3 Powerful Ways to Grow Your Business with Content Marketing

Content marketing is gaining traction as more small business owners see proof that it works. According to a survey conducted by Content Marketing Institute (CMI), 90% of B2C and 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing. 

Smart business owners understand that traditional marketing is no longer sufficient to survive and grow in a hyper-competitive marketplace but the question still remains. 

How do you drive tangible business results (like awareness, leads, sales, loyalty, etc.) with content marketing? 

After all, content marketing is formally defined as the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.

Here’re 3 content marketing tactics that drive tangible results:

Guest Posting

If you’re looking to build awareness and attract qualified leads for your business then guest posting is the way to go. 

What exactly is guest posting? 

Simply put, guest posting means placing your content on someone else’s website or blog. When you write for a popular website in your niche, it builds your authority and attracts highly-targeted visitors to your website. 

For example, Small Business BC is a popular information hub for business owners in BC. If you offer B2B products and services then it makes sense to write an article for Small Business BC because it allows you to connect with a target audience that may be interested in what you offer.

Keep in mind, your content MUST add value and actually help readers. Check out these seven crucial tactics for writing a wildly successful guest post.

Webinars

Many online and offline businesses use webinars to generate and nurture qualified leads and create better relationships with existing customers. 

In case you’re unaware, a webinar is a live web-based event that incorporates audio and visual elements as well as attendee interaction. 

Hosting a webinar is a great way to demonstrate how your product or service helps your prospect, identify and address objections, and educate existing customers on how to get the most out of your product. 

If done right, webinars can create a huge flood of qualified leads for your product and service so I suggest that you have a webinar strategy in place. 

Email Autoresponder

Despite all the naysayers, email marketing is still a highly effective and cost effective content marketing tactic to turn prospects into paying customers. 

Email marketing is NOT spamming your prospects inbox with offers and telling them how great you are. It’s about providing valuable information so that prospects see you as an expert who can solve their problem.

When prospects subscribe to your email list, it’s an indication that they’re interested in your offer but want more information to see if you can really deliver on your promise. Your job is to earn their trust and that’s where an email autoresponder comes in. 

An autoresponder is a sequence of email marketing messages that get sent to your subscribers automatically in the order and frequency you decide. The purpose of these messages is to establish your expertise by providing tidbits of helpful information that lead to quick wins towards what your prospect wants to achieve. 

Prospective customers are much more likely to engage with promotional messages when you provide value upfront without asking for anything in return. 

Over to You

Do you use content marketing? If so, which content marketing tactics do you use and for what purpose?