A dynamic website that offers relevant and useful content to visitors can make your small business shine. In fact, offering unique content that gives users insight to improve their lives and invites new customers to experience your brand can give your small business the leverage it needs to compete with big-box stores.
To ensure your website helps your business grow, you need a solid content marketing plan.
The Better Business Bureau has compiled these basics to develop a strategy that instills credibility and trust in your small business.
What is Content Marketing?
Maybe your paid ads aren’t performing as well as you’d hoped, even if you’re using the right targeting software and working with Google’s algorithms. For a small business, spending money on advertising or visibility that doesn’t get results is very frustrating and perhaps an expense you can’t handle. Content marketing, from your social media presence to readable and relevant blogs, is the answer.
Content marketing, according to marketing guru Neil Patel, is “a long-term strategy that uses content (in a variety of formats) to build a stronger relationship with your audience, capture their attention, improve engagement and improve brand recall.
Essentially, content marketing is the story of your brand and your passion.
Why is content marketing important for small businesses?
Buyers turn to small businesses because the owners are very in tune with their niche and are an integral part of their customer community. Content marketing is your opportunity to share the reasons you started your business and some special behind-the-scenes stories your customers might appreciate. For many small business owners, the reason they built their brand is often a personal passion and in-depth knowledge of their niche.
This expertise resonates with your customers and positions you to give them valuable information about your product.
How can content marketing influence customer trust?
Effective web content provides businesses with unique opportunities to build and strengthen relationships with their customers. By sharing actionable and informative content relevant to your target audience, your business becomes more than just a seller of products or services. You are a problem solver, a trusted resource, a life enhancer.
Maintaining a steady stream of quality content also better positions your organization as an industry leader. When it comes to satisfying a need, customers are more likely to turn to companies that they know can solve a problem they have encountered. The content you offer acts as a sort of resume explaining why customers should proactively seek out your business in these situations. It must solve problems, provide solutions and, above all, add value.
How can I develop better web content?
Your content marketing efforts will depend on your business model and your target customers. If your main customers are people looking for the best cup of coffee in town, then Instagram might be the best way to share content, like featured beans or a loyalty program. If you provide a service, such as physiotherapy or floor installation, then a dynamic website that details the science behind your technique, coupled with “teaser stories” might be your best bet.
Be transparent about your brand and your mission. New customers may be curious to explore a small business, but the consistency of national brands may make them hesitant to shop with you. As an authority in your niche, you can help new clients understand your expertise and gain their trust and business.
For more business advice, visit trust-bbb.org.
Ashley D. Su 
