A good content strategy can help you hit your small business goals – here’s how

The copy and content you create in your small business can support your goals – or trick you into feeling productive without really moving the needle on what’s important to you.

So, let’s get real. It’s time to stop getting distracted by social media…and start being intentional. By taking some time to strategise, you’ll use your time more efficiently and effectively to create copy assets that will serve you now – and into the future. 

If you’re ready to unlock the potential of strategic content creation and move towards some big hairy biz goals (increased revenue, brand awareness and more), read on.

How is a good content strategy connected to your small business goals?

Have you ever had the experience of being head down in your business all year only to look up and realise it’s almost September? Or that you’ve bought a yearly planner and never filled it in? Both of these things have absolutely happened to me. 

I’ve been so excited at the beginning of the year about the possibilities ahead, only to get derailed focusing on client work and only doing ‘on the biz’ activities on-the-fly. I’ll whip up a new lead magnet because I’m booked for some podcast guest spots, then scramble to edit my welcome email sequence updating all my services. You get the gist. 

And yes, you might incidentally hit some of your goals this way, but there are no guarantees. And you’ll probably create some decent content, too but there’s a better way. 

Even though we’re busy, if we really want to move the needle on the things that matter to us, it’s important to be intentional about our direction.

So, what are your small business goals for the next 3-6 months?

Identifying your specific goals for the next 3 or 6 months can help guide your content strategy and address content gaps and opportunities. So, let’s start by thinking about what some of those goals could be.

As a small business owner, you might want to: 

  • Increase your revenue and profitability by expanding your client base, increasing sales, or improving profit margins.
  • Build brand awareness and reputation by creating a positive brand image, building authority and fostering know, like and trust.
  • Expand your reach by tapping into new markets or exploring new locations.
  • Improve client acquisition and retention by finding new ways to keep your clients happy, engaged and retained.
  • Deliver better service by developing new offerings or improving existing ones to better serve your clients.
  • Reach a wider audience and expand your network by developing strategic partnerships or collaborations.

It’s then a process of mapping content to these business goals:

Here are seven key steps to work through to map your content strategy to the goals you want to hit in your biz.

Develop a content calendar or plan

Developing some kind of plan, however loose, will help you stay on track and focused. I like to work backwards from my quarterly or half-year goals to make sure I’m covering everything.

Three top tips:

  • Identify key themes and topics that align with your goals e.g. Launching something new? You’ll need to talk about these topics to warm up your audience.
  • Identify your content gaps and opportunities. What assets do you need to support your goals? Do you need blogs, social content, a new lead magnet, or email sequences?
  • Allocate time for research, creation, editing and marketing.

Create valuable and engaging content

Your content should be valuable, so you’re building know, like and trust with your audience. This applies especially to free content. It needs to be good so a prospect thinks, imagine the value I could get if I paid this person?

Three top tips:

  • Understand your target audience’s pain points, challenges, and where they’d be if they could wave a magic wand over their business.
  • Focus on creating content that addresses their needs, answers their questions and objections and introduces your solution.
  • Incorporate storytelling elements so your content feels relatable and engaging.

Guide organic traffic to your content

By optimising your content with relevant SEO keywords, you can attract organic traffic from search engines and broaden your audience.

Three top tips:

  • Conduct some basic keyword research – you can do this for free. 
  • Focus on long-tail keywords (e.g. a phrase, not a single word) with moderate search volume and high relevance.
  • Incorporate keywords naturally into your content, including titles, headings and body text (along with meta descriptions and image alt text) for better search visibility.

Reach the right people

Creating great content is only half the story; promoting it effectively to get eyeballs on it is the other. 

Three top tips:

  • Use social platforms relevant to your ideal audience – where do they actually hang out and engage with you? 
  • Use email marketing to share content directly and personally with your subscribers.
  • Explore collaboration and partnership opportunities for wider exposure.

Measure and analyse the data

Any content strategy needs measuring. Data insights can help you understand what’s working, what’s not, and how to tweak your approach. You’ve got limited time to work ‘on the business’ so use it wisely.

Three top tips:

  • Understand and track metrics such as website traffic, click-through rates, social shares, and conversion rates.
  • Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights and email campaign analytics.
  • Compare the performance of different content pieces to identify trends and patterns.

Repurpose and recycle to maximise your reach

Repurposing content involves transforming existing material into different formats, extending its reach and lifespan. This strategy saves time while appealing to various audience preferences.

Three top tips:

  • Convert blog posts into engaging videos, webinars or podcast episodes to cater to visual learners.
  • Compile a series of related blog posts into an e-book or lead magnet.
  • Update and refresh your evergreen content to keep it relevant and accurate.

Adapt and evolve

In the online business world, things are always changing. So it’s important to be able to adapt and evolve your content strategy, as your business and goals change, in line with industry trends and other factors.

Three top tips:

  • Regularly review the performance of your content against your goals. What worked, what didn’t and why?
  • Be open to experimenting with new content formats, channels and approaches. You can even ‘ask the audience’.
  • Update your content strategy periodically to reflect changes in your biz goals.

Over to you

Are you ready to move towards what you want with intentionality? It’s time to get goal setting, planning and writing! And a good content strategy is a huge part of this process.

Would you prefer an audio version of this blog? Listen to the podcast episode: How creating strategic content can help you hit your small business goals.

Love some support? Explore the copy coaching options.