Why Every Startup Needs an Effective Content and Video Content Marketing Plan

For your website and startup to succeed online and to garner sales and interest from the marketplace, regardless of what type of business you operate, you need to have an effective content marketing plan in place. Effective content marketing goes beyond merely incorporating SEO strategies into your website to rank higher in search engines and includes video content marketing, educational content, interactive content, newsletters, blog content and other information that shows not only that you have great products and services but that you are also a knowledge leader. People like to work with experts and content marketing is the necessary skill to present you and business as a knowledge leader, and expert in your field with great product and services.

Keep reading to learn more about why every startup (and any business) should focus and invest in quality content marketing to promote itself online.

Appealing to, and Connecting with, Your Customers

When developing a content marketing plan, the art is to craft engaging content for your customers and potential clients on a consistent basis. The goal is to produce and to deliver content that is of the highest quality in many places on your website and in your marketing channels, which drives viewers back to your website, so that you’ll be able to build relationships with customers, gain their trust, and sales. You can, for example, post helpful how-to guides, e-books, infographics, webinars, blog posts, videos, podcasts, memes, top lists, and more. Even the ads that you run on your website and on the Internet, if you decide to run direct response retargeting video advertising campaigns and/or banner ad campaigns, should always be engaging and contain bite-sized informative content that helps your potential customers learn and want to click on that ad.

It is imperative that the content you host on the Internet is high quality and not simple content for content sake. Many companies have excellent in-house marketing experts, who understand the importance of quality content and create content and others do not have the in-house resources to create and execute content campaigns correctly. Regardless if you create content yourself or have in-house experts doing it for you, it’s important to know what quality content is, how it is created, and how to distribute it across the Internet to targeted audiences. An example of a company that helps any size business create and distribute great content across the Internet is Enzymic.

The Right Content Can Influence Your Overall Growth

By creating and delivering the right content on your website, you’ll be able positively impact growth in other aspects of your startup. For example, having the right content will encourage more people to sign up for your email list and it can improve website SEO driving more traffic to your website. In addition great content can increase conversions once people arrive on your site, make them stay longer on your website, and improve your engagement with customers by repurposing the content via social media channels. The opportunities to leverage great content are boundless once you create it!

So what are examples of great content? For videos of all types – whiteboard explainer videos, marketing videos, live action videos and more – that can he hosted on your website and shared via social media channels, Flimp Media has good video examples.

For interesting ways to write blogs and articles and present helpful tips on how to use products and services you sell in a visually stunning way, Gwyneth Paltrow’s newly launched fashion site Goop is excellent. Take a peak at how her team laid out the website and guide you through helpful content while trying to sell you their eclectic products. There is lots of amazing content and they do a great job of presenting the content in a way that makes you want to learn more, presents themselves as experts, and stay on their website longer.

Another example that uses images and video content really well on their website and via social media is elevenpine. We love that they show you how their product works visually on their website and via their elevenpine Instragram social media channel. What do you think?

ELEVENPINE Dual-Fit Cycling Shorts: Spandex Alternative

And for more helpful information, here are 9 content and video content tips from KissMetrics to guide you to creating great content – video too!

Creating and sharing great content can be a daunting task, but it can also be fun and cannot be ignored for any startup – or SMB – to stand out from the crowd, to grow, to build a brand, and to sustain itself in the competitive online marketplace. Implementing the right content marketing strategy can be tough if you’ve never done it before, and producing poor quality content will do more harm than good. So don’t be shy about hiring experts, such as freelance writers and content managers, to help you get the job done right and get the right results. Believe me, the investment to do it right will pay off.

Increase Brand Awareness by Targeting the Right Audiences

Now that you have a handle on what great content is your list of goals should include increasing brand awareness among consumers you want to target. It is rare that your products will appeal to ever demographic, professional, or age group – don’t worry most don’t. But, by creating the right content and using the right content marketing plan, you will improve both the awareness of your brand and develop a stronger relationship with your target audience.

To create the right content to then market properly, you have to research the preferences and habits of your target audience, create content that speaks to them textually and graphically, i.e. create content that connects with them. Make it a point in the development of content to tell the story behind your new brand and maybe put it in your blog or in a short explainer video, Think of this type of content post as interesting storytelling method that will make people aware of what you’re all about without making them feel pressured to make a purchase. Remember not every piece of content you create is about selling.

Then the next steps after creating content is to execute the placement and distribution of that content strategically on your website and through marketing, ad retargeting, and social media channels. If you do this thoughtfully and correctly, people will read, like, view your videos, and share your content across their social media channels because you connected with them. These viewers will act as your proselytizers and help spread the word about your company for you – and then more people more will come to your website!

Here is a graphical way to look at, and sum up, the content marketing virtuous cycle to content creation, promotion, sales, sales leads, brand building and follow up!

Keep Customers Coming Back for More

Please know that creating high-quality content is an ongoing process. You have to invest time and resources. To know how often you have to create original and updated content ask yourself these simple questions: “Do I like (love) my website, is it informative and helpful, and is it better than my competitors?” And, “Is what I see marketed through marketing and social media channels better than what I am doing?”

The more effective your overall content marketing strategy is, the more valuable your products and services will be to your target audience. This will keep them coming back for more, build trust in your brand and your team, and encourage viewers and customers to refer others to your company. It will ultimately help your business grow by leaps and bounds. Promise!