Editor’s Note: The Write Reflection™ provides resources for entrepreneurs and small businesses that help them succeed. From 1:1 content training to supportive membership communities, we provide the tools your brand needs to achieve sustainable growth. As the workforce grows older, businesses that prioritize menopausal support in the workplace can stand out as truly great places to work. Support programs such as the one featured in this article are a great resource for brands who wish to differentiate themselves from competitors while attracting top-notch talent. Have you ever been in the middle of giving an important presentation at work, only to feel like the entire left side of your face is on fire? When it happens, do you feel like a guilty perp sweating through an interrogation as your coworkers toss weird looks your way? If you’re nodding your head profusely, then you’re among the 75% of women who experience hot flashes during menopause. Of those, 30% are still in the workforce, facing the daily struggle of managing their symptoms in such a public space. As embarrassing as that scenario sounds, hot flashes are only one of the 40 known menopausal symptoms. Mood swings, joint pain, brain fog, and breast tenderness that make wearing a bra feel like absolute torture are among the other signs your body is winding down estrogen production. The only thing worse than experiencing a debilitating hormone migraine or fatigue so severe you can barely function is discovering you have zero support in the workplace to navigate this new normal. Sally Sidani-Wilkinson wants to flip the script on the narrative surrounding workplace discussions about menopause. She’s one of a growing number of health coaching professionals taking the lead in equipping workplaces with the tools they need to support women in perimenopause and menopause. Her menopause support programs minimize the impact of menopause on workplaces by optimizing the health and performance of the workforce. Clearing the (brain) fog: Menopause education and awarenessThe first step in helping perimenopausal and menopausal women cope is to encourage awareness and education in the workplace, said Sidani-Wilkinson. “Male managers, especially, don’t realize the implications of menopause. When they talk about it in the media, they just talk about hot flashes and it’s so much more than that. There are more than 40 symptoms, some of which can be quite debilitating.” Awareness programs must extend beyond management and human resources to include every employee. Sidani-Wilkinson offers workshops that educate on what menopause is and how it affects women. She walks participants through every sign and symptom and how it can affect women in the workplace. “I encourage men and even young women to attend as well so they understand the implications (of menopause),” she said. “Empathy is important. The key thing is to be able to listen. If a woman feels listened to, it’s going to help her feel like she’s getting the support she needs.” Menopausal women aren’t the only ones who benefit. Employers can reduce the impact on their bottom line when they must retrain new workers to replace menopausal women who have quit their jobs from lack of support. “It’s not just about health and well-being. It affects your bottom line,” said Sidani-Wilkinson. “Women can’t do their jobs and work effectively and efficiently if they’re struggling with symptoms. It’s in everyone’s best interest to find solutions. How companies can support menopausal employeesOnce employers buy into the need for support for their menopausal employees, the next step is to develop policies and programs to achieve the goal. Of critical importance is how to start the conversation with an employee who needs the help, said Sidani-Wilkinson. This is where proper training for managers comes into play. “Everyone in management must have menopause support training,” she said. “In terms of equality in the workplace, menopause is part of that. You can’t attract and retain female talent if you’re not providing menopause support.” Sidani-Wilkinson provides training for managers on how to engage their employees in the discussion, prioritizing empathy above all else. The next step involves coming up with strategies that address individual needs as menopausal women transition through this natural stage in their lives. Sidani-Wilkinson recommends flexible working policies because they allow the freedom to work from home or come in later in the day. “It’s really important to note that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution,” she said. “Every single woman is unique. They’ll have a different experience; a different severity of symptoms and managers must speak with their employees to put together an individual plan for support.” Many workplaces prioritize including a safe space support group for women going through the transition. These programs can be on-site or virtual chatrooms designed to meet the specific needs of each menopausal employee. “If it’s in person, make sure it’s a quiet, private location so the person doesn’t have to be concerned with being overheard by coworkers on such a private matter,” said Sidani-Wilkinson. Health coaching for menopausal women at workA third option for workplaces is to consider offering health coaching services to their employees as part of their benefits. It’s a natural progression in the offerings by professionals like Sidani-Wilkinson. She recommends any organization that seeks her assistance implement this component as stage 3 of the process. During her consultations with menopausal employees, Sidani-Wilkinson takes a natural, holistic approach to improving symptoms. She reviews their health history and symptoms and then tailors a bespoke program for them. “I meet them where they’re at because everyone is different.” Part of her individualized health plans include nutrition guidance, exercise encouragement, stress management techniques, detoxification from toxins, sleep improvement strategies, and an emphasis on self-care. “Self-care is important because (menopause) is a stressful time and stress can make your symptoms worse,” she said. Stigmas and taboos around menopause still exist, especially in the workplace. Women struggling with menopause symptoms experience further discomfort at work when exposed to sexist and ageist comments. “Women are made fun of often because of it and it makes them feel like they’re not capable of performing at their work anymore,” said Sidani-Wilkinson. Health coaching can give professional women the tools they need to change the narrative. “Don’t suffer in silence,” she said. “Now is the time that you can speak put. Don’t feel embarrassed or quit talking about it. Get the support you need, whether it’s at home or at work.” About Sally Sidani-Wilkinson
