How Will Content Marketing Increase My Sales?

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If you own a small business and have been unimpressed with your sales, you may be asking yourself, "What am I doing wrong?"

Don't stress! We can figure this out. Take a step back and ask yourself these questions:

  1. Where am I promoting my business?

  2. How is that currently performing? 

  3. Is that where my target is?

  4. What questions does my target have about my business or industry that I could answer?

Have you been focusing all your spend on Google AdWords or bathroom stall ads because that's where you think you should be? Do you have real, measurable sales growth as a result? Do you know that your target is in this space, or would you benefit from testing new approaches? If you can't go back into your analytics or reports and see a direct correlation between your ad placement and sales, it's time to rethink your strategy! 

The foundation of content marketing - all marketing in fact - is to tell your story to your target when and where it is welcome in a way that draws both an emotional connection and business results. 

Content has the potential to increase your sales by guiding them through the sales funnel:

  • Posting consistent quality on your website, blogs and social media platforms puts you on the nice list with Google spiders that crawl the web, improving your chance of appearing higher in search results

  • Content gives your followers something to engage with on your owned and earned spaces, encouraging shares and increasing brand awareness

  • Thought leadership shows you have chops in your industry. It builds trust in your customers, enriching relationships and encouraging lead generation. If you're in the B2B industry, 96% of B2B buyers long for more insights from industry thought leaders

  • One-to-one conversations on owned and earned platforms nurture leads to purchase

  • Ongoing support improves customer retention and leads to brand advocacy

There are lots of different ways to create content for your business: Long form copy, short form copy, video content, animated content, audio content and imagery.

Here's your short list of recommendations when considering a content marketing plan.

  • Start small

  • Create a plan

  • Pick one type of content at first

  • Publish consistently and promote regularly

  • Add paid support when possible (Even a small amount will increase your reach)

  • Test and analyze

  • Expand in a way that is sustainable

Have you tested a content marketing plan? How did it go?