(Newswire.net –June 17, 2013) Pasadena, CA. This week is National Small Business Week. There are almost 14 million small businesses operating in the US and they employ 120,903,551 people. Most small business owners start a company because they’re goo d at something, not because they are skilled marketers or managers.Marketing a small business used to be fairly simple, but the Internet has changed that scenario.
The current trend is what’s called “inbound marketing” – producing content online that resonates with potential customers and gets them to reach out for information. This is a great way to so marketing, because it taps into people who are already looking for what the company offers.
However, the success of inbound marketing depends on the quality of the content.So what kind of content works for a small business?
1. Blogging
No-one knows your business better than you do. You are an expert in your business and your product. Blogging is the perfect way to reaching the right people, showing them your expertise thought leadership. By blogging regularly you show that you are reliable, always available and open to conversation. And it feeds a stream of fresh content to the search engines, which helps with search ranking. Posts do not have to be long. They can be a few paragraphs, or even just a great image with a few lines of copy.
2. Case Studies
The trick is not to make cases studies too clinical. Tell stories about your best customers:
· what the problem was
· how they used your product/service to solve that issue
· how they measured results.
3. White Papers
A white paper is a report that shares expertise, trends or industry information and research with your current and potential customers. A good whitepaper can:
· Attract media attention
· Improve brand awareness
· Build a mailing list
· Provide qualified leads
4. Webinars
There are many easy-to-use online presentation platforms you can use to deliver webinars.
Record your webinars so in addition to the live event you can offer on-demand video.
Use webinars to:
· Show product features
· Explain complex information
· Share new ideas
· Position your brand with other thought leaders in your field
5. Visual Content
There is a growing demand for images, graphics and video online. Research shows that visuals with every piece of content you publish.
Learn how to create visual content with free and low cost apps on your phone and tablet to increase views and engagement on every online platform – media, blogs and social networks.
Tell your stories visually – add high quality images, infographics and short, interesting videos
make this visual content. It can be done quickly, easily and doesn’t need a big budget. What it does need is creativity and lateral thinking.
6. An Online Newsroom
Your branded content needs a place to live. A hosted online newsroom should house
• Press releases
• Articles
• Blog posts
• Images
• Videos
• Webinars
• White papers
• Company Twitter feed
• Press Contacts
• Exec bios
• Expert resumes
If executed consistently this simple content strategy will deliver excellent results and help any small business expand and proper in any climate.
For more information on how to develop and execute a small business content strategy visit http://www.meritusmedia.com