About the Author – Shari Berg
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Building your brand organically is hard work. Gaining traction with your content creation on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram is critical for natural organic growth. However, social media engagement is a double-edged sword. It’s that elusive metric businesses of all sizes chase to gain more visibility in the feed. It requires a solid content strategy and a commitment to high-quality content that intrigues your ideal customer. If you’re not educating and entertaining your readers regularly, your content will fall flatter than a loaf of homemade bread made from a recipe that skips the yeast. Organic growth is slow and steady when done the right way. It can take months before you gain followers and begin seeing meaningful interactions on your posts. Some people lack the patience to put in the hard work and try to fast-forward to the reward instead. For others, the lure of influencer fame is so great – their vanity so deep – they cross to the dark side of social media and join an engagement pod. What the heck is an engagement pod?Social media engagement pods are private groups of members who agree to consistently like, comment, and share each other’s content. Pods are nothing new on Instagram. However, they seem to be gaining steam on LinkedIn as users vie for industry leader status to boost their bottom lines. Pods can be small and niche to larger groups consisting of thousands of members who have nothing else in common save for their desire to game the algorithm. The idea behind this hack is that mutual support will trick social media algorithms into boosting your reach and engagement. When you sign up for a pod, you agree to spend countless hours liking, sharing, and leaving generic comments on other pod members’ posts. Why are social media engagement pods bad news for your brand?So, what’s wrong with that? Plenty. Of least concern is the fact that social media engagement pods artificially increase your engagement. All those likes, shares, and comments may get eyeballs on your content, but are they the right eyeballs for growing your brand? Highly unlikely. It’s also time-consuming to spend all your time on social platforms engaging with posts you neither find interesting nor valuable. What often ends up happening is you’ll see posts with thousands of “great post” or “thanks for posting” comments from pod participants that leave a bad taste in the mouths of non-pod people who discover your content. An annoying side effect of hanging out in engagement pods is you’re skewing your algorithm. Regularly engaging with posts that serve no purpose for building your brand will clog your social media feed with junk content. By far the worst reason social media engagement pods are bad news for your brand is because they make it easier for hackers to gain control of your social media accounts. It’s this scary scenario that prompted data analytics expert Daniel Hall to launch the Spot A Pod social media campaign on LinkedIn to expose the hidden dangers of pods. Lempod vulnerability uncoveredOne of the most popular engagement pods for LinkedIn users is Lempod. The LinkedIn automation tool allows Lempod users to automatically like and comment on each other’s posts. It promises “tons of LinkedIn post views” that encourage the platform to boost your posts “to an audience of people who liked your content,” according to Lempod’s website. Lempod was founded by Guillaume Moubeche in 2018. He successfully exited the company after 18 months at the helm to focus on his other business, lemlist. However, the company continues to sell its services to LinkedIn users eager to skip to the front of the popularity line. Recently, Hall discovered a vulnerability in the Lempod software that allowed hackers to gain access to your LinkedIn credentials and then use them to hijack your account. Once inside, hackers could bypass Lempod’s tracking security protocol to glean and manipulate all sorts of useful information about LinkedIn users. “Imagine giving your keys to a valet who parks your car in a lot,” said Hall. “A stranger tells the valet his car is in the same lot yours is in, so the valet gives him the keys to all the cars in that lot. In this case, all the logins to everyone’s LinkedIn account in the pod were given away.” With more than 10,000 Lempod users and more than a billion members on LinkedIn, Hall called the scope and severity of the breach alarming. He alerted LinkedIn’s customer support, which validated the issue. You can see their response to him below. “Any time you connect your LinkedIn account to a pod or Chrome extension, you may be giving them full access to control your account to act on your behalf,” said Hall. As of April 9, LinkedIn confirmed the vulnerability and took steps to prevent hackers from using it to further access the platform. However, this is just one of the many risks pod users face when they willingly hand over their account access to engagement pods, said Hall. Engagement pods ruin your reputationMaking your social media accounts vulnerable to hacking is certainly one of the more serious consequences of using engagement pods. Ruining your professional reputation is the other. To show the damage that pods can do to your character, Hall occasionally