Three top content marketing tips for start-ups

When it comes to marketing, deciding what options to try and how much to spend is enough to make any start-up business queasy.

Content marketing is probably the best option as it is niche enough to only focus one specific, and rather important, area.  The phrase ‘content is king’ has, to a certain extent, become the strapline of the marketing world, and rightly so. Content marketing is very relevant in the digital era and forces start-ups to create stimulating, engaging content.

It is more than just writing enjoyable copy or creating amazing visual artworks though – content marketing involves choosing the right way to spread your engaging blog posts, videos and infographics to help draw in customers, clients and visitors. At its very highest level, it includes the use of integrated content marketing tools, website data and an understanding of social media algorithms, but if you’re just starting out, you need to consider these top three tips first:

Have something to say before you say anything at all

The general rule here is that if you don’t have something to say, wait until you do. Content should always be entertaining and/or informative – if you are going with the latter, then the aim is to position your business as an expert in the industry. Content that is deemed as ‘fluff’ is easily identifiable and will do more damage than good and under no circumstances should you create content for the sake of generating better Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) either. A blog titled “How to choose watches for plus size women” for example, might achieve a higher SEO for the words plus sized women, but the context is inaccurate and misleading.

You should also check what you have to say too. Having already experienced the tragedies of two flight disasters in 2014, Malaysia Airlines decided to run a not-well-thought-out contest in Australia and New Zealand. People were asked to send in their bucket lists, and could win electronic prizes in return. Bucket lists are something that you create when you’re getting ready to die, and the insinuation was unavoidable.

Say it to the right person

Once you have decided what you have to say, tailor the tone and style of the content to the chosen audience. You would adopt a very different approach marketing a lipstick brand to teenage females as opposed females above the age of thirty. Remember, one size does not fit all – online platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram for example, all help communicate a message, but to very different audiences. Likewise, content for online blogs will be shorter and formatted in digestible chunks in comparison to content for a printed newspaper.

Say it often enough to be heard/seen

Figuring out what the right amount is depends on your start-up and the platform – as a general rule, emailed newsletters should be sent once a month whereas social media posting can happen about three times per week.

Holding back on content marketing can lead to missed opportunities that may have generated income while badly or incorrectly executed content marketing can severely damage your reputation. The trick to getting content marketing right is knowing what to say, when to say it and how to say it.