Building a new business can be a stressful undertaking, with owners struggling to get their brand heard in a marketplace that is all too often already very crowded. Without any brand equity, new companies have to do more to ensure their brand is seen at least as equal, if not more desirable than other options. Content marketing, therefore, should be a core focus area.

Gain credibility  

It’s fair to say that many online audiences are becoming increasingly cynical, so it’s never been more important to establish brand credibility from the very beginning. Smart content marketing strategists can use campaigns to gain trust and credibility from readers by offering value in every piece of material published.

Create traffic

Start-up businesses are fighting obscurity, and it’s essential to let target audiences hear about new brands. However, whilst advertising is one way to do this, it can be expensive. Another tactic is to turn to search engines. Landing a website page or article in one of Google or Bing’s top results can help create a sustainable source of web traffic.

Content marketing is one of the best ways to support this endeavour. Through web and blog content, strategists can focus on long-tail keywords often used by target audiences. Over time, rankings will rise, leading to increased long-term exposure.

Contact list increases

Marketers understand that a single message rarely converts people into paying customers. Instead, it takes a stream of positive brand exposure. Initially, content marketers should look to create material that leaves audiences wanting more. People can then be prompted to sign up for newsletters to access gated content, which will likely result in an increase in leads.

Value proposition is explained

Content marketing also allows new firms to clearly set out their values from the very start. This is especially important if products and services cannot be explained in a single sentence. Instead of using promotional methods to introduce ideas and values, these can be conveyed via videos, whitepapers, blog posts and infographics.

Create the foundations for future digital marketing 

Ultimately, a new business’s initial content efforts will help create the foundations for all digital marketing to come. Producing content should serve to create a backbone for a more fully fleshed out digital strategy. Core content principles can be used across strategies, including those for email marketing, social media and websites. Even better, with a little careful adapting, the same materials can be shared across multiple platforms.

Content marketing is extremely cost effective. For example, even starting a business blog, building a social media presence and creating gated content can be accomplished for little other than hard work. When new businesses are opening, it’s important that brands are able to insert themselves into their desired industry to talk alongside their competition without breaking the budget and putting themselves into serious debt. The digital era has allowed this and by harnessing the power of content marketing, many new firms can gain a presence similar to industry leaders that might have been around for decades before.