creates what he calls “fake news” posts and then submits them to engagement pods requesting members help boost them with comments, likes, and shares. In one of these recent fake news posts, Hall kept the original article but changed a few numbers in his post, making it obvious to any human who read the article and his post promoting it that something was off. “Before long, over 200 creators that had no clue they even engaged with a fake news post helped to spread the fake news by being in a pod,” he said. “You’re using a firehose approach to generating business, hoping maybe one or two of those people will engage with you. But at the end of the day, people are going to see through those fake reactions, and it’ll be like a watermark of deception for them.” How do you identify social media engagement pod users?It doesn’t take a rocket scientist – or in this case, a data analyst – to identify a pod user. Hall said one of the tell-tale signs is easy for anyone to spot. “The devil is in the details,” Hall said. “You’ll see a post that quickly gains traction with very few followers, sometimes with new comments within seconds of each other.” Seeing the exact comment from multiple users is another clue the poster is using a pod to artificially boost their content. Lempod makes it easy for its pod users to choose from a list of AI-generated comments its chatbots can use to interact with other pod members’ posts. Hall has studied pod behavior on LinkedIn since 2020. He created a proprietary algorithm that measures how much time users spend in the comments of social media posts engaging with each other. After its creation, Hall realized he could use the software to download comments from live streams on LinkedIn to identify chatbots conversing on posts. “It was eye-opening,” he said. “It showed the platform was riddled with bots talking to themselves.” Launching SPOTAPODHall decided to go all-in on his quest to expose the prevalent use of social media engagement pods on LinkedIn. He joined thousands of pods to study them from the inside and collect data to support his findings. In October 2023, Hall began exposing content creators on LinkedIn for whom he had the receipts of pod activity. “At first, I was just calling them out, and people were like, ‘Nah, this isn’t real,’” he said. “So, I started displaying data and images of the people from the pod platform since I had the evidence of their participation in pods. People have called pods out before, but nobody’s ever really shown the proof. I did.” Hall has a list of over 200 LinkedIn creators he’s found in engagement pods. His biggest pet peeve is LinkedIn users who sell engagement systems to others who hope to achieve the same success on LinkedIn without knowing their idols are getting their fake engagement numbers through pod participation. Even worse, sometimes unsuspecting LinkedIn users hand over access to their accounts to content marketing agencies and individual consultants to help them grow their brands. Those providers submit their clients’ details to engagement pods to artificially boost engagement and visibility without the person’s consent. Hall has taken quite a bit of heat for his crusade. He’s even had pod users he’s exposed private message him to say they’ve lost business after clients saw his posts about them. “For me, it’s not about targeting anybody,” said Hall. “It’s about trying to put the human back in humanity.” How do social media influencers use engagement pods?Social media influencers are a popular marketing strategy for businesses interested in expanding their reach and engagement online. They use influencers to create and share branded content to promote their products or services to their followers. Companies gravitate toward influencers in their industry with a large audience full of potential customers for their brand. According to data from Statista, nearly 70% of U.S. marketers in companies with more than 100 employees used influencers as part of their marketing efforts. Earlier this year, corporate influencer Lara Sophie Bothur was called out by Hall and others for reach manipulation on her LinkedIn account using engagement pods. These data experts pointed to evidence of aids to inorganically increase reach that included constant linear follower growth of 1,000 profiles per day and external engagement rates in the double digits. Bothur’s employer, Deloitte, denied the allegations. Online magazine t3n provided an in-depth report on the incident. Investigative reporter Andreas Weck reached out to LinkedIn because Bothur is part of the platform’s Top Voices program. LinkedIn told Weck that its team didn’t identify any irregularities with Bothur’s account. During its investigation, t3n noted that profiles and their comments disappeared from LinkedIn, including duplicate comments that its editorial team identified as evidence of pod engagement. Hall said he recorded similar extensive deletions after Bothur’s account was called out. “Every time I drop comments, they mysteriously go missing from the platform,” he said. When marketers use engagement podsHall cautioned against assuming the people behind the profiles on LinkedIn caught using engagement pods knew of their involvement. Unfortunately, some marketing agencies and consultants specializing in content creation for social media growth place their clients in pods without their knowledge or consent. “They sometimes put unsuspecting creators into these pods when they seek out services with them,” said Hall. “They unleash pods on your content when you’re a client and you don’t know it. So, it looks good, and you think you’re getting what you paid for but you’re really not. It’s all an illusion created by pods.” The Write Reflection reached out to two creators on LinkedIn who were placed in engagement pods by a marketing agency without their knowledge. Neither responded to requests for an interview. What’s the right way to increase social media engagement?It’s not difficult to understand why pod use is on the rise across all social media platforms. They promise