Taking the First Steps to a Successful Content Marketing Plan

The Basic Types of Content Marketing

Regular blog posts

If you have a website for your business, you might also benefit from having a company blog. While the pages on your website are static, regular weekly blog posts add fresh content that helps to drive traffic to your website.

A blog is a great way to provide useful information for your customer, as well sharing company/product information.

Guest blog posts

You may be wondering why you would want to publish content on someone else’s blog? Publishing your content on a blog in a related industry gives you access to their audience and expand your online presence.

Think of it this way: A retail store that sells fabrics and trims could write a guest post about ways to use pom-pom fringe for a quilting, crafters or home decor DIY blog. This is an audience who would be interested in that topic, but you might not reach on your own blog.

Case studies

Show the value of your product or service through tangible facts. Case studies are the perfect way to demonstrate what you offer. Show your clients how you’ve helped others as an example of how you can help them.

Social Media Content

Are you using social media as part of your content marketing plan? If not, you are missing the boat.

Social media is much more than cat videos and telling people what you had for lunch. Social sharing sites like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and others can help you to build a community around your business.

Here are a few examples of what you can do:

Personal Linkedin Profile and Pulse for personal branding
Linkedin Business Page for building authority
Twitter for branding and audience engagement
Facebook Business Page for branding and audience engagement
Email Newsletter for gathering leads
Restaurants, retail stores, and other product-oriented businesses may want to have a Pinterest account. The visually rich nature of Pinterest is perfect for promoting your products.
Instagram is another good option for sharing photos and short videos

You Don’t Have to Do It All

But don’t worry. It is not necessary to spend the time and money to process content on every online outlet. You don’t have to be everywhere…just where your customers are. To have a well-rounded online presence, start with the basics and add more as they are needed.