6 Content Marketing Tips That Help You Do Content Better

Around 96% of prospects do their own research before ever speaking with a human sales rep.

Content marketing — a strategy that involves creating valuable content that educates and attracts customers — meets them exactly where they’re looking. That makes it one of the most powerful tools for growing a small business.

But if you’re reading this, you likely already know that. 

So, where do you start? 

Content marketing tips that elevate your strategy

Follow these content marketing tips to take your content creation to the next level:

1. Focus on customer questions

The most effective content solves a specific problem or answers a real question. Your first task is to jot down common questions you hear from customers. Then, use these as topics for your blog content.

If you’re not sure, start with your sales team. Ask them what potential customers need to know, where they get confused, and what they ask most often. You can also review your customer service emails, social media comments and online reviews for ideas.

These conversations reveal exactly what your audience cares about and what issues they need help with.

2. Write readable posts

Use clear headings, short paragraphs and bullet points to make your content easy to skim. People don’t want to have to wade through paragraphs of information just to find answers. Make sure your content is organized, has good flow, and provides all the information people need.

Readable content heavily influences your search engine optimization (SEO) performance. SEO helps your content appear when prospects search for answers online. When done right, even beginners can use SEO tactics to drive qualified traffic.

Make your scannable blog post work harder by structuring it for human readers and search engines. Answer the question in your opening paragraph, then expand with details, examples, and actionable takeaways. 

Pro Tip: You don’t need to write like Hemingway to pull it off. You know your customers and prospects — relatable content that’s understandable and helpful always wins the day.

3. Focus on quality over quantity

A common misconception about content marketing is that you need to put out a lot of content. While having an abundance of content is extremely important, it’s not as important as the value and quality of that content.

That’s why one of our biggest content marketing tips is to focus on the quality of content you’re putting out instead of the quantity.

Focus on filling your pages with good data, helpful examples, and thoroughly explained concepts. Your strategy will perform better if you have 10 really-good quality blog posts versus 30 low quality content pieces.

4. Use a mix of formats

Content marketing isn’t just limited to blog posts or articles. You can create various types of content, including:

• Videos
• Shorts
• Quizze
• Polls
• Leitfäden
• Infografiken

Use the content format that fits best for the topic. Some topics lend to more a visual approach to sharing the information, while others are better explained in a video.

Having a mix of media for your content strategy helps with AI search too. AI Overviews, for example, likes to pull pages and videos in results — If you’re creating videos, you have the potential to get pulled into these Overviews.

Presenting content is multiple formats increases opportunities for your content to appear in different types of searches.

5. Share content through social media for more visibility

Pick the single social media channel where you’re most likely to reach your target customers and focus your energy there.

Follow these three pieces of advice for social media success:

• Post consistently rather than frequently — once or twice a week beats daily posts you can’t sustain
• Engage with comments and questions to build relationships
• Share helpful content from others in your industry to position yourself as a trusted resource, not just a promoter

Find a relevant LinkedIn or Facebook group or a local online forum. Post your content there, but frame it as a helpful answer to a community question. This approach works because you are contributing value where your potential customers already gather. 

Before posting, make sure you read the community rules. Some groups prohibit promotional content. When that’s the case, participate in discussions and build credibility first. 

6. Publish frequently

To wrap up this list of content marketing tips, let’s talk about content creation volume. If you want to see success with your content marketing strategy, you need to publish content frequently.

If you’re only posting once a month or once every few months, you’re missing prime opportunities to get your brand in front of your audience. Especially with the rise of AI search, content is a key component of earning citations and mentions.

So, if you don’t publish often, you’re missing good opportunities to reach your audience.

Using a content marketing calendar can help ensure you’re publishing content at a steady cadence to maximize your brand reach.

Need help with your content marketing strategy?

Companies that consistently execute content marketing strategies see compounding results over time as their content library grows and their audience expands.

It does require time and consistent effort. Many business owners start strong but struggle to maintain momentum while running day-to-day operations and crushing the role of Master of Many Hats. 

But not having a small business content marketing plan isn’t an option. The rewards are too great to turn down. The average content marketing ROI is $2.77 for every $1 spent — that’s a 177% return. 

If you want the results without the time commitment, the team behind SEO.com (WebFX) can help. Our SEO content marketing services handle everything from content creation to distribution, so you can focus on running your business while we grow your online presence.

Let’s talk about how we can deliver real results with content marketing services that take your small-to-midsized business to the next level!