a quick rise to fame. But as any reputable content marketing professional will tell you, slow and steady wins the race. The key to organic growth is consistently providing value, nurturing genuine connections, and adapting your approach based on audience feedback. Yes, it’s time-consuming. Yes, it requires effort. But social media engagement hacks like engagement pods set you up for failure in the long run. Instead, try these practical tips that help your brand expand its reach naturally while building mutually beneficial relationships. Create valuable and engaging contentFocus on producing high-quality content that educates, entertains, and visually appeals to your ideal customer. Mix up different content formats – photos, videos, stories, live streams, and carousels – to keep it interesting. Don’t be afraid to show the faces of the people behind your brand. People connect with people, not corporate identities. Encourage user-generated contentOne of the most effective ways to get your followers invested in your brand is to run contests, giveaways, and campaigns that inspire them to create and share content that features your products or services. Repost and engage with their content to build a sense of community and show your appreciation. This technique is part of the kind of genuine relationship-building that gives brands staying power on social. Collaborate with complementary brandsThere’s room for everyone to succeed on social media. Finding a complementary brand and partnering with them to reach each other’s audiences through co-created content, takeovers, or cross-promotion is a fun way to encourage organic engagement. Followers crave these kinds of collaborations on social media because they’re authentic and fun. Before you engage in this kind of partnership, verify the other business aligns with your brand values. The bottom line on social media engagement podsSocial media engagement pods are a short-sighted solution that won’t lead to sustainable, organic growth for your brand.
Instead of relying on artificial engagement, focus your efforts on creating genuinely valuable content, building authentic relationships with your ideal customers, and using ethical marketing strategies and tools to reach more of the people who matter most. Social media marketing is a critical component of any well-rounded content strategy. Solopreneurs and small businesses must master the art of creating relevant and interesting content for their ideal customers to drive growth. With more than 100 social media platforms available, how do you know which ones are the most effective for achieving your goals? It’s easy to become overwhelmed quickly at the thought of creating content for multiple sites. Spreading yourself too thin is never the right approach. You can crush your competition with a less-is-more social media marketing strategy that helps your brand shine online. Our latest blog post answers the most common questions to guide you through the process. Should I be on every social media platform?Kaiya Williams, the founder and executive director of KAW Management Group, said she gets this question a lot from her clients. It’s mostly people who are newer to social media for business instead of personal use. The short answer to the question is no. “You definitely don’t need to be everywhere all at once,” she said. “It’s rare cases where you see a brand that needs to be or should be on every platform.” Instead, she advises her clients to choose 1 to 3 social media platforms and focus their efforts there. That’s because most small businesses have limited resources. Maintaining an active and engaging presence on more than 3 channels is nearly impossible. “My only exception is if they have a team of content creators who each specialize in different platforms, or if they’re comfortable with repurposing content. Otherwise, they’re going to get burned out,” said Williams. Some other reasons why trying to have a presence on every social media platform isn’t necessary for small businesses include:
How do I pick key social media platforms for my brand?Creating a detailed customer persona is the most effective way to determine which social media channels you should focus on. “It all goes back to your ideal client or customer persona,” said Williams. “If you’re not clear on that, then there’s probably already some challenges you’re seeing in your marketing because it’s not converting very well. Without that, your copy isn’t speaking to the right person.” For instance, if your brand serves mothers aged 25 to 32, then it’s unlikely you should focus your efforts on TikTok. Creating a customer personaCreating a customer persona can feel overwhelming, especially for solopreneurs and small business owners who are wearing many hats. Answering the following questions can guide you through the process:
Creating content that hits the mark“When creating content, find what people like and keep doing it,” said Melina Oliver, the social media influencer behind Maples Neigh-borhood. Oliver describes herself as an accidental sensation who went viral on TikTok for a simple video of her then 2-year-old son calling their horse in from the pasture. She wasn’t trying to go viral with the post. But once it happened, it was hard to put that genie back into the bottle. She’s continued to create content that pleases her followers and monetizes her channels, noting the key to her success is simple. “Being authentic is always best. Don’t write a script. For me, just showing the authentic interaction between my son and horse is what people want to see.” How much time should I commit to social media content creation?This is always the million-dollar question for solopreneurs and small business owners who are already stretched too thin. Building organic awareness and engagement takes time. You can expect to invest at least 6 months into the process before seeing actionable results. “You have to be patient,” said Oliver. “It takes a lot of time and effort to grow on social media and you will have ups and downs. Be patient. Be