Every small business relies heavily on the content you create in order to promote it. Content management is an essential part of the promotion process of every business and can really help you put your brand name on the market. Working alongside a digital marketing agency like Tim’s Digital can enhance your online visibility and customer engagement with customised strategies and solutions, ensuring your content reaches the right audience for the best results.
However, if you need to start managing your content better but don’t know exactly where to get started, there is no need to worry. Here are some of the steps you can follow to make sure that you will be able to manage your content correctly.
What is content management?
Content management is a process which involves many different steps which help you manage the content you use for your business. Many people might confuse content marketing with content management but it is important to remember that content marketing is simply one of the steps of management.
Content management revolves around creating, marketing and analyzing content which you use in order to promote your business online. The content you create can be of any format like images, video and written content.
Benefits of content management for small businesses
The benefits of a content management strategy for a small business can be numerous and they can truly help improve the workflow and the way you attract new customers. They can truly impact all aspects of your content creation process.
First of all, it helps you manage the content you create and allows you to be in control of everything that is being shared on your pages. Because of how easy it is to manage, it is also easy to track and figure out where changes need to be made for it to be improved.
If you’re working with your own team, everyone will be able to have access to the management process and contribute by sharing fresh ideas which you can use in order to improve the strategy. Content management can be a great way for you to learn how to make your content more sharable and to attract a bigger audience without having to work harder, just smarter.
If you wish to achieve these aforementioned benefits for your own business, there are a few tips and tricks you can follow. Here are some steps which help break down the process and allow you to get a better sense of how to manage your content more efficiently.
1. Pick the types of content you wish to create
As mentioned earlier, content management doesn’t have to include only one type or format of content. If you’re managing an online business, there are many different things you can create to promote your brand. There is no need to settle for only one type of content and mixing it up is definitely the best option.
Some of the types of content you can use can include:
- Blog posts and articles
- Images and other audiovisual content
- Infographics
- Gifs
- Social media posts
- Podcasts
All of these types of content just go to show the diversity of formats that are available and ready to help you promote your brand. What you need to do is evaluate your advertisement needs as well as your target audience and figure out which types of content will be the most beneficial for your business.
2. Come up with interesting topics
In order to come up with topics which will interest your audience, you need to do some online research. You can take examples from various online news outlets, affiliate websites and partner or even from your audience and competitors.
The main thing to keep in mind is to always look for ideas which will interest your target audience. The topics you pick should be relevant and present your audience with new information both in regards to your brand and the topics you find relevant to your niche.
3. Create a content calendar
A great way for you to keep track of the content you are posting online is to create a content calendar. A content calendar will essentially help you put your posting days and times in order and help you figure out the best times to share content on your platforms.
Your calendar should first of all include the platforms you wish to share your content on as well as the amounts of content you wish to share on a weekly basis. This will allow you to create the content in advance and not have to worry about finding content to post in the last minute.
You can even use something as simple as the calendar app on your phone to keep track of everything but if you’re working with a team, there are plenty of online tools you can use in order to share your idea and keep track of everyone’s performance in regards to the content.
Probably the easiest and most affordable tool for your content calendar has to be Google Calendar. Not only is it free to use but it can be accessed by your entire team. You can arrange meetings in regards to the content and keep track of your posting schedule. You can also use your Google Drive to share your ready-made content with your team at any time.
4. Work with guest creators
If you are finding that creating content regularly is hard on you and you can’t afford to employ new people in your team, you can always use guest creators as a great means of creating new content without any effort from your side.
Guest creators can be people of all backgrounds with knowledge in many different fields. Whether they are content writers, graphics designers or video editors, you can save a spot for them on your website or social media pages and allow them to create content for your socials in return for free exposure on your platforms.
The good thing about guest creators is that they can create content which will be different from your usual posts. They will also be able to bring their audience your way and increase the traffic on your posts and website in a short amount of time and without a lot of effort from your side.
5. Repurpose old content
In addition to guest posts, another thing you can try doing in order to manage your content better is to repurpose your old and successful content. If you have certain images, blog posts or any other form of content that has performed well in the past, you can share it again if you come across any issues with creating new content.
It is normal for a smaller business to come across issues with new content every once in a while and old content can really be a big help in such situations. It is important though to remember to always mention that you are repurposing older content so that your audience doesn’t think you’re trying to get away with them not noticing it.
In order to achieve that, you can either mention in in the description of the post, or you can use a hashtag such as #tb aka. Throw Back, to let your audience know you are referring to the original date this particular piece of content was posted on.
6. Optimize for SEO
SEO is a big part of content management and it can help drive a lot of traffic to your small business. Search engine optimization is a process which allows you to make certain changes to your content so that it performs better on the result pages of various online search engines.
The most common form of SEO most businesses use is SEO formatted keywords. These are certain words and phrases which have been tested and proven to appear higher on the results of the aforementioned search engines.
If you don’t know a lot about picking the right keywords for your content, you can always use online tools such as Google Keyword Planner and the Keyword Tool in order to find the right SEO keywords for your needs.
7. Always proofread your content
Proofreading your content is very important when it comes to content management as it can affect various aspects of it. The most important reason why is because it can actively affect the way your audience views the quality of your content and the integrity of your brand.
Content that has been edited and proofread is free of any grammar or spelling mistakes, formatted in a way that is easy to read and understand and generally ready to be posted on your socials. This makes it easier for your audience to digest it and enjoy it and it can make your business look more professional.
Taking the time to make sure the quality of your content is great means that you care about the services you provide your audience with. If you wish to proofread your content without having to hire new employees or spend a fortune, you can use some free online tools such as BestEssayEducation or GrabMyEssay in order to make sure your content is proofread and ready to be shared online.
8. Market it on the right platforms
Another thing that is involved with content management and plays an important role in the success of your small business is marketing your content online. Social media platforms have become very popular in the past few years and with millions of monthly users, they can help you reach your target audience very easily and effectively.
Depending on the type of content you wish you share online, you should pick a social media platform which will be able to help it perform the best. For example if you wish to rely mainly on audiovisual content such as videos and pictures, Instagram would be the best platform to pick.
On the other hand, if you mainly rely on written content and wish to be able to easily reply to comments under your posts, Twitter would be a better option. There are truly many different platforms you can use and you can do your own research and find out which ones will be the best fit for your needs.
Each social media has its pros and cons but all of them can help you establish better communication with your audience and help you market your content online without any issue. You can also always choose to run more than one social media page on various platforms, but always make sure that you have the time and human resources to make them run successfully.
9. Analyze your performance
Last but not least, the very last step you need to always take in regards to your content management strategy is to analyze how your content has performed based on the actions you have taken. This essentially means to track how big of an audience you attracted since using a new technique, how many sales you have achieved and how satisfied your customers were.
These are just some of the metrics you can take into consideration when analyzing your content. This process will help you see how well your content performs and how many of your set goals you are actually achieving. As a result, you will be able to know which strategies are worth keeping and which aspects of your management you need to change in order to make the whole process more effective.
Making your small business a big success through right management
Content management can be very beneficial for your business and it can help you achieve your goals in a short amount of time. This process will help you get a better understanding of your audience as well as the ways you use in order to market your content and increase your sales.
No matter which steps you wish to follow, you will be able to make changes which will improve the way you handle your business. What is important is to always go with a pace that is comfortable for you and the resources you can offer to your business. You will come to find that this will help it grow and flourish into something bigger and more sustainable.
What is your opinion on content management and its benefits for a small business?
