4 Step Content Marketing Framework for Start-Ups

Thousands if not tens of thousands of new companies are formed every month in the U.S. and one of the most common problems to be solved relates to creating awareness, interest and motivation to buy.  Is buying Google AdWords, throwing up a blog and a Facebook Fan page the answer? What about sending out Tweets, press releases and investing in SEO?  If your start-up is executing content marketing tactics without first hand insight into the market and target customers, those tactics are a crapshoot. The irony is that most start-ups don’t have a lot of money to waste on marketing and advertising. But they do, every day. And so do many of the people reading this blog post.

Never fear, that’s why Optimize is here.

Start with What’s Important: While there’s plenty of great marketing advice out there, it will never solve the problems of an imperfect product. Creating great products and customer experience is probably one of the most important marketing investments a company can make. Outside of that, identifying compelling stories about how the product or service solves problems, meets a need or adds value for customers are essential steps for start-ups and established companies alike.

Implement Optimization, Socialization & Promotion:
This is where the rubber hits the road and content is created, optimized and socialized.  If you think of each piece of content as having a purpose for a particular audience segment, then it follows that you’ll want that content to be relevant at communicating your brand’s unique selling proposition (USP) as well as relevant for keywords customers are searching on.  Unfortunately, creating really fantastic and relevant content isn’t enough. Promotion of that content is important in order to gain the visibility that results in broad based sharing.  You know: tell 2 friends who tell 2 friends, and so on.

When it comes to great resources for SEO Copywriting and Content Marketing, I have to mention: Heather Lloyd Martin’s SEO Copywriting class, Joe Pulizzi’s Content Marketing Institute, Content Rules by Ann Handley & CC Chapman, Content Marketing by Rebecca Lieb and Accelerate by Arnie Kuenn. Last, but not least, is my own book about Content Marketing, SEO and Social Media Marketing that’s coming out in March of next year called, Optimize (Wiley).

Not all content is created equal when it comes to promotion, so be realistic about expectations and the resources you’ll need.  Also, don’t treat your promotable content like a one-night stand.  For most start-ups, the goal isn’t just to get a sale here and there, but to build a successful business. That means a persistent effort to stay top of mind and relevant amongst a growing community of customers and fans. Feed that community with themes of social content and participation and they will reward your start-up by interacting and sharing to networks beyond your reach. Interacting with a growing community will also supply an infinite number of relevant topics for future content.

Limited resources and a rush to revenue can cause many start-ups to make rash decisions about their online marketing mix. When it comes to content and better connections with customers, making an effort to develop customer-centric content with an optimize and socialize approach to promotion will help grow momentum, sales and referrals for short and long term success.