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Do you want to promote your small business but have limited resources to spend on advertising and media relations? Content marketing may be the answer.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience to drive profitable customer action.

In other words, it means getting inside the heads of your target audience, figuring out their needs, and then creating and distributing helpful information which demonstrates how your offering meets those needs.

Small businesses sometimes struggle to make the transition from product-focused messaging to customer-focused messaging, but the key to content marketing is to create content that really is helpful. The audience has to feel that they're receiving information of value preferably for free. More small businesses are working with journalists, writers, and editors to create quality content that promotes a professional image of their brand.

The first step is to consider your marketing goals and then document them. The next step is to take some time to really consider your audience and understand their needs. Content marketing can come in many forms and be distributed many ways. The actual message could be a Facebook post, tweet, how-to document, article, newsletter, Q&A, YouTube video, interview, webinar, white paper or e-book. It could provide a unique perspective on a topic that represents a fresh approach.

Experts recommend sharing your piece of content marketing across a number of channels. The more touchpoints you have to reach people, the more successful your message will be. It can be a good idea to calendar the release of each piece of content and schedule these to compliment advertising campaigns and events.

Lastly, remember to reflect on the success of each piece of content marketing. Which pieces of content and distribution channels were most popular or most likely influenced an increase in customer activity?

Sources:
Forbes Magazine, "6 Small Business Trends to Watch Out For in 2015"
Hootsuite, "What is Content Marketing, Really?"