consistent.” However, if you’re not getting leads and building a solid following after 6 months, it might be time to investigate all aspects of your content, not just how often you’re producing fresh stuff. “Let’s say your ideal customer is on Instagram, but you’re writing entire books of blog posts in your captions,” said Williams. “So, no one is really reading that so it’s not converting.” Instagram is designed to appeal visually to your followers. High-quality images or videos – including Instagram Stories – work better than long-form text posts. Another critical factor is learning how to use SEO keywords in your content. The Write Reflection teaches this method to solopreneurs and small business owners as part of our 1:1 content training. Williams agrees knowing how to SEO your social media is critical for gaining visibility. “SEO is becoming more important on Instagram, so are you engaging the right keywords?” she said. “If not, it might be a visibility issue, not that your people aren’t there.” Ultimately, Williams said how long you invest in a particular platform depends on your available resources. “Founders trying to manage social by themselves, this isn’t a great way to allocate your time,” she said. “Do some research and decide if you should table a platform or bump it down in your priority list.” About the Author - Shari Berg
Social media platforms are filled with AI content creation gurus singing the praises of tools like ChatGPT. They offer step-by-step instructions on how anyone can gain Google’s favor by following their guidance. Technically, some of their techniques work (even if just temporarily). One of the latest brags online is how easy it is to boost your brand’s SEO by asking AI to create thousands of articles focused on top-performing content from your competitors. It’s true you can quickly and easily create large batches of optimized content for your website with ChatGPT and other similar tools. The downside is the AI output is neither authentic nor high-quality. Still, it’s hard to resist leaping head-first onto the AI bandwagon when you see marketing folks posting screenshots of the insane traffic they’ve generated with the technology. Let’s explore both sides of the coin to help you decide whether AI-generated content is a friend or foe to your content marketing strategy. The rise of AI content creationAI-powered technologies such as natural language learning processing and machine learning algorithms paved the way for AI content creation. The release of advanced AI systems like ChatGPT-3 in 2020 made the technology accessible to everyone. Entrepreneurs and small business owners can now choose from ChatGPT, Jasper, Claude, and Google Gemini (to name a few) to instantly produce articles, social media posts, and website copy by simply entering a few prompts. AI is convenient, affordable, and fast, evolving from an emerging novelty to a widely accepted marketing and business solution for automating and scaling your content creation. The pros and cons of AI content creationUsing AI for SEO gains is a controversial topic these days. On one hand, data supports the notion that AI-generated content can perform well in search rankings. On the other hand, concerns continue to grow that AI-produced copy is pushing high-quality human-created content off page 1 of the search results. A quick perusal of Google’s preferred top content validates the fear that subpar content is taking over. Google’s ranking system is supposed to be designed to reward high-quality content. However, it doesn’t penalize content produced with the assistance of AI unless it’s used nefariously to manipulate search rankings (we’ll talk more about that later). For now, let’s take a comprehensive look at the pros and cons of using AI to support your SEO goals. The prosAI chatbots collect user behavior and preferences, plus other feedback data that can inform SEO strategies. There’s no doubt this is a valuable service with long-lasting effects on the SEO industry. Some of the other benefits of AI tools include:
The consIt’s easy to get excited about all the ways you can use AI tools to boost your content marketing strategy and forget that it’s not all sunshine and roses. One of the most significant issues with relying too heavily on ChatGPT and other AI chatbots for content creation is the potential loss of control over search rankings and referral traffic. Human content creators provide backlinks to the source material, giving the original creators credit for their hard work. Those backlinks, in turn, boost the original author’s credibility with search engines, making their content more visible. AI doesn’t provide attribution unless specifically requested by the user prompting it. Other downsides to AI content creation include:
The infamous SEO heist (and how it backfired)Remember when we said that we’d talk later about how trying to use AI to game the SEO rankings can backfire? It’s later. We’re about to give you a real-life example of how misusing AI to manipulate Google and other search engines can end up negatively impacting your SEO efforts when you’re caught. Case in point: tech entrepreneur Jake Ward gleefully bragged on his social media about how he stole 3.6 million clicks in what he dubbed an epic “SEO heist.” Here’s how he did it:
