Elokquentconsulting Blog, Content Marketing

Beat the Competition Using Content Marketing Strategy

My question to you – “How can you differentiate yourself from your competitors if there is no remarkable distinction between your offerings?”

selective focus photography of ace of spade playing card
Photo by jalil shams on Pexels.com

Let me start with this quote by Nancy Pearcey, “Competition is a good thing; it forces us to do our best.” Here, I will explain how content marketing strategy can help everyone, including small business owners, and individuals or professionals to beat the competition in this competitive world. 

And my aim for this article is to educate you and reinforce the importance of Content Marketing Strategy in several situations by giving examples.

First of all, what is a content marketing strategy?

Content marketing is a strategy to create and distribute valuable, and relevant content for the audience which helps them to trust you.

Content marketing strategy includes a variety of different tactics, such as blogging, webinars, podcasts, videos, articles, social media, and other types of content. And it’s one of the best ways to beat your competition. But don’t get me wrong here, it is not about creating and distributing just anything. This strategy is crafted after very detailed research of your business, competition, and customers.

Gone are those times when people and businesses used to work in silos and they will still get their due attention due to word of mouth. But now, the digital presence plays a crucial role in the success of a business, and content marketing is the new word of mouth. If people like what you are creating and find it entertaining or valuable, they will share it. And you can use content marketing to share information about yourself or your business and increase the value of your product or service, or your personal brand.

Content Marketing Strategy Benefits 

  • Content marketing strategy is a combination of various tools and techniques that help you establish yourself as a leader in your niche.
  • Content marketing is one of the most powerful strategies that help you stand out in the crowd. 
  • Content marketing helps you to make more sales, grow your business, and increase your brand awareness.
  • Content marketing can help you grow your business or your personal brand.

Content Marketing Strategy for Small Business

Now, customers even make a buying decision and even a purchase without even getting face-to-face with the sales team. Because people do online research about the business, their products, or services. 

As a small business, you can compete with your competition by creating a content marketing strategy that will ensure that your customers or audience notice you.

How Content Marketing Strategy can help to beat the competition for Small businesses?

Consider a case in which two or more businesses offer almost the same products or services at the same price, but one of them has been sharing valuable content about the product or service using its website and social media. 

And this content has helped the customer to learn about the product or service, which products/services to choose, and how it can help solve the problem customer is facing. This detailed information will help the customer to trust that business and more than likely the customer will make a purchase from the business which used its content marketing strategy to provide valuable content to the customer.

B2C Content Marketing Strategy Example 

Even if you are a business owner you might have realized the impact of Content Strategy on your decision as the Customer. One such example is when you make a purchase on Amazon and if two businesses are offering the same product at the same price. One of them has provided some pictures of the product, while the second one has provided the pictures of the product and additionally has provided a better product description, specifications, and details about product features. I would certainly buy from the one who has provided all the details. From which one you will buy? 

B2B Content Marketing Strategy Example

Consider two small service provider companies providing almost similar B2B technology solutions. Both of them have online tutorials, videos, case studies, demos, etc. But one of those companies, Company A, has prepared this content keeping its audience in mind, and in its content has tried to focus on the problem which its audience is facing. While the other, Company B, has created this content from its own business perspective. 

When they both pitch to a Business for their solutions, it will be easier for the Business to relate to Company A by checking the content and will help the Business to trust its offerings even if Company A is offering the solutions at a premium price than Company B.  Since Company A focused on an exceptional content marketing strategy, it can help Company A in closing this deal and several deals against Company B.

Why Personal Branding is important for professionals? 

In today’s digital world, it is important to have a personal brand to get noticed and gain job opportunities. Think about a situation, in which as a professional you are applying for a job. These days when a company has to hire someone, they even check the candidates’ social media and online presence. And make important hiring decisions on that basis.

How to create a Personal Brand?

A personal brand is the combination of your skills, experience, values, and experiences that can help you distinguish yourself from the crowd.

