How content marketing helps small businesses?

Kindly enlisting the help of a stimulating story-telling, is what good content marketing is all about! That, sprinkled with some light stats on customers’ appetite for Content Marketing and our consistent dose of real-world strategies for small businesses to take inspiration from, is the narrative that we present to you in this article! Read more What Is Content Marketing And How To Do It?

Understanding Content Marketing

We’ll explain this in the way we love doing – we’ll tell you a story!

Once upon a time, people were bombarded with so many advertisements, so many promises, that they couldn’t quite discern, wherein lay the trustworthy, and wherein the fabricators. Who truly cared about them, and who just put things out there that they wanted to sell. Witnessing this, Seth Godin – entrepreneur and best-selling author – wisely commented,

“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” 

And HOW you tell your story, is exactly what differentiates you in consumers’ minds. THAT’S content marketing – no need to keep bragging about your products directly, no need to keep tossing your brand in your clientele’s face. Putting them off, is what you don’t want! Toss off high-quality relevant content instead! Stuff that would feed their interest, enlighten, engage and entertain them. Give them value, which might indirectly get them interested in the benefits that your products can provide to them.

This is what consumers want. They prefer information over promotion. Value over promises. As a small business, this type of content marketing strategy could just win you more hearts (and perhaps indirectly more sales!) then traditional marketing. Read more Digital Marketing For Small Businesses And probably this is what prompted Robert Rose – content marketing strategist – to observe,

“Traditional marketing is TELLING the world you’re a rockstar. Content Marketing is SHOWING that you’re one.” 

Now, now … we understand this proposition takes more time! But you can imagine the robust bond that can be shared between your customers and your small business, by following this value-giving content marketing strategy! And like Yvon Chouinard, environmentalist and billionaire businessman says,

“Profits is what happens when you do everything else right.”

So that will take care of that!

Statistics on Content Marketing

Let’s have a small statistical peek into what consumers feel about the content marketing strategies adopted by small businesses.

Few instances of companies using Content Marketing

We now come to some action-time in our story! Below are examples of how some Indian and global companies hatched out strategies for their content marketing. Small businesses, are you reading?! Read more Top 5 Startup Brand Strategy Ideas And Why It Matters

• Amul’s current affairs

Humour never fails to get attention! Amul uses witty content to give its take on India’s current affairs.

By subtly interlacing its awareness and concern for the country with its own product attributes, Amul exemplifies great content marketing strategies.

• Microsoft’s stories

Imagine a massive conglomerate indulging in some humanitarian story-telling of its employees! Microsoft does just that through its Story Labs platform, which showcases videos, interviews, articles of its successful employees, while also doing some brand building in the background. (Subtly is the strategic word here too.)

The giant company shows its humane and caring side by especially inspiring potential users to similar career growth, thus adding value to their lives. Content marketing to the core!

• Shaadi.com says no pressure

Shaadi.com pulled out rabbit out of the hat, in this one! In spite of being a matrimonial site, its Take the Pressure Off campaign struck a chord with people, by showing a mother appreciating her daughter’s decision in declining a marriage proposal she doesn’t want.

It shows that notwithstanding being a marital site, it still promotes a woman’s decision to not give in to pressures of saying yes to a marriage proposal which she doesn’t like. As a consumer, why wouldn’t you check out their app after seeing their concern? And how’s that for a content marketing strategy?!

• Simply Business guides

How to attract attention when your small business belongs to a so-called ‘boring sector’?! Check out Simply Business’s strategy!

This UK insurance firm rustles up useful guides and tips as part of its content marketing to appeal to its customers, which has successfully led to increased links and shares on social media.

And you thought ‘boring sectors’ can’t attract eyeballs! Read more All About Social Media Marketing For Startups

• Jay Shetty’s life’s lessons

What do you do when you have tons of moral wisdom you want to share with the world? Wrap it with engaging story-telling and present it in a unique and entertaining way that pegs viewers till the end.

Jay Shetty, former monk, creates highly relatable content marketing that creates value for his consumers. Lesson here for small businesses.

• GoPro’s Be a Hero

How about some product propaganda directly from the horse’s mouth?! GoPro’s Be a Hero campaign encourages customers to use GoPro’s action cameras in filming and sharing daring or adventurous videos of themselves and thus giving them the opportunity to have their moments of fame.

GoPro has become a hero itself in this type of content marketing because they hardly have to create their own promotions – their users do it themselves! (Small businesses – a smart strategy to save on your finances, no?!) Read more Affordable Digital Marketing Strategies For Startups!

Conclusion

Give your consumers what they want, not what you want to give them. Make them feel – this was done especially for me. Then you know you have won at Content Marketing.

---