Wrong. While he managed to generate 3.6 million in total traffic in 18 months, the gains didn’t last long. Other content marketing professionals began calling him out for his tactics, which attracted the attention of Google. Let’s just say Google wasn’t amused with the gaming of their system. The search engine giant downgraded the site that was used to pull off the heist. Ward is unapologetic about the methods he used to achieve these SEO gains, even though they can be easily classified as Black Hat SEO. He also argues that no one was harmed by his actions. The business owners who run Exceljet – the website AI scraped to create that 1,800 pieces of content – disagree with Ward’s assessment. Exceljet co-owner David Bruns commented publicly on Ward’s brag post on LinkedIn about what he’d done. You can see a screenshot of his comments below. Ward’s tactics failed to follow the EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authority, Trustworthiness) model Google uses to determine the credibility of websites. He may have cheated the system successfully for a while, but Google and other algorithms continue to evolve, making it harder to get away with this kind of unethical behavior. It’s about the conversions, sillyBesides getting penalized by Google, there’s another problem with Ward’s approach to using AI to boost SEO. Getting traffic to your website is just one phase of a solid content marketing strategy. Converting that traffic into paying customers is the real measure of your content’s value. Traffic vs. conversions is another one of those heated topics among content marketing professionals. Yes, you need traffic to your site to make sales. However, once you get eyeballs on your content, is it going to engage your ideal customers and convince them to part ways with their hard-earned money? If you’re not sure you can answer that question with a resounding yes, then you have a big problem. More traffic doesn’t automatically mean more sales. You must target your audience and give them the kind of content that educates and entertains. Create something new instead of using AI to simply regurgitate content that can be found on all your competitors’ websites. That’s the secret sauce for targeted traffic that turns into guaranteed conversions. Future of AI content creation for SEOGoogle isn’t opposed to AI-generated content. There’s no evidence it’s penalizing copy written entirely or in part by the likes of Chat GPT, Google Gemini, or Claude. However, the key to continuing to rank well for SEO is to make sure all of your content is produced for people first, and SEO second. Not sure how to do that? The key is to find an AI content creation consultant who understands how to create compelling copy that engages and converts your readers while following SEO best practices. About the Author - Shari BergHow to Strategically Reinvent Your BrandService-based small businesses experience a similar challenge at some point in their journey. They onboard more clients than they can reasonably handle out of fear of not having enough income to survive. Eventually, the pressure of finding more hours in the day to meet all their clients’ needs leads to burnout. That’s where Elena Herrera of West Coast Psychology Specialists found herself at the end of 2023. A licensed psychologist, she worked in agencies and as a supervisor for psychologists in training before transitioning into private practice. She operated her private practice part-time at first, continuing to serve in her other positions. In January 2023, she decided to go all-in on her independent therapy services. Thirteen months in, she began to feel the pressure of being a service-based small business owner. “I love the work that I do,” she said. “I work with couples, men in tech careers – especially engineers – but it’s stressful relying on my appointments for income. Whenever people cancel, that’s income that I’m losing. For peace of mind, I knew I needed a backup plan.” Establishing a Small Business Plan BElena didn’t want to completely abandon her desire to help people. It’s why she became a psychologist. Instead, she began exploring options that would allow her to use her psychology degree to continue to make a difference. What she landed on was consulting opportunities that required her expertise. One of her passions as a therapist was helping men in technology careers. “The way engineers cope and reach out for help is different,” she said. “One of the biggest stumbling blocks for these men is they feel like they must use logic to solve problems and therapy can feel vague and unclear at first.” When she was regularly counseling men in this industry, she discovered a lot of their anxiety stemmed from the way they were treated in the workplace. Drawing on that experience gave her an idea for her new business direction. While she could offer stress-management workshops for men in tech, she decided her time was better spent addressing the root of the problem. “Where the work needs to be done is with leadership,” Elena said. “I think smaller tech companies would be more receptive to this.” Leading the way to a healthier workforceElena doesn’t envision a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem. She must ask a few questions – some of which might be uncomfortable to explore – before she can work her magic. The first step is to uncover what’s going on with the leadership team, which requires a leadership assessment. “Are they on the same page?” she asked. “How do they communicate their expectations with their employees? Once I know the issues, then I can intervene and customize a plan that fits the situation to solve the real problems.” She doesn’t believe in taking an “I know more than you do” approach because that doesn’t help people feel comfortable enough to open up and trust her throughout the entire process. Now that she has a new service model in place, Elena said she’s excited about the possibilities. “It’s a way of doing something new using my brain differently,” she said. “The expectation that I have is that I’m going to make some good connections and use my style – which is approachable and connective – to come in and help people.” Navigating the bumps in the roadFiguring out a new direction doesn’t mean the journey is without bumps in the road. For Elena, one of the biggest challenges she faces is cutting through the noise to stand out among her competition. There is a lot of competition in the mental health therapy space with therapists who have made a similar transition. They’ve left their clinical roles completely to write articles and do consulting work. She’s discovered the key to getting noticed sometimes comes down to who you know in the industry. “It’s inspiring and frustrating at the same time,” she said. “Inspiring because they’re women who have all taken these bold