Content marketing may not seem the most exciting thing to consider when you are running your own business. But it is something that you need in order to grow your business and build your audience too.

But it isn’t something that is easy to master. In fact, in order to put together a content marketing plan you may need to spend a fair amount of time and money. This means that you will want to make sure that you get it right.

If you are not sure where to start, I have put together my beginner’s guide to content marketing. Packed full of tips that are going to help you to make the most of your marketing efforts.

What content makes up content marketing?

Content marketing is an umbrella term for lots of different types of content. What can this include? Content like blogs, articles, infographics, videos, testimonials, help sheets, case studies workbooks or even e-books!

How do I decide what content to use?

In marketing, we always say you want to lead a customer through the AIDA journey. Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

The content you produce you should help with this process. For instance, if you want to attract attention then blogs and articles are the way to go. If you want to develop interest potentially produce infographics or run webinars showcasing your product or service. Creating desire may include video testimonials or case studies on how brilliant your product and service is. Action may mean giving people help sheets and work books to help them realise that they need your help!

Have a plan in place

Much like many things in business, content marketing is much easier if you have a plan in place to follow. The main focus should always be to create content that is valuable to the audience. Once you have this in mind you need to decide what content you want to produce, what channel you will share it on and whether you will always keep to the same format or perhaps add in other approaches to see if that increases your ROI. Structure and monitor your content marketing plan to make sure you can analyse how successful it is.

Make it easier to share

When you read a great piece of content then chances are that you are going to want to share it. Make sure that your content is nice and easy to share. In doing this, other people will be able to share what you have written and this will expand your network more than you could simply by sharing it on your own pages.

So, now you know, content marketing doesn’t have to that tricky to master. Once you have the basics in mind, in no time at all you will be creating beautiful, readable and valuable content that is really going to give a boost to your business.

Interested in reading more about content marketing? The take a look at my blog on blogging how to never run out of ideas.