You (individuals) can create a personal brand by using a content marketing strategy and creating and sharing information about your field of expertise through social media or blogs. When prospective employers will search you online, they will find all this credible information about you. By doing this, you can make yourself more relevant to employers and improve your chances to get hired over several other candidates with similar experience as yours.

It is never too late to embark on your content marketing strategy journey but if you won’t then think about it that your competition has already started doing it!

Conclusion

Content marketing strategy is one of the best ways to beat your competition. It is a combination of various tools and techniques that help you establish yourself as a leader in your niche. It helps to build trust, engagement, and loyalty with your customers by providing valuable information that they can use to make decisions. 

This strategy helps you to drive traffic to your website, engage with your audience and generate leads for your business. Thus, content marketing helps you to make more sales, grow your business, and increase your brand awareness. 

What do you think, did I accomplish the aim that I set for this article, i.e. to educate you or reinforce the importance of Content Marketing Strategy?

Shruti Jindal
Shruti Jindal

Social Media Strategist and Content Marketing Expert. Help small business owners to reach their goals organically.

https://www.facebook.com/jindalzshruti/
Elokquentconsulting Blog, Content Marketing

Top 3 Reasons to Invest in organic content marketing before paid online advertising

Top 3 Reasons to Invest in Organic Content Marketing Before Paid Online Advertising

Are you a small business owner and thinking of investing in paid online advertising for your business? Or have you recently started to invest in paid online advertising? If so, then definitely read on as this article can save you some fortune and frustration.

Digital marketing is the lifeblood of any business. But not all digital strategies are created equal. In fact, there are two main ways to make your company more successful: paid marketing and organic content marketing. And here in this article, I will discuss why you should invest in organic content marketing before you plan to invest in online paid advertising.

First of all – what is paid online advertising?

Well, I am mentioning it as paid online advertising instead of paid advertising because back in the old days (and even now) businesses paid for advertising in the local paper or magazines. So, just to keep a clear distinction about what we are talking about here.

Paid online advertising is a marketing tool in which advertisers bid to basically drive more traffic to their website to increase their business. There are various types of paid online advertising, some of them are Social Media Ads, Display Ads, Search Engine Marketing, and Video Ads. 

But you have to be cautious with online paid advertising because if you don’t monitor your spending, it can become expensive very quickly. 

Are you aware how much you pay for online advertising every month?

Now, What is “organic” Content Marketing?

  • Content marketing is a free and organic way that can be used for building an audience of loyal customers.
  • The goal of content marketing is to create valuable, shareable content that people will want to read or watch.
  • Content marketing helps you attract more traffic by increasing your visibility in search engines and social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc…

Are you getting a positive ROI?

Google and Facebook have become household names. But do you know that every year Google generates over 100 billion dollars through paid advertising and Facebook generates over 40 billion a year in revenue through paid advertising? 

Is your ROI positive?

But how many of you have already tried paid advertising for your business? If you answered yes, did you get a positive ROI? Are you ready to spend all your marketing budget on paid advertising year over year?

If you are like most small business owners or freelancers, I am assuming your answer to my questions is a “NO”.  

Problems and Solutions –

Here is what many of you might be dealing with paid online advertising and an organic marketing strategy solution to those concerns – 

1. Website – I’m paying for Search Engine Marketing – but where are the website visitors?

To refresh, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the most commonly used form of paid online advertising.

Businesses bid for keywords for various search engines so that their website can be displayed up in the Search Engine Page Result (SERP)

The best platforms for SEM are Google Adwords and Bing. 

To give you an idea of cost – the average cost of an advertisement on Google Ads (AdWords) is $2.32 per click on a search network.  And an average small business spends between $9,000-$10,000 per month on their online advertising campaigns on Google advertising. 

Simple maths – it’s a whopping $100,000 to $120,000 per year for paid online advertising. Wow…really!

You can also visit The Comprehensive Guide to Online Advertising Costs for detailed information about paid online advertising costs.

But some people including me prefer and trust organic listings more than paid ads. The reason for this is very plain and simple – because getting the ranking on search engines due to online advertisement doesn’t guarantee the quality of the business to us. 

For the same reason, such people might completely ignore the website in paid results until it is ranked organically too.

