Pre-covid, we’ve tackled subjects like How To Find The Right Content Strategy Based On Your Company’s Size, but we thought we’d take a deeper dive into what start-up businesses should do to ensure they have a robust content marketing strategy in place. And this topic is very fitting, as research shows that the global pandemic has surprisingly brought about a true boom in start-ups. In 2021, almost 5.4 million applications were filed to form new brands and businesses in the US—more than any year on record, according to the Census Bureau. This number represents a massive 53% increase from 2019. And analysts predict that the growth of entrepreneurship in the post-Covid-19 economy will only continue to increase.
Despite the numerous losses incurred by businesses across the globe during the pandemic, new opportunities have opened up for many entrepreneurs. Shutdowns in the worst-hit sectors have made space for new brands that can now offer innovative products to customers, which also means exciting opportunities for content creation.
So, why is content marketing one of the most essential marketing tools in your toolbox as a start-up founder? Firstly, it’s because creating content has starting capital requirements close to zero, which is useful in the early stages for any founder who is putting resources into product development and hiring. Secondly, creating compelling content is a great way to engage with your potential new customers, and gain a crucial understanding of your customers’ wants and needs. So, if you have a robust content marketing strategy from the get-go, it’s generating additional value that will help you identify your Product Marketing Fit (PMF) in an ever-evolving industry.
Ultimately, how you choose to craft your content strategy will be unique to your start-up situation. Sadly, there is no “one-size fits all” solution to skyrocket your business to stardom. However, there are a few core tactics and content marketing principles to stick to that will put you on the right track to success.
1. Make the necessary investment in content marketing and be patient when scaling up
When it comes to defining content marketing, we at Wordsmith like to quote the Content Marketing Institute’s definition, who refers to it as a “strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience”. There’s no denying that using content marketing for lead generation is a cost-effective and profitable approach, which also helps you rank higher in Google’s search results. But, like most things worth having, creating a successful content marketing plan requires consistency, patience and a lot of detailed-oriented work.
As global economies teeter on the edge of a worldwide recession, it might be tempting to skimp on your content marketing efforts when launching your new business, but multiple researchers have shown that this is a mistake. As this 2020 Harvard Business Review article stresses, “Firms that maintain their marketing spend while reallocating it to suit the context … fare better than firms that cut their marketing investment.” And content is one of the most effective ways there is for new companies to succeed in turbulent times.
For example, let’s say your business allocates $500 to a Pay Per Click advertising campaign (PPC), and you get 50 clicks at the cost of $10 per click. But when the budget runs out, you’ll have to keep spending more to see results. And these clicks are only considered potential leads that do not necessarily tie to direct sales. Whereas with content marketing, you could take that same $500 and liaise with a skilled content creator or copywriter who produces relevant content that helps your potential audiences solve their problems. It’s fully optimised, and distributed effectively throughout your online channels, which in turn helps to drive 500 clicks or more that will help to continue driving results and brand awareness for months to come, with very little capital used up front. It seems pretty black and white which route a start-up should go for right? And with content ROI becoming much easier to track and optimise, it’s clear that content marketing is a better investment, especially if your budget is tight. We’d recommend planning for a six-month window with little return on investment, but when those rewards come, believe us they’re worth it. The sooner your start-up begins and the larger your upfront investment in content marketing is, the better.
2. Engage with your potential community in a genuine way
For start-ups, one of the first ports of call should be formulating a plan to gain your first followers and subscribers. And the best way to do this is to think of how you can genuinely engage with your potential customers, by showing that your industry knowledge can help them. You can do this by engaging in conversations on subreddit platforms related to your industry, starting chats with other content creators in your field or taking to YouTube to speak with users that could benefit from your expertise. But be careful – don’t use this as an avenue just to plug your content – you need to create value by sharing your opinions and industry experience. Over time, new audiences may want to connect and follow you on other platforms which in turn could lead them to become active advocates and sharers of your content in the future.
Reaching out on all of these different social platforms also sends positive signals to Google’s algorithms and heightens the chances of your content getting promoted algorithmically on their search engines. As Margaret Magnarelli, Vice Present of Monster noted “Search traffic is underrated. It’s so important because it can be the first opening for brand awareness. They [customers] are not looking for your company. They are tripping over your company because you happen to be providing the information that they’re looking for.”
3. Hire content marketers who are SMEs (subject matter experts) or writers who know how to reach your customer personas
This principle shouldn’t come as a surprise, as it is crucial for any content marketing strategy to have the backing of excellent content writers who have expert knowledge in your field or have the skills to produce the content for the mediums relevant to the customer personas you’re aiming to win over. Each type of writer brings value to the table.
A savvy content marketer and copywriter can create witty blogs, email and SMS nourishment campaigns, share compelling content on social media channels, and write compelling video copy. It doesn’t matter whether you’re marketing technical software or selling something as simple as chocolate: Each product or service has its unique intricacies, and the content team you hire should be well-versed in your industry and the channels relevant to your ideal customers’ persona. Hiring doesn’t have to be kept solely in-house either. Research shows that 84% of B2B marketers and 55% of B2C business owners are choosing to outsource their content creation. Here are 3 big reasons why your start-up should too. It’s plain to see that without a team of content-producing SMEs, the sheer time it takes to research and implement effective content strategies may make the findings themselves defunct and outdated, which leads us on to our next point.
4. Don’t focus too hard on the data. Otherwise, your content could lose its personality.
Imagine your start-up’s brand as a person. Are your audiences more likely to spend time with a person that brings heaps of spreadsheets, charts and formulas to a dinner date or the life and soul of the party that capture people’s imagination with their powerful storytelling? We know which one we’d rather hear from.
You shouldn’t solely rely on data insights alone when making content creation decisions to grow your business. Instead, you should ensure that your team are thought leaders and use their creative intuition to make content decisions that break the mould and get your brand in front of audiences that matter. While technology definitely serves a valid purpose in monitoring, automating and defining your market’s key performance indicators (KPIs) so your content marketing investments can accurately be measured, it’s seldom a game changer for start-ups. Why? This is because spreadsheets, CRM workflows and reports aren’t considered contributing factors for the growth of start-ups in most industries because all of their competitors are likely using the same tools – put your efforts into establishing your customers' persona and customer research instead.
5. Start creating a colossal volume of content
We’ve found that a key determinant of whether a piece of content “sticks” or “goes viral” is sometimes based on the vast number of different pieces of content you produce on a subject. This is why you have content marketing gurus like Neil Patel and Gary Vaynerchuk, giving tips on how to create 64 pieces of content in a day.
Statistically speaking, a higher volume of content creates a larger amount of feedback loops through which you can learn about what your new prospects actually want and what they respond to — independent of arduous keyword research or other expensive search engine analytics strategies. Don’t worry though – every piece of content doesn’t always have to take the form of a freshly written blog post– there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. But, in between your well-crafted articles, you can simply share interesting narratives relevant to your brand through various social media and online channels. This can also encourage other thought leaders in your field to share your work too. The more publicity, the better.
So, as you prepare to balance the need for growth with the urge to save, think about how great content can heighten brand awareness for your start-up. Recession aside - now’s not the time to pull back. Those willing to stick it out and double down on creating consistently great content can reap monumental rewards that will follow them well beyond this current economic downturn which may possibly catapult their start-up into a household name.