Small business: Marketing your brand

Customers are absorbing information much more quickly these days thanks to technology.

Many marketers are taking advantage of that by providing fresh content via blogs, video and social media to interact with their audience on a much more personal level.

This has contributed to a rise in content marketing -- a medium that involves providing original content to engage your audience and build your brand. In fact, 60 percent of marketers surveyed in a recent study say they plan to increase spending on content marketing over the next 12 months.

"Content marketing is the ultimate David vs. Goliath scenario," says Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, a Cleveland-based content marketing education and media company and co-author of "Managing Content Marketing" (CMI; $24.95).

For smaller firms, it allows them to compete with their larger counterparts on a more level playing field, he explains.

"As a small business, I probably have a larger competitor I can't outspend, but I can 'out story-tell' someone else," says Pulizzi, noting the goal of content marketing is to create "relevant, compelling content" to ultimately attract or retain customers.

Doing just that has produced measurable results for Valiant, a scheduling and payroll solutions provider in Woodbury, says Jeff DiDomenico, vice president of marketing and client relations.

"You get more relevant leads that you can convert into business opportunities," says DiDomenico. He said Valiant is increasing its content marketing expenditures by 20 percent this year and shifting more of its resources away from trade shows and traditional media placement, instead delivering content through social media, articles and its blog.

Marketing mediums

Like Valiant, marketers are using various content-sharing vehicles. Among the top five: articles, social media (other than blogs), blogs, e-newsletters and case studies, according to a recent survey by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs (see contentmarketing institute.com).

In general, marketers are split about 50/50 between producing their own content internally and outsourcing it, says Pulizzi, noting that content marketing is generally less expensive than paid media, particularly if you're producing most of the content yourself.

If you opt to go it alone, you must devote the time to producing compelling content. Start small, recommends Susan Gunelius, author of "Content Marketing for Dummies" (Wiley; $24.99) and president of KeySplash Creative Inc., a marketing communications firm in Orlando, Fla.

Whether it be a blog, Facebook or Twitter, use a tool that you like, she says.

"I recommend a blog for your core branded online destination," adds Gunelius. "It's so search-engine friendly."

Start producing content that will engage your audience, even if you only spend 30 minutes daily, she says. Avoid self-serving posts, she adds.

"Put yourself in the customer's shoes and think about what their issues are, and write a blog article about that," suggests John McHugh, president of Brainstorm Studio, a Melville Web development and online marketing firm that works with Valiant.

You can use a blog as an outlet for your articles and promote them via Facebook and Twitter or through blog directories like blogflux.com and

blogcatalog.com, says McHugh. Other outlets for articles include an e-newsletter, social bookmarking sites such as Digg.com, as well as news distribution services like PRWeb or Pitchengine.com, he notes.

Thought leaders

To generate ideas, follow thought leaders in your industry online and see what they're talking about, says McHugh. Set Google Alerts to ping you when interesting industry news appears online and then put your spin on it, he suggests. You can also establish yourself as an expert in online forums.

Post case studies on your website that show how you've helped clients solve problems, he says. Make them detailed, says McHugh, whose firm beefed up Valiant's case studies page, resulting in a 154 percent increase in Web traffic this December compared to the previous December.

Top Goals for Content Marketing

1. Brand Awareness: 68 percent

2. Customer Acquisition: 68 percent

3. Lead Generation: 66 percent

4. Customer Retention/Loyalty: 61 percent

5. Website Traffic: 56 percent

Source: CMI/MarketingProfs