steps. Frustrating because they aren’t necessarily any more skilled than I am, but they’ve met the right person or have the right connections. I’ve learned that’s really the key. I feel like that’s a roadblock because if you don’t have that, you’re just hustling and hustling.” Marketing strategies to support the shiftElena said she has learned to take a deep breath and continue putting herself out there. To overcome some of the obstacles standing in the way of her new business growth, she’s spending a lot of time networking with others in the industry. “As a naturally introverted person, I’m doing things that make me feel very uncomfortable,” she said. “I’m posting a lot on Alignable and LinkedIn, which I never did before. I’m networking with a lot of people and planting seeds. I don’t see it as a waste of time. I’m making valuable connections.” Besides virtual networking, Elena said she plans to host a paid event for other therapists who are early in their careers. She’ll offer them advice about how to build their practices and give practical tips for growth strategies that work. She also welcomes any interviews or speaking engagements where she can discuss her new business direction to generate new leads. “I’ve already been on two podcasts for people who have a passion for working with men,” she said. Small business owners who want to share their expertise as part of their marketing strategies can find opportunities on HARO. Additionally, she’s working on revising her website to align with her new business direction. Getting active on social media is another way to generate awareness and connect with your ideal customer. Small business owners struggling to find their footing with social media content creation can schedule a 1:1 content marketing training session with a member of The Write Reflection team. Ongoing content creation support also is available in the soon-to-launch Mainstreet Marketing membership community. Get on the waiting list to reserve your spot. No matter which marketing approach you take, Elena said she’s a big fan of relying on other professional women to help her grow. “It’s OK to reach out to other successful women to get ideas,” she said. “It’s in our nature to be helpful and nurturing. Leaning into what’s natural for us, we can still do that, even in business.” About the Author - Shari BergLet’s be honest. Coming up with new content ideas day after day can drain even the most creative person faster than a smartphone battery scrolling Instagram. Creating fresh content for your brand’s digital assets is time-consuming (and quite frankly exhausting). You feel pressured to perform because you know the benefits of producing consistent high-quality content. Stop posting for even a few days, and the Almighty Algorithm punishes you for your insolence by downgrading your content in search results. AI content creation tools can help alleviate that stress. I’m not suggesting you use AI to generate new posts for you. As we learned in our last blog about best practices for AI content creation, you must review, edit, and customize the output before it meets the high standards for your brand. There’s a better way to use AI to reduce the time you spend creating content. Refreshing and reusing existing content is a task at which AI excels. Some of the ways AI can breathe new life into old content include:
Revive your best stories: turn top blogs into social media postsYou’ve probably figured out by now that your social media audience prefers a different style of content than visitors to your blog. Shorter, punchier posts tend to perform better on social. One of the easiest ways to repurpose in-depth content from your blog is to turn it into bite-sized chunks of compelling copy for your social accounts. Here’s where AI content creation tools come in handy. Pick the AI content generator you prefer and upload your blog post in its entirety (for the best results). Then, create a prompt that details how you want to use that information to create smaller social media posts. Get specific, right down to the tone of voice you want to use and the purpose of the content (drive more website traffic, generate more leads). Take it one step further by asking AI to generate attention-grabbing captions or questions for polls and quizzes to accompany your posts when appropriate. Adding polls and quizzes is an effective way to boost engagement. Blogs to social media carouselsBlogs with multiple talking points make excellent social media carousels. Visually pleasing carousels draw people in. Once they’ve found your post, you can impart the same wisdom from your blog in a more palatable format for social media scrollers. Remember not to put too much text on each carousel slide. Likewise, creating a 60-page carousel is overkill. Limit it to 8 to 10 pages maximum for the best results. A note of caution: never upload content that contains sensitive information about your organization or its customers to AI tools. Everything you feed to AI is stored in its database for reference later. You can get yourself in hot water if you overshare after signing a non-disclosure agreement. Repackage podcast gems: turn audio insights into viral blog wisdomAccording to the Pew Research Center, 42% of Americans over the age of 12 listen to at least one podcast a month. That’s a marked increase from the 12% who tuned in just one decade ago. It’s not difficult to see the allure. Podcasts are an engaging, amusing way to pass the time. You can use them to learn new information or explore topics in depth. They’re also an effective way to create a sense of community among your brand loyalists who feel connected to the podcast host and each other. If your small business has invested in producing a podcast, you can easily take episodes and turn them into blogs. Several AI tools specialize in performing this task. You’ll want to do some fine-tuning to the output to add links, images, section headers, and other elements that make blogs more engaging. Consider adding an introduction and conclusion in your brand voice to add some