Content Jottings

If you’re asking this question, well done. Too many businesses create content simply because they’ve heard “content is king.” But without a solid answer to this question, you could potentially waste a lot of precious resources or harm your brand's image.

A fitness studio owner once asked me, “There’s so much content already out there, why should I create more noise? Why should I spend my limited energy doing what everyone else is doing?”

In short, because content can play an integral role in helping you achieve business goals by showing the proof in the pudding instead of trying to convince that you are the pudding.

Let’s say one of your business goals is gaining more customers.

If you’re like 80% of small businesses, you rely on word-of-mouth for getting customers, followed by online search and social media.  So far, I haven’t had a single client that didn’t tell me that they get most of their customers by word-of-mouth referrals.  That’s great!  Referrals are what we’re going for as marketers.  It’s the most impactful method of marketing.  But referrals don’t live in a vacuum.  They are spurred by other forms of getting the word out. 

Content marketing is a vehicle for perpetuating word-of-mouth referrals.  A client of this fitness studio was interviewed and requested, “Give me a blog, a picture, or something to share with my referral.  With how busy people are, they want more information than just a suggestion. They want to evaluate if it’s worth their time or not.”

I asked a Cincinnati landscaping business owner why he takes time for producing content. He responded, “I honestly feel like I can’t afford not to nowadays.  It’s what my customers expect.  But beyond that, I see it as worthwhile because I want my customers to understand what lawncare and landscaping services I offer and how I do it differently than the next guy.  Plus it’s a chance to convey the personality of our business.”   

After you’ve identified your business reason for producing content, you may be asking, “Where do I start?”  

Dear Ron, 

We’re all feeling it.  Endless email newsletters, seminars, articles, blogs, photos, quizzes, and YouTube videos that make us wonder, “Crap. Where did my day go?”  Adult “no-tech” retreats and phone applications now exist for the sole purpose of digitally unplugging.  

The information age is both a blessing and a curse.  A blessing because with the power of a square in our pockets,  we can take action on dreams and resolve obstacles.  A curse, because that action may be delayed by battles with the distraction dragon.  

Just for perspective, let’s look at numbers.  In 1977, the average consumer experienced about 500 marketing messages per day.  In 1997, that number rose to 3,000 with the dawn of Google.  Fast forward to 2013 with smartphones when we unknowingly experience 13,000 marketing messages per day!  In the words of our friend Ron Swanson, “People have the right to be left alone! I’m going off grid.” While his measures to go off-grid were extreme, can we blame him?!

Noise. Everywhere. Must. Find. Quiet.

At the same time, Google’s Zero Moment of Truth research shows that the average consumer engages with 10 pieces of content before making a buying decision.  And according to a 2012 Edelman study, millennials, now between the ages 22-37, actually expect brands to develop content for them, with 80% wanting to be directly entertained through content marketing. 

So eyes and ears ARE still searching for answers despite the feeling of being overloaded.  Who is responding?  Because whoever is, is is the one getting the phone calls.

In 2016, small businesses and start ups will produce even more content.  The tragedy is that most of them will be ignored and written off as noise.  Consumers have become jaded by pushy sales-speak and a disrespect for the right to self-publish (blogging, tweeting,etc).  They are forced to pay attention only to the content messages that have earned their trust. This is why small biz and start ups will build a content strategy that once again spurs their customers’ demand.

Sources:

Patel, Sujan. "What Your 2016 Content Marketing Strategy Should Look Like." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 3 Jan. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.