Curating your own content
You’ve probably heard of inbound marketing. The term was coined in 2005 by Brian Halligan, co-founder and CEO of HubSpot, to describe how small businesses can use content to draw customers to them.
The idea has remarkable appeal for small businesses because it has the potential to drastically cut back on advertising costs. It also increases conversion rates because it fills sales funnels with warm leads who are already searching for what your company has to offer.
As small businesses learn to use inbound marketing to further their market reach, they also build their brand visibility, rapport with potential customers, and loyalty from the customers they already interact with.
With a little effort, a small business owner can target marketing segments with specific content, find the best avenues for releasing that content, and optimize the content so it’s easy for search engines to find.
CREATING CONTENT THAT BRINGS IN CUSTOMERS
The basic of content marketing is to showcase your company as providing the best solutions for people who are already searching for answers to their questions. One way to do this is to spend some time creating articles on your blog or on platforms like Medium that helps to answer questions before people ask them.
You can also answer questions on social media sites like Quora or Reddit. If you answer questions on topics related to your business frequently enough, you can set yourself or your business up as an authority on the subject. This is a great way to start building your brand visibility.
One of the easiest and most fun aspects of inbound marketing is that it gives you the opportunity to talk about your passions, including why you opened your small business in the first place. Remember, anytime you can start a conversation about something that your company does well, you’re succeeding at inbound marketing. Luckily, there are software applications like SnapApp that can help you start conversations with your target audiences even if you feel like a newbie.
OPTIMIZE YOUR CONTENT
Keeping your content find-able is a major component of inbound marketing. This element requires that you write content that is relevant to your industry and timely in its delivery.
Using keywords in your content can help. However, optimizing content can be tricky. There are a lot of metrics to watch that can help you perfect your marketing strategies. As you dive into SEO, you might want to rely on a software package such as MetricSpot to help you tweak your content so it can rise to the top of search engine rankings.
DELIVER YOUR CONTENT
Social media sites are a great place to deliver your content because users engage in conversations there. Keeping a Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account active with posts containing useful information can be a big inbound marketing boost.
If you can draw visitors to your website, you can also present them with opt-in forms that build your business email list. This allows you to nurture these leads by sending them content through e-newsletters and special promotions.
Developing a good inbound marketing strategy isn’t as hard as it sounds. It might take a little time, but it’s fun because it helps people. The social nature of inbound marketing makes it rewarding for both small business owners and for the people who find them.
