It’s Not as Hard as You Think
Look, I get it. The minute someone says “content marketing,” your eyes start to glaze over. If you’re just getting started, these content marketing basics will save you a lot of headaches. It sounds like one of those fancy marketing terms that consultants throw around to make themselves sound important. But here’s the thing – it’s really just about sharing useful stuff with people who might want to buy from you someday. That’s the basics of content marketing.
Remember when you last needed help fixing something around the house? You probably went to YouTube and found someone showing you exactly how to do it. That person or company wasn’t directly selling you anything, but guess who you’ll think of when you need a professional to handle a bigger job? That’s content marketing in action.
What Does This Actually Mean for Your Business?
Instead of just shouting “Buy my stuff!” all the time (which nobody likes), you’re sharing things that your customers actually care about. Let’s say you run a bakery. Sure, you could just post pictures of your cakes all day. But what if you also shared:
- That trick you use to keep cupcakes from sticking to the pan
- A behind-the-scenes look at how you decorate those amazing wedding cakes
Here’s a real example of how this works: Let’s say you’re writing about why you chose that local organic egg farm for your ingredients. You could tell the story of how you spent three months visiting local farms, looking for the perfect eggs for your famous custard-filled donuts. Talk about how you met Sarah, the third-generation farmer who gets up at 4 AM every morning to tend to her free-range hens. Share photos of her spotless barn and happy chickens. Maybe even include that funny story about how her prize hen, Betty, follows her around like a puppy.
Now you’re not just selling donuts – you’re sharing values with customers who care about supporting local businesses and knowing where their food comes from. You could even create a free guide called “Our Local Food Journey: Behind the Scenes of [Your Bakery Name]” where you share stories about all your local suppliers. Include links to their websites, give them a shoutout on social media, and guess what? They’ll probably share your content with their customers too.
This kind of content does three things:
- Shows customers you care about quality
- Builds relationships with other local businesses
- Gets your content shared by those businesses to their followers
That’s the beauty of good content – it keeps working for you in ways paid advertising never could. You’re building trust by being helpful, not just trying to sell something.
Why Should You Care?
Here’s the real deal – content marketing works because:
- People trust businesses that help them solve problems
- Google loves fresh content (and you want Google to love you)
- It keeps working even when you’re sleeping
- It costs way less than traditional advertising
The best part? Unlike paying for ads (which stop the second you stop paying), good content keeps working for you month after month.
Content Marketing Basics Without Losing Your Mind
Let’s stick to content marketing basics here. Start small. Really small. Here’s what you do:
- Pick ONE thing your customers always ask about. Hint: It’ll probably be something that’s a problem waiting for you to solve for them.
- Write down your answer (just like you’d explain it to a friend)
- Share it somewhere (your website, Facebook, wherever)
- Do it again next week
That’s it. No fancy strategy meetings needed. No expensive tools required. Just helpful information shared regularly.
Making Sure It’s Working
You’ll know this stuff is working when:
- Customers start mentioning things they read on your site
- People start calling you the expert in your field
- Google starts showing your content when people search
- Your phone rings more often
Mastering content marketing basics isn’t rocket science. It’s just about sharing what you know in a way that helps people. Whether you know it or not, you’re already an expert at what you do. Now it’s just about getting that expertise out there.
Content Marketing Is Not For the Impatient
One last thing. Content marketing is the proverbial marathon. You will need to build up a body of content and that could take some time. If you want to get customers right now and don’t mind paying, PPC or paid search is something you should look into.
Need help getting started? That’s what we do at Tenon SEM. But even if you’re not ready for professional help, just start sharing what you know.
If you know anybody who works at a doctor’s office who might need some marketing help, you can send them over to our sister site, Practice Forge.