Content, content, content…
So much to create for your service-based business.
Maybe you want to…
- promote your services
- grow your community
- increase your visibility online
- engage with potential clients
Maybe you want to focus on some of them, maybe all of them. But boy that is a lot of content to create and manage.
Which is where your content strategy comes in. Besides making your content easier, in general, to create it also has a few other important characteristics that help you build your online presence which we will get to in just a second.
But first, let me ask you a question.
When was the last time you sat down and planned out your content calendar? And not just what you are going to post when and where but HOW it supports your overall business goals?
We as service-based businesses don’t have time in our busy schedules to create and share fluff with our audiences. So again when was the last time you looked at how the content you are putting out ties into your goals?
Or do you just post to post because that’s what everyone online says you need to do to grow your following and build your brand?
Overall your content strategy helps keep you on target with your big business goals and every so often you should check in with yourself to see that everything is still in alignment. Now onto why your content strategy matters and how it is important to your service-based business.
Gives you a goal and purpose
Like a mentioned above your content strategy gives you a goal and purpose to work towards every time you create content for your business.
Without knowing what the goal of a piece of content or the purpose of a content campaign you are putting out you’ll find it really hard to keep consistent and focused. You’ll have a harder time planning and your content may be all over the place confusing your audience.
And a confused audience is a no-no because they won’t be pulling out their credit cards ready to buy they will be scratching their heads wondering why you are talking about hair care all of a sudden when you’ve been talking about cooking on your blog.
This isn’t to say that your content can’t change and adjust it just means that you are changing and adjusting with a purpose not willy-nilly.
Create regular content
Having your content strategy matters to you creating regular content for your audience.
It helps to know what is coming up when you sit down to make content for your business but also that you are creating content regularly around your zone of genius.
This is really important to establishing yourself as the expert in your niche and making sure that you aren’t overloading one topic too much.
How do I know?
This happened to me.
I thought I was doing a really good job of rotating through branding topics, web design & strategy topics, content creation, and social media marketing only to find out I was really relying on content creation too much.
Therefore confusing people with what I did rather than helping me stand out as the business with the solution to their problems.
Ouch. I saw a LOT of people I connected with online hire other designers for graphics and their website because they associated me with only creating content.
I’ve since adjusted my message and reworked how I tie all these things together and it has helped tremendously.
Just having that clarity and regular content is consistently filling my calendar with new leads who know what I can do to help them.
Creates a consistent experience
I really want to say a consistent client experience here but it is so much more than that. Your content strategy helps you show up consistently from the very first time someone lands on your site all the way through client workflow and follow up.
When you have your content strategy in place you aren’t showing up differently in different places online, everything is coming back to your goal and your purpose.
That way your audience and clients know what they are going to get from you and have a great memorable experience that keeps them coming back to your website for more information…not forgetting who you are when they click away.
See what is working and what isn’t
We want to spend more time being efficient and effective with our businesses right?
Well, your content strategy can help you do that.
Any time you set a goal you are setting yourself up to see what is working and what isn’t working with your content. You may think you know what topics are going to hit home and connect with your audience but until to sit down and test it out you don’t really know for sure.
This also is really important for when you are making directional changes because you may find more information you can cover about a topic just by analyzing what people are interested in on your site.
Makes marketing easier
Having a strong content strategy can make everything about marketing your service-based business online easier.
It makes planning a breeze and lets you plan your promotional content to be in line with your valuable content.
It’s nice when everything plays well together and feel like the natural next step for your audience. Again you wouldn’t want to be talking about hair care and then start promoting an ebook with cooking recipes. This kind of incongruency leads to a lot of questions and makes people wonder if you really are a legitimate business.
Builds your brand
Having your content strategy helps you build your brand online because you are fully showing up in your zone of genius and remaining consistent. That allows you to build the know, like and trust factor with your audience.
And when your audience knows you then you are more likely to get in front of more eyes because your audience is recommending you, sharing your content, and becoming your superfans!
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