Therefore, even if as a business you will rank high on a page because you are willing to bid a high price for an advertisement is no indicator that people will click on the link.

Using SEO – Search Engine Optimization you can organically rank in search engine

In order to organically rank in search engines, you can use Search Engine Optimization

  • In which you optimize your content – your website copy and Blogs
  • Research your target audience and see what they want
  • Understand the terms and keywords they use to search for you / your business
  • Use those keywords and terms in your content in a meaningful way

This will improve your page’s visibility in the search results and will get the attention of your target and/or prospective customers.

2. Social media – I’m posting Ads on social media – where are my followers?

There are so many social media platforms these days – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, Quora…etc.

74% of people use social media when making a purchasing decision.

And as a small business, if you start to advertise on all these social media, it will deplete your marketing budget in a few months if not in days. 

Let me explain by giving examples here –

Facebook has more than 1.4 billion daily active users, therefore it is one of the most preferred channels for any business to advertise. The average cost per click for online advertising on Facebook is $0.97. 

Can you take a moment to guess what is the average cost per click for paid advertising on Instagram? Hint – Instagram has a higher engagement rate than Facebook. 

So, if you have guessed around $3.50, bingo! you are right It’s $3.56, but for others – surprise surprise…

Check this article for more detailed information on Social Media advertising costs by platform.

So, think about a situation now that on one fine day a business owner decides to advertise on Facebook and Instagram. For that, they created an extraordinary ad for these social media channels for the target audience.  

The target audience also showed a fair amount of interest in the ad and visited the social media page of the business. But if the social media page is not engaging to the target audience, or is not updated, gone is their CPC (the cost-per-click)

Social Media Content Strategy

Therefore, it is extremely important for any business, especially a small business to maintain a remarkable social media presence where its target audience is. 


And the way to do it organically is to have a content strategy for social media.

  • Research your target audience
  • Create content that is of target audience’s interest – a non-promotional content 
  • Use easy language while focus on customer’s content experience
  • Post regularly on social media platforms

By following this routine, you may not even need to spend so frequently (or maybe ever) on social media ads. That’s some savings I see there! huh!

3. Competitions – I’ve got rich competitors; how can I compete? 

In any business, competition is inevitable. As a small business, you might have already faced competition from bigger players in the market. 

This competition gets even more fierce in the online arena. How much competition you are facing in online paid advertising depends on factors like location and industry. 

The big companies may have comparable products and services that you are offering as a small business, but one thing where it is difficult for you to compete with them is the marketing budget.

Therefore, for paid online advertising, the paid search becomes expensive for competitive queries – and it is very easy for big companies to outrun small businesses there.

And the solution to stay competitive is not by spending more money on paid online advertising but to create good content for your website and for your social media pages.

A well-crafted content marketing strategy earns your business a thought leader reputation, establishes a trust relationship with current and prospective customers, and in generating leads and revenue. 

Examples of Content Marketing are – Blogging, videos, webinars, ebooks, podcasts, graphics, content offers, infographics, whitepapers, etc.

Conclusion: 

Content marketing is the future of digital marketing. It’s where your customers are, and it’s a proven strategy for increasing conversions and driving revenue.  Investing in organic content marketing is an effective way to drive traffic to your website and build brand awareness. 

So, invest in an organic content marketing strategy first before you decide to invest in paid online advertising. But, if you are already investing in paid online advertising, and if it is generating a positive ROI for you then you should keep on investing in it. However, you should also explore content marketing to multiply that profit.  

What is your digital marketing strategy: organic content marketing or paid online advertising, don’t forget to mention this in the comment below? 

Start today by following @JindalzShruti on all social media for more information on how to get started with content marketing!

Elokquentconsulting Uncategorized

HOW CAN I HELP MYSELF?

Well you might find this question little odd, but have you ever tried to ask “How can I help myself?” Yeah it is little different, usually we ask how can I help you, or help me to help yourself etc. But why I cannot help myself? I should do it, no one knows us better than ourselves, even if you say “Ah, he/she knows me more than I know myself” but NO, we know ourselves the best.

