa, invite guest authors to write for your blog. This way not only do you get more traffic but your content gets introduced to a new audience too.

Make Visual Content

Humans are visual creatures who process visual data faster than any text. Increasing the number of images and videos will increase the user response and the number of social media shares. Creating downloadable content like eBooks, infographics and white papers that can be freely shared gives your audience the ability to share content the like to fellow users via social media platforms thus giving you access to the audience you might not have reached otherwise. Breaking down complex topics into bite-sized infographics also helps your users easily understand the topic and builds your authority in the field.

Add Social Sharing Buttons

Add social sharing buttons near your content especially your downloadable content. These make it easier for people to quickly share the items that are useful to them. when people share content not only do you get a new audience but it also builds social proof. Prominently feature these buttons in your blog posts. there is a range of plugins that make adding such services to your website easy.

Include A Call To Action

Every piece of content that you publish does not need a call to action (CTA). Sometimes it would be better to allow the customer to reach the page on their own, in their own time. however, sometimes a CTA can give a customer the push needed to act. Ideally, your CTA should be brief, specific and convincing. Ask for a single action and make completing it an incentive.

Conclusion

For any small business successful content marketing can help them double their site traffic. The key to a successful content marketing strategy is to be constantly thinking about how to make your content more effective. Like any other business analytics tool content marketing is an ongoing process, by analyzing your results you can constantly tweak your strategy to keep creating value.

Author Bio

Abhyank Srinet holds a Masters in Management degree from ESCP Europe & has an engineering degree with a specialization in Instrumentation & Control. His interest in the digital landscape motivated him to create an online startup for application consulting (MiM-Essay), focused on spreading quality information about early career master’s degree.