It's no secret that content marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach your target audience and build a relationship with them. But many small business owners don't know that content marketing is a process that goes through four distinct phases.
To make the most of your content marketing strategy, it's important to understand these phases and how they can help you achieve your goals.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a strategy that uses various forms of media, such as videos, blogs, articles, infographics, and podcasts, to engage customers and clients with a business.
It then uses platforms like social media and emails to amplify the use and reach of the content to attract prospective and existing customers.
So without further ado, let's look at the four phases of content marketing!
The benefits of content marketing for small businesses
Content marketing helps you stand out from the competition.
Small businesses that use content marketing can stand out from the competition by creating engaging and informative content. This content can attract new customers, build relationships with them, and keep them returning for more.
It's a cost-effective way to reach more people.
One of my favourite tactics is finding a post that resonates well i.,Ie likes, shares or comments and then boosting the post on Facebook to reach a wider audience. This is an extremely low-cost way to get your business in front of a new audience.
Quality content will help you rank higher on search engine results pages.
Not every small business can afford an in-house SEO expert but regularly posting content about what you know is a great way to organically improve your ranking on Google and other search engines.
It can lead to more sales and conversions.
The whole point of content marketing is to eventually lead your readers to take some sort of action, whether subscribing to your email list, buying a product, or hiring your services.
Phase One - Post something, anything
In phase one, you're just getting started. This is the time to post anything and everything that you can think of. Post blog articles, images, funny memes, and anything that will help you get your content out there. The more content you can create and share, the better.
Just go from being the silent majority to saying something. It will be average (at best), but that's OK.
You cannot go from zero to awesome overnight. You have to start somewhere, and the key is just to get started.
The first phase might seem obvious, but most small businesses are not yet at the starting line in building an online presence.
Phase Two - Build on the one post and start to post regularly
In phase two, you'll start to build on the one post that you created in phase one. This is the time to start posting regularly and to focus on creating valuable, relevant, and engaging content.
By doing this, you will appear regularly in news feeds, and your audience will become accustomed to seeing you on your platform.
They will start to expect to see you there, and at the same time, you are starting to show some consistency about you and your business. Consistency equals reliability. You are now demonstrating reliability.
Phase three - start posting regularly across multiple social media platforms.
Phase three of content marketing is when you start to post regularly across multiple platforms. This is the time to start using different channels to reach your target audience. For example, you might start posting on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
By doing this, you will reach more people and build a relationship with them on different platforms. Your audience will start to see you as an authority in your field, and they will be more likely to trust and do business with you.
Phase Four - Focus on creating a high-quality content marketing strategy
In phase four, you'll focus on creating high-quality content. This is the time to hone your skills and make sure that your content is the best and as helpful and entertaining as it can be.
Doing this will set you apart from the competition and become known as a thought leader in your industry. Your audience will respect you and be likelier to do business with you.
You will also start to learn about what works and why. You will learn about what type of content works best in different stages of the customer journey, and you will start using this content as marketing collateral to support your sales process.
You will also start to dial in on each social platform, the formats required, and the types of content that work well on different platforms.
Objectives of Stages 1 -4
I acknowledge Alex Hormozi for succinctly explaining this, but stages 1 - 4 of content marketing are not about lead generation but lead nurturing.
The point of content generation in the early phases is that someone may hear about you or your business, and they will go online to research you. If all they can find is one blog post from years ago, you're going to have a hard time convincing them that you're still even in business.
You are helping your potential client with their online research by having something to research. If you have posted something recently, you are telling them that you're active and still in business and you know what you are talking about; in fact, you are willing to put your name to some content that says I know what I'm talking about.
You have just demonstrated that you are still in business and know what you are talking about.
If the prospect can find some positive reviews about your business, you have just bagged a trifecta.
This is how content generation in the early stages helps with lead nurturing rather than lead generation.
Get started
So, what’s the best way to get started? The answer is simple – start creating content.
But don’t just create any old content in hopes of driving sales; put thought into the four phases of content marketing and produce material that will help you build credibility with your target market.
When you do this, you won’t see an immediate influx of sales, but over time you will establish yourself as a credible source of information and be more likely to convert leads into paying customers.
Ready to get started?