personality to the piece. Bring your content to life: transform written insights into viral visualsSocial media is the perfect opportunity to pack your content into snackable visual media bites. You don’t have to be a skilled graphic artist to take data from blogs, case studies, and even podcasts and turn it into an appealing chart, diagram, or other graphic. AI tools such as Adobe Creative Express, Midjourney, and Dall-E 2 can take text prompts and turn them into eye-catching social graphics, quotes, and charts. The image that accompanies this section was generated by using Adobe’s text-to-image generating software. For instance, a key statistic from a podcast episode can become a colorful infographic that educates and engages your audience. You can even use it to direct them back to the podcast to learn more. As with anything else AI produces, check the output for accuracy before publishing. Give your content the Hollywood treatmentYou don’t need fancy video equipment to repurpose written or audio content into video clips. Using an AI text-to-speech narration combined with royalty-free media gives your content the Hollywood treatment, red carpet entrance and all. Most AI tools that do this task work similarly. You input your existing blog post text or podcast transcript. Then, select visual themes, graphics, and music to match your brand style. When prompted correctly, the AI should spit out a video clip you can share on social media or use in digital ads. Touches that individualize the video can include an intro and outro of you or another brand representative. Always manually include captions to ensure your content is accessible to everyone. AI content creation repurposing saves time and moneyAI isn’t a magic wand for repurposing your content. You can’t just wave it and expect miracles. You must invest your time to learn how to breathe new life into old blogs, transform podcasts into long-form content, and create eye-catching visuals from written passages. With some strategic effort, you can get significantly more mileage out of your high-quality content. Do it well, and you’ll save time and money down the road while keeping your brand top-of-mind. Need help with AI content creation tools? The Write Reflection offers 1:1 content marketing training for entrepreneurs and small business owners that’s customized to meet your needs. Reach out today to schedule a session. Mention this blog to receive a 25% discount on your first session fee. About the Author - Shari BergIt’s difficult to forget an encounter with Emida Roller. She’s fearless about approaching people with her warm smile and shining personality that draws you right in. Before long, you’ll find yourself asking about her passion and what she does for a living (only to discover the two are one and the same). The genius behind Emida Roller Productions, she’s turned her love of art into a thriving small business. It’s not an exaggeration to say she’s mastered the art of the deal. Luckily, she’s willing to share her must-have marketing tips to boost your brand’s visibility. Conquering the fear of connectingTerrifying is a word some entrepreneurs and small business owners use to describe marketing themselves to others. If in-person networking events are part of the process, you can kick that terror up a notch. Approaching perfect strangers and striking up a conversation doesn’t come naturally to many people. That’s OK, said Emida. “You start small, you get more comfortable, and then you push yourself,” she said. Emida recommends an effective strategy for coping with the anxiety that comes with convincing yourself to put yourself out there. Pretend you’re an actor on stage. The networking event is a production and you’re the star. “You have to switch it on,” she said. “If you do it enough, you’ll get more comfortable.” Another coping mechanism is to find yourself a networking buddy. Her daughter is a wonderful artist. However, Emida said she struggles with the networking part of marketing. To quell her fears and give her a confidence boost, Emida goes to networking events with her daughter to serve as her personal cheerleader. “Go with somebody,” she said. “You get that moral support and you’ll be less anxious if you’re talking in a group.” If you’re new to in-person networking, Emida has one more trick up her sleeve. She suggests starting with a smaller event to break yourself in. Once you build up your confidence, then you can attend larger events more comfortably. Networking strategies that stickEvery small business is different. Marketing strategies that produce sustainable growth for one brand might fall flat for another. However, learning about different approaches can help you decide which approach resonates with your ideal customer to give you a starting point. “Find people who are doing similar things – someone who is doing it better – and find out how they’re marketing and putting their names out there,” said Emida. “Most people want to share their techniques and help you if you just ask.” When you go to community events or other in-person networking opportunities, go the extra mile to stand out in the crowd. One of Emida’s best ideas for an upcoming conference she plans to attend in March is to make a jean jacket with a scannable QR code about her business on the back. Doing so shows off her artistic skills and makes learning about her business easy and entertaining. “Sometimes, networking and promoting yourself is boring,” she said. “You have to find a way to make it fun.” Besides in-person networking events and community gatherings where she can introduce herself and spread the word about her services, Emida has found success in making valuable connections on Alignable. An online referral network for small businesses, Alignable boasts more than 8 million small business and micro small business owners as members. Think of it as a virtual Chamber of Commerce. Its targeted approach and community-focused features help small business owners forge meaningful connections in their local or niche markets. “Joining Alignable