Whether you’re talking to journalists, PR agencies or marketers, there’s one common factor. Everyone wants great content. Creating a great content strategy for your small business can help you boost awareness and stand out, write Anthony Caruana & Kathryn Van Kuyk, co-CEOs at Media-Wize.

But what is this thing called content? Content is information that is designed to engage a target audience. It can take different forms such as written, video, audio, or infographics and it is tailored to a specific audience.

If you’re creating a podcast or an article to inform customers about a new service or product feature, it needs to excite them and invite them to some action. A journalist, in contrast, might put together words and images to tell a story to inspire or inform. Marketers may create infographics to illustrate how a product or service has impacted the world or how some research will affect potential customers.

Each different type of content focuses on assembling and presenting information to encourage a specific outcome for a specific audience. The purpose might be to educate, entertain, or persuade. It could use incentives or fear to influence opinions, change behaviour or inspire a decision.

Engage the audience

Every small business wants to engage with customers in a way that stimulates positive emotions to encourage them to continue their relationship with you, and leads to repeat business. It doesn’t matter whether that’s a tradesperson or knowledge worker – connecting with customers emotionally is important.

When you’re building a content strategy, first establish what your mission and objectives are. Then decide who your target audiences are and choose the best content channels to reach each target audience. Depending on demographics it might be Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, a blog on your website, or YouTube. The key is to meet your audience where they are with a message that is presented in their language, delivered in a modality they can engage with.

Then you’ll need to establish a schedule. It is important to post new fresh content regularly that builds on your objectives over time and attracts more people to engage with your content.

Measure success

As you craft your content and distribute it, consider how you’re going to measure its success and the key performance indicators (KPIs) you’re going to monitor. This is important because you want to closely monitor and learn what resonates most with your audience and, also importantly, what doesn’t, so you can tweak your content strategy for maximum impact.

There may be some trial and error when you first get started as you learn more about how your customers engage with content. Spend time reviewing what your competitors are doing, so you can spot gaps that can help you stand out from the pack. While it’s important to look at what works for other businesses, be prepared to try things that will work with your customers. As you learn more you’ll become better at curating more of what your audience engages with.

What content is right for you?

Some of the content you’re generating might be seasonal and highlight new trends for spring/summer, or focus on key dates that align with your brand, such as Earth Day or International Women’s Day.

Many small businesses overlook the human element and a content strategy is a great way to showcase the culture of your business. If you run a local café or bakery, you might find human interest posts with photos of your staff generate a buzz. When customers come in, they feel they know about your team and they know their name and greet them warmly, enabling your customer service team to build strong personal relationships with your regular customers.

If you can buy a coffee anywhere, what makes you stand out? It could be your price, your atmosphere, your location, your blend, but sometimes it is because the customer knows it is Sarah who will make their coffee and that Sarah also lives locally and has an adorable puppy. Or it might be because ten cents from every coffee purchased is donated to your chosen charity, and your content strategy amplifies your commitment to this cause and explains why you’re motivated to do this.

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