So, when it comes to help others, whom we don’t know as better as we know us, we always jump to help, give suggestions, talk with them, hear them out. Then why don’t we do it with ourselves. Basically, it should be done, right?

Let’s say you are feeling tired, or over-loaded with work, or overwhelmed with responsibilities, or sad or happy, or any other feeling in the entire world, why do you need someone to first hear you out, and then suggest some options, why should you wait for meeting someone? Well if you have someone right in front and by talking with that person can give you some peace, by all means talk it out, but do not just suffer and wait for someone to talk with.

So, now the question comes, if you will not wait to talk with someone, what can YOU do? Well, you can do a lot. Hear yourself out, yes, get a quiet corner for yourself and stay unbiased and hear yourself out. This is the most important part. You hear everyone’s’ problem but this time try to hear yourself. And then give yourself some time to think about the problem, as naturally you might be doing for any of your friends or family members, and then analyze your situation. Well it is not a miracle, and am not a Guru or someone, but by doing so, first you will feel better, that you heard yourself, and secondly you will get a solution to the problem. A fair solution, with no hidden interests, the only interest is “How can I help myself?”

Author

Shruti Jindal

Elokquentconsulting Uncategorized

Happiness Happens

August 08 is a very special day, not because I was born today, well I wasn’t really born today. But because of the two national days –  National Dollar Day and National Happiness Happens Day. August 8th commemorates the day Congress established the U.S. monetary system in 1786 and thus it is National Dollar Day. Whereas National Happiness Happens Day was founded by the Secret Society of Happy People in 1999 as “Admit You’re Happy Day.” And created Happiness Happens Day to recognize and express happiness and chose August 8 to celebrate the anniversary of the first membership in 1998.

Why I think it is a very special day because these days, everyone is busy trying to make a few extra bucks, can be read as a few extra millions by some of you. But in this contest, they are forgetting something, and you are one of them. Are you forgetting to count your blessings every day, or you still stop to notice different shapes in the clouds which once used to give you the giggles? Or due to meetings, daily chores and responsibilities you are submerged in that you find pit stops wastes your time.

Well, you also know that cloud I talked above is just an example and it just resembles one of many things which are around you and which used to delight you once. Do you remember your childhood, when you never missed any chance to be happy, whether it is that single crayon, or the flock of the birds flying in the sky. And now every single day, you let go so many opportunities to be happy just in the wait of that “Direct Deposit message” or however these dollar bills are coming to you.

Recently, I stumble on a very beautiful quote on Goodreads from Maya Angelou, an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. Maya says,” You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”

So, for a common person when all the days are spent for that dollar day in two weeks, why not you spend today as Happiness Happens Day. Why not you hold any moment of joy, or enjoy every moment of happiness TODAY. If anything can make you happy, then don’t ignore it BUT feel it and let it touch your heart, and give you the chuckles. If something can make you laugh, then laugh, don’t wait for that standup comedy show you are planning to watch tonight.

You don’t need a surprise diamond ring to be happy today, but if you get one YOU have all the reasons to be on top of the world. But for rest of you, the happiness could be the morning cup of coffee you get to enjoy with your partner before you head for a busy day, or could be a tight hug from your loved ones or friends, or even could be your clean and organized desk at work. Read this article by Kate Bratskeir for more tips on how can you be happier today.

Don’t wait for things to be perfect around you to be happy, find your happy moments in those small imperfections today, as Happiness Happens. Even Formula 1 knows the importance of pit stops. “The precisely timed, millimeter perfect choreography of a modern pit stop is vital to help teams to turn their race strategy into success.”

Instead of all these tips we talked above, if you get your happiness by spending dollars today or by saving some then too go for it, because then you are celebrating both the days today #NationalDollarDay #HappinessHappensDay. And if you really got a diamond ring today or this blog has made day one shade brighter, then let me know, and share it with others to let them know YOU care.

Author

Shruti Jindal

Elokquentconsulting Uncategorized

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Elokquentconsulting Uncategorized

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Elokquentconsulting Uncategorized

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.