In the days before Google, directories, listings and forums were the means to find brand-new content on the fast-growing web, finding information about an area you were working in came from magazines and often required subscriptions to trade journals and research centres. For small businesses and local businesses, the threat of destruction by larger competition has been proved false. If fact, small businesses give more free information to competitors and gain more business as a result. Local people are able to find local business more easily and find potential partners to increase what they offer to customers. Innovative content creation is key to the success of small business growth through online marketing.

During the early days of the Internet, the World Wide Web was as much about the experience of discovery, aka “searching”, as it was about finding certain solutions. Lots of online marketers would have you believe the only content that exists is the details created on behalf of customers to find, work out and consume.

Why create good digital content?

There is much more to online marketing compared to demand generation, sales and advertising – even in business. Content is developed by companies to serve a variety of business functions from customer service to company social obligation to ability acquisition. It enables companies to grow local as well as global demand, compete with larger companies for niche markets and with niche products and services and be found by customers around the world that would previously have been impossible to connect with.

The irony is that much of that content is developed without understanding about the specific audience requirements, preferences and quantifiable results. Simply creating interesting digital creative content based on a person’s interest or a company’s area of expertise will be found, taken on board and acted upon by someone somewhere. That’s the nature of consumers of information in a world with over 7 billion people.

Create a digital content marketing plan

When you take this a step further and research what your customers and target market find interesting, the natural progression is to create digital content that provides interest and interaction with customers. Put simply, providing digital content on your online marketing presence is no different to laying out a strong window display and guiding customers to the products in a shop that you want to sell, and then leading them, product in hand, to the cashier.

Creating attractive digital content with particular audiences, target customer groups or market segments in mind helps small business create much more effective, customer communications and a more effective marketing plan.

Customer assumptions of positive brand interaction have moved beyond simple discovery and usage. In order for today’s marketers, small businesses and local organisations to effectively link with the customer bases, you have to plan to deliver creative content and media that provides the viewer with the ability to take action, enjoy involvement and desire more.

3 Tips on how to create effective creative digital content marketing

1. The first step is understanding your audience

What their interests are and how they use the Internet. Do they search on Google for detailed information or react to creative social media content provision? The answer is increasingly ‘both’ so a plan to create effective social media marketing to drive visitors to interesting website content (usually a creatively enhanced blog) is often the way forward, particularly for small business with a strong local base.

By Correctly maximizing your online marketing potential through search and social media networks, you can create empathy with your target audience in regards to content activity, consumption and discovery relates to all types of digital communications for any type of function.

2. Ensure that you have measurable objectives

With a clear understanding certain customer bases in mind, content could be held liable for enticing that meant audience, engage them in a purposeful way and offer activities to take that are measurable.

Make an initiative to find out exactly what formats, subjects and quantifiable activities can be put on content preparing. Make sure you have the design skills if you want to create visual or audio-visual content. If you plan to use creative writing to provide information, ensure you have the writing and ‘writing for SEO’ ability or find a company that provides creative content for small business marketing.

Ensure that you have considered how your content will be found and employ SEO, social networks marketing and advertising as well as targeted advertising to entice the audience you have created the content for. Being pro-active will always have a better effect with small business online marketing than a reactive approach of “let it be found organically’.

3. Get involved with your customers – be interactive in their interests

Rather than limiting content creation to search directories, customer support and company and public relations news content simply for the sake of releasing news to a customer base that already visit your website, look at how to deepen interest within them and generate new interest from a wider audience.

Develop knowledge and understanding about your brand name, speak with your marketing sources regarding ways to identify certain target audiences highlight information and news that supports what your company offers and advertise local businesses that have a natural synergy with you. If you are a local business or a small business with a local presence, link in with events that are of interest to your customers. Show that you are a part of the local community.

Remember, before the internet, what made British High Streets special and small business successful was the ability of staff to get to know customers, ask about their interests, ask after their friends and families and show real care about the individual to provide excellent customer service. For a while, the Internet removed some of that but in today’s online marketing environment, you can show the same understanding, customer care and personal communication. The small business and local businesses that harness that ability are the ones that will do best in online marketing and grow in the modern business environment.