If you are a business owner, you need to care about content marketing.

Better yet, you should invest in content marketing.

Whether you invest time or money is up to you. It just has to happen.

What is content marketing?

It’s another business buzzword you actually need to pay attention to. You can forget about a lot of others, but content marketing is here to stay.

Content marketing is creating (and sharing!) valuable FREE content to attract and convert your audience into potential buyers.

It’s your blog, free courses, or free e-book. Newsletters, or a strong social media presence. Live streams, video content, and podcasts. If it’s free, valuable, and speaks directly to your ideal client, it’s content marketing.

Before you start blogging daily, buy a microphone to launch a podcast, and begin writing your e-book to publish tomorrow—wait a second. I’m not here to tell you to do all that. There’s absolutely no need to stretch yourself (or your funds) thin in a desperate attempt to cover all methods of content delivery just because someone told you to.

In fact, don’t do that.

Choose one channel to start—maybe two if you are swimming in free time, money, or experience. Choose one delivery method that makes sense for your business. Choose a channel that your ideal client watches. Practice, tweak, and fall into a smooth pace before thinking adding another to the mix.

Note that the key here is that content marketing means something different for everyone. You might not even need a blog to have a content marketing strategy. Don’t believe me? Forbes outlines why content marketing doesn’t always mean blogging.

Why do I need it?

1. Share insight.

If you’re like me, you started your business to share with the world. To serve people with your skills or expertise. You want to help. Now is your chance!

Content marketing is essentially just sharing what you know. It should feel natural to you. It will fit authentically within your business if you choose content and a medium that works for you.

2. Label yourself as an expert.

If people are going to hire you or buy from you, they want to know you’re legit. Content marketing is how you prove your worth to potential clients. You give them a taste so they buy the real deal.

(Ahem—real money in your bank account)

Pro tip: being an expert won’t be the only thing that sells—potential buyers want to know about you as well. They want to connect with your story, and/or the story of your business. You can read more about the importance of storytelling in an older post on the blog.

3. Start a conversation around your brand.

It’s easier to connect with your audience if you start a conversation.

Think about how you meet people on the street. Sure, you could walk right up unannounced, face to face, and talk at them. You could confidently tell them about all the features of your product or service. You could say BUY NOW. You know that won’t work.

People buy when they connect with you and when they see the benefit of buying.

If you start a conversation, your business becomes more than just a business. Your ideal customer will see you as a person. They will relate to you. Then it will be easier for you to clearly convey the benefits of buying.

Then when they buy, they will tell all of their friends. Kick start a conversation around your brand, and expect exponential growth.

4. Clients will remember you if they saw you recently

The last reason why you need content marketing: to just get into their heads. It’s science.

That might sound like branding now—because it is. Content marketing comes hand in hand with branding techniques. It’s important to remind your audience about your products and services. If your business rests at the top of their consciousness, they will think of you first when they are ready to buy. If they don’t see you for a while, they will forget.

The final (bonus) point I will leave you with: Take the time to produce quality content.

Your audience will notice a rushed job. If that means you can only produce one blog post per week, or can only tackle Instagram to start, just start there. Make it valuable to make it count. If that means you need to hire someone to do it for you, just do it. Your business will reap the rewards.

Not sure how to tackle your content marketing strategy?

If you don’t know where to begin, I can help. Let’s chat about online content strategies, content generation, and creation that will attract and convert your ideal clients into long-term buyers.