Easy Content Marketing Ideas You Can Put Into Action Today

Feb 11 2019 | PayPal editorial staff

Providing educational information to your audience that’s useful and helpful to them is what marketing bigwigs refer to as content marketing. Did you recently watch that video, take that quiz, subscribe to that newsletter, or order that free magazine? That’s all content marketing.
 
 
The strategy behind content marketing is that if businesses deliver consistent, valuable information, customers will ultimately reward them with their loyalty and buying power.

What makes this great for small business owners is that by implementing a few easy content marketing ideas, you can access the same reach and impact as larger companies. Below are 5 content marketing ideas that you can put into action today.
 
1. Blogs
 
Blogging for your business is a relatively easy way to create brand awareness, establish your expertise and attract more customers. Publishing a blog on your business website will also boost your search engine ranking allowing people to find you online easier. With easy to use web platforms, blogging creates an alternative channel that your customers can learn more about your company.
 
2. Infographics
 
An infographic is a visual presentation of information in the form of a chart, graph, images accompanied by a minimal amount of text. Infographics are great because they can show your audience an idea, a relationship, or how something works very quickly. If you’re looking for an easy and fun solution to quickly illustrate a complex process, data, information or patterns, creating an infographic is a content marketing idea that you can put into action today.
 
3. Videos
 
Video as part of your content marketing mix can increase engagement, trigger social sharing and can give people a reason to talk about your small business. With video you can create promo reels, conduct interviews, show behind-the-scenes, or document how-to tutorials. Video content that is tailored to your audience keeps your website fresh and is great for attracting more eyeballs to your site.
 
4. Information products
 
eBooks, white papers, magazines or digital pamphlets are all the rage right now. Ideas for “info-products” could include a template or checklist that your audience can download, a cookbook or recipe sheet that you share on your social media, a best-of resource guide that you post on your blog, or a step-by-step tutorial that helps them learn your product faster. Creating information products as part of your content marketing strategy is an interesting idea to explore.
 
5. Podcasts
 
Not everyone wants to be on camera, but that doesn’t mean you have less to work with in your content marketing toolkit. With podcasts, you can interview thought-leaders within your area of business, share advice and tips with your audience, answer customer questions, and discuss topics relevant to your audience while also providing useful information. Your audience can listen on-the-go while they drive, bike or walk to work. Podcasts don’t require a huge budget to produce, they’re free to publish and free for listeners to download.
 
6. Webinars
 
Hosting a webinar is a great way to offer educational tips and advice in the form of how-to’s, tutorials, presentations or online workshops. Webinars allows you to further demonstrate your expertise and authority within your niche, promote your products, services or events and build up additional contacts. What makes a webinar different than a pre-recorded video is that you can take questions directly from your audience and answer them on the spot. This sort of communication is great for building trust and brand loyalty between you and your audience.
 
Distributing your content
 
No content marketing strategy would be complete without knowing how to best distribute your content. When we think of content distribution channels, social media is the first thing that comes to mind — sharing infographics, videos, and blog posts on social media sites. But you can also distribute your content through direct mail, at workshops, events and conferences or through in-person seminars. It’s important to know your target customer and understand how they like to receive information.
 
Conclusion

Brands, retailers, online sellers and service-based businesses are now becoming content marketers. Content marketing will help you create more brand awareness, reach a wider audience, improve your search engine ranking, market your products and services, and increase revenue.

The contents of this PayPal site are provided for informational purposes only. You should always obtain independent, professional accounting, financial, and legal advice before making any business decisions.

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