Author has content marketing tips for small business owners
MyMobileLyfe recently contacted author and content marketing pro Matt Mansfield about his new book for the busy small business owner in mind.
Mansfield, the author of “The Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing for Small Businesses,” is the president of Matt About Business, a company that helps entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies create effective content. He writes blogs on small business topics and about content marketing.
Mansfield responded to questions by email:
Why should a small business commit resources to content marketing?
There are a lot of benefits to content marketing. At a high level, content marketing increases your website’s rank in natural search engine results which leads to an increased amount of targeted site traffic and thus more people exposed to your products and services; increases the number of links to your content from other sites; [and] increases the odds of a purchase by building the trust that leads to sales through authority, goodwill and social proof.
What are the challenges that owners of small businesses encounter when it comes to creating engaging content?
There are a number of hurdles that small business owners face when they begin to create content. Some of the most common include:
- Stage fright: Feeling self-conscious about presenting your thoughts to others.
- Concerns such as “I’m not creative enough”, “I have nothing new or original to say” and “I don’t have enough time to create content.”
- Feeling overwhelmed learning to create and use new types of content.
The good news is that these are common issues and there are a number of ways to work through each and that’s just what Chapter 5 aims to help folks do.
What would you say to the owner of a small business who wants to develop a content marketing strategy, but does not have the staff to implement it?
The best answer to this is a statistic I quote in my book: “Companies that publish new blog posts just 1-2 times per month generate 70 percent more leads than companies that don’t blog at all.” The takeaway? Even a little content marketing goes a long way, so start with what your business can support and grow from there as your business grows.
Should small businesses invest in producing content for mobile devices?
I definitely believe they should. Many small businesses are local which means that they can capture customers who are on their mobile device looking for a product or service right now. Having mobile-optimized content such as menus, product comparisons, directions, reviews and special deals can mean the difference between winning and losing customers. Even non-local small businesses need to be accessible via mobile devices, especially when it comes to searches for product comparisons, reviews and testimonials.
How did you come up with the idea for your new book?
This book was supposed to be a lot longer. When I first sat down to write, I had 32 chapters and five appendices all planned out in one slick-looking outline. Then I thought, ‘What small business owner would have the time to read that?’ That’s when the ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing for Small Businesses’ was truly born.
I decided to edit my book into a tightly focused guide that would help busy small business folks learn all they needed to know about content marketing basics, without getting bogged down in the details. Armed with that knowledge, they would be ready to make decisions about where content marketing might fit into their business’ marketing mix.
I also wanted to support my reader’s efforts if they did decide to use content marketing. Thus the chapters on creating great content, overcoming common content creation hurdles, where to find help and where to learn more.
What type of business would gain the most from your guide?
The target audience for my book is folks who market a small business online who may have heard about content marketing and want to figure out if it’s right for their business, or who have not heard about content marketing but are looking for a better way to market their small business online.
