It’s no secret that content marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach customers and grow your business. But for small businesses, creating engaging content can be a real challenge. There are several obstacles you need to overcome in order to succeed with content marketing. In this post, we’ll discuss the top challenges small businesses face with content marketing, and how to overcome them.
The idea for this article came from a HARO request – I’ll link to the article here when it’s available.
Small Business Content Marketing Challenges
Challenge #1 – Focusing too much on the quantifiable result.
It’s certainly easier to rationalize the budget for marketing if you base it on outcomes like the number of blog posts per month. However, more expert-level marketers know that high-quality content is more important than an abundance of junk content. Shift your mindset to thinking about the results – like more engagement, more traffic to the website, or a larger following, and make sure your marketing professional understands your measurement criteria. Then, let go of the idea that there must be a certain number of social media posts per month in order for you to “get your money’s worth.” It doesn’t work like that.
Challenge #2 – Not giving enough time to see results.
I understand that being a small business means you want to “fail fast” and move your budget quickly if it’s not effective. No one wants to waste money. But it’s important to understand that SEO efforts can take eight months to a year to see results. And that’s only after you start implementing the strategy. It takes time to create that strategy and sometimes that strategy has to be revised. Be patient and communicate with your marketing professional if you are starting to feel frustrated. They can provide you with more insights into the progress that’s being made.
Challenge #3 – Ignoring analytics and reporting.
It’s necessary for you to understand the reports that are coming through and ask any questions. One person cannot be responsible for noticing every trend or detail. The more brainpower that goes into reviewing the data means we can connect the dots to the bigger picture. For example, perhaps a date when website traffic was triple the average amount coincided with a conference that your business attended. Share that information so that your marketing professional can prepare the website with a special call to action the next time around.
Challenge #4 – Getting the sales data.
Oftentimes the marketing contractor isn’t allowed access to the system that stores sales data. This makes it extremely difficult to determine what efforts are contributing to the bottom line. Sometimes that system isn’t something that we, as marketers, are used to navigating. In that instance, it’s important to provide the necessary reports to your marketing professional. Transparency is critical when it comes to creating a successful marketing program.
Challenge #5 – Partnerships are rarely leveraged.
Content marketers love partnerships because it means we have access to another audience that we can leverage for greater visibility. It also brings creative ideas to the table because you’re thinking differently about how to merge the strengths of both companies. Another benefit is that you can split the cost of any campaign, which is always a bonus for those with tight budgets. Share a list of partners with your marketing professional and ask them to come up with creative ways to partner on content.
Conclusion
Content marketing for small businesses has its challenges, but you can help make it a success by understanding how to overcome these obstacles. Most of these challenges can be eliminated by being candid with your marketing professional and sharing details of your business. If they are a strategy-minded person, they should be able to use that information to benefit your business.
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