In 2022, content will continue being king. But what does this mean for your small business? It means you haven’t added content marketing in your marketing mix yet, you need to start implementing smart content marketing strategies to stay competitive.
Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach new customers and grow your business. In this article we will discuss seven ways to use content marketing to expand your business in the coming year as well as give you actionable tips so that you can get started right away!
1. Start Testing Your Website Content
To ensure that your website is converting as well as possible, you need to start A/B testing your website content. This strategy will help you to determine what content is working and what needs to be improved.
A/B testing compares two parts of content to see which one performs better. To do this, you will need to create two separate versions of your content and then track the results. You can test several factors, including the headline, the call-to-action, and the images. By testing different elements, you can determine what works best for your business and your customers.
If you’re not sure how to start A/B testing, there are a number of resources available online. Check out this guide from HubSpot for more information.
2. Show Your Face
Customers want to know that there are real people behind the business. One of the best ways to show customers you’re a real person is to use video. However, if you’re not using video yet, you may be falling behind the curve. In fact, 86% of businesses are already using videos for marketing.
Video is a great way to involve your customers and make a human connection. You can use video to introduce your business and your team, give tours of your facilities, or even just answer customer questions.
If you’re uncomfortable on camera, you can also use video to showcase your products or services. This is a great way to give clients a behind-the-scenes look at your business.
There are many ways that you can use video to market your business. For example, you can post videos on social media, your website, or even YouTube.
3. Put Customer Testimonials to Work
Customer testimonials are a highly effective marketing practice. When potential customers see that other people have had success with your product or service, they’re more likely to try it themselves. This is called social proof, and you can never had too much of it.
If you don’t already have customer testimonials, now is the time to start collecting them. You can include testimonials on your website, email marketing campaigns, or social media.
When you’re asking for testimonials, be sure to ask specific questions that give you the information you need. For example, you might want to ask customers how your product or service has helped them, their favorite features, or what they would tell their friends about your business.
By collecting and sharing customer testimonials, you can increase your sales and grow your business.
4. Get Personal
In 2022, customers will be looking for more personalization in their content. They don’t want to feel like they’re just another number – they want to feel like you understand them and their needs.
One way to personalize your content is to segment your audience and create distinctive pieces of content for different groups of people. For example, you might create one piece of content for first-time visitors to your website and another for returning customers.
You can also use personalization to customize the user experience on your website. This might include displaying different content based on the user’s location or providing recommendations based on their past interactions with your site.
By personalizing your content, you can connect with your customers and build loyalty.
5. Create Interactive Content
Interactive content engages your audience and gets them involved in your content. Interactive content includes quizzes, surveys, polls, and calculators.
Interactive content will get people talking about your brand. It’s also a great way to collect data about your customers.
If you’re not sure where to begin with interactive content, consider your target audience. What type of content would your buyers be interested in? What would help them decide on your product or service?
You can increase engagement and get people talking about your brand by creating interactive content.
6. Use Visuals
In 2022, visuals will be more critical than ever. People are bombarded with content every day, and they’re always looking for ways to consume it more quickly.
One way to make your content more enticing is to use infographics. Infographics are a great way to present data in an easy-to-understand format. They’re also shareable, which can help increase your reach. Using visuals on social media is also a great way to stand out. People are more likely to stop scrolling and take notice of an image or video than they are to read a block of text.
Canva is an excellent resource for creating visuals. They have a library of free templates that you can use to create infographics, social media posts, and more.
7. Focus on Local SEO
SEO is more vital than ever for small businesses. In 2022, small businesses will need to focus on SEO to be visible online.
Here are some things you can do to improve your SEO:
- Find relevant, local keywords and create content around them
- Optimize your website for mobile, as well as voice search
- Take part in and write about local events and activities
- Build backlinks to your website from authority websites like your local chamber of commerce, and local directories
If you’re a total beginner when it comes to SEO, check out this video below by SEM Rush for more information.
Conclusion
Content marketing is a powerful tool that you can use to expand your small business’s visibility online. By following the content marketing tips above, you can start implementing content marketing strategies that will help you to reach new customers and grow your business.
Are you doing this? If so, leave a comment on how you implement any of these (or other strategies). If you are not doing this, reach out to us and let us do the work for you!
What have you discovered to be the best kind of interactive content?
This article is so helpful – almost like a check list for solopreneur content creators. I found myself nodding along… yes, I do that, yes, I used to do that and could improve and hmmm. New to explore. 🙂
Thanks for always providing optimal value – now, about that interactive content… please do tell us more!
“What have you discovered to be the best kind of interactive content?” – THe answer is, “It depends” (don’t you hate that answer?) It depends on your market, your niche, your audience, your country/culture, etc. If you are unsure, try one out and see how that goes. THen try another. And another.
Excellent points, thank you for the summary. Last year I worked with someone who coached me to do exactly this. Sadly he got sick and passed away, all within a six month period. I miss him every time I read these expressions.
I like the concept of A/B testing. I guess it can be compared with “packaging”. Same content, different box.
Sorry to hear about your coach. You can still move forward and try these items out that you nodded your head that you are currently not yet doing.
Video is so important and is on the list. But I’m hesitant to show my face, I’ll probably focus on explainer videos.
Explainer videos are fine – better than nothing, that is for sure.
Great resources! Yes, it’s time to get in synch with the 21st century, and this blog post tells us how!
Thanks, Kate!
Paul, thank you for the very organized and super well-written piece. I need to move into about 4 of these areas! Thanks for the inspiration.
Go slowly, Grasshopper!