Content marketing often starts out as a blog on your website and gets posted and promoted on social media. Prospects read to learn about your company, your expertise and your services, and they prefer articles like these over ads. Accordingly, the large majority of organizations are using content marketing to build a path to their customer’s door.
A few key stats from Demand Metric will tell you why content marketing matters. This tool is used by 90% of organizations to reach their audience, and 80% believe content marketing should be central to their marketing plan. Furthermore, 70% of customers would rather learn about a company through articles rather than advertising.
Not surprisingly, these set of marketing statistics also say that e-commerce content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing. Typing and posting is a fairly low-cost publication process, though you also need the topics, writing skills and social media marketing budget to get the attention.
Neglecting your social media entirely is the same as overlooking a minefield for future customers. Yet delivering quality content takes planning. Success needs structure. So, how do you begin or expand your content marketing on social media?
As you prepare your plan, take a look at your current efforts. Where are you posting? What’s working? What’s not? Where would you like to improve?
Brainstorm to get answers to questions like these: What other types of content would you like to create? What formats do you want to use? What topics do you want to cover? How often do you want to create new content? Who can help you develop your content? How much budget will you dedicate to promoting your content?
Along with your website as a hub, consider which platforms you want to use to spread your message. Facebook is a given, seeing that it’s the most commonly used social media platform, but Twitter, Instagram and others could be of benefit as well.
Learn from others by studying your competitors. Take a look at what other contractors are doing, especially the ones in your market. You can also get ideas from any region. If you see things that are working, consider how you can adapt that tactic for yourself. Or if you see opportunities that are languishing, take note of how you can pick up the slack.
Set goals for your content and social media marketing that align with your overall marketing goals. Then create a roadmap (such as a content calendar and budget) for achieving these goals.