When somebody talks about “content marketing,” they’re really talking about “content engineering” — scientifically optimizing documents such as blogs, case studies and white papers to create search engine results and sales leads.
This can be an extremely complicated, time-consuming and expensive proposition! So I started thinking about this in the context of my friends and small business customers who simply can’t afford that kind of effort. It led to this idea: micro-content, or marketing content when you don’t have time to produce content!
Let’s examine ideas about micro-content that even a time-starved business owner should be able to master in 15 minutes a day …
Preparation
Like any marketing initiative, you must have a firm idea of your strategy, selling points and target audience. Spend time thinking through a set of keywords that represent your business and your customer needs. You’ll need to weave these keywords into your micro-content.
LinkedIn Groups
If you’re like most people, you have a profile on LinkedIn and haven’t done much with it. This platform is a goldmine of opportunity to create micro-content!
There are about 600,000 groups on LinkedIn covering every imaginable business interest. You’re sure to find one with like-minded people who might be interested in you. If you are in a very specialized field, consider starting your own special interest group. Make sure you use relevant keywords in the title of the group so people can find you.
Look for some Q&A sessions within relevant groups and get involved. Simply answering questions is providing meaningful content that can attract attention to you and your website. I’ve personally made some fantastic connections and acquired my two most profitable customers just by answering questions in LinkedIn Group Forums.
Make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete and helpful so people can learn about you. In the “specialties” section of your profile, list your keywords!
Twitter
This is the ultimate site for making connections through micro-content. In this separate post, I’ve provided some helpful ideas on building a targeted audience through Twitter. It makes no sense to work on micro-content on Twitter if you have nobody listening! Here is a suggested micro-content regimen if you’re just starting to tweet.
1) Create a habit of sharing — When you read something that interests you, share it on Twitter. It takes but a moment.
2) Leverage your network — If you’ve surrounded yourself with interesting people, they’re providing great content. When you find something great, re-tweet it! You don;t have to generate everything yourself.
3) Try following the “3 x 3 x 3 rule” — If you’re new and trying to figure what to do, tweet three times a day, at three different times of the day, on three different subjects: a) interesting non-work-related information you saw, heard or read; b) news related to your business, market or industry (use keywords), and c) your opinion on an item in the news or something funny. Pass on links and snip your URL’s!
Remember that micro-content is still supposed to do the job of big content — drive people to action on your website. Of course you need to include your website in your profile and use your keywords in your bio.
Comments
Commenting on relevant blog posts, videos, and Facebook pages is a quick and easy way to deliver micro-content that links to your website. Here are some examples:
• A small business owner I know commented on a magazine’s Facebook site and was invited to send her product to the editor for coverage.
• Adding your comment to relevant YouTube viral videos can create impressions with thousands of people who are interested in a related topic.
• My comment on a popular blog post contained a link to my website which is still receiving hits nine months after I posted the comment. That’s not unusual since posts on popular topics can have a long “shelf life.”
• Comments on my blog have resulted in new business partnerships, guest blogs, and freelance assignments for my readers.
I find that comments can carry even more impact when they’re “micro.” People will read a few sentences, but probably scan a few paragraphs.
Re-purposing micro-content
There are so many great benefits to blogging but this is usually the place time-starved marketers stumble. Think about re-purposing your micro-content on your website as a blog, even if it only happens once a month:
• Cut and paste answers you’ve already provided on LinkedIn and blog comments as new, unique posts.
• Start a blog post with, “I found this interesting article on Twitter …” and share the great content on one of your tweets.
• Share a relevant article, video or blog post from a trade publication and simply write a few sentences commenting on it.
In summary …
These are just a few of the ways you can effectively network on the social web with a “sprinkle” of content instead of a flood. Obviously there are hundreds of other ideas I’m sure you can share. But this is at least a start that a small business owner can work on for 15 minutes a day.
Mark Schaefer is Executive Director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions and CMO of Freesource Inc. You can find him on Twitter at @markwschaefer and on his blog {grow} at www.businessesGROW.com
Mark
Great post with a number of worthwhile recommendations. As a user creates their content marketing plan, I would point to the importance of your “Preparation” section. Understanding your target (who to reach) is the critical first step as well as key (relevant) messages to deliver. Just like the process of creating a marketing plan a for a business, this situation analysis phase is where you can determine the target and message strategy. Your insights are valuable for an existing business or a new business. Well done.
Mark Burgess
@mnburgess
http://www.bluefocusmarketing.com
Thanks, Mark!
This article has some terrific tips Mark – thanks.
As a small business there are two areas that we find challenging: 1. Finding the time and focus to make sure to tweet, blog, comment and then do our day jobs in a day, 2. Creating compelling content that will help to inform our prospects and customers and spark new conversation and learning.
I like your 3x3x3 rule for the first challenge and we will be implementing that in the future. For the second, we have found it helpful to create a running editorial calendar that helps us to consider content in advance and we develop a regular cadence that helps us to get it done. But, the content is only one piece of the puzzle – context is the other critical piece. Many times the context is lost when blogging or creating online content and as a result it strikes the wrong note with the audience. Your tips on monitoring the places where conversations are happening are very helpful to keeping the right context around the content.
One final tip to add to your list – we find that testing the content areas with our customers helps to add dimension to the content. We use these tests to help shape arguments, sharpen perspectives and reconsider the content completely. Simple vetting through emails or formal polling helps to keep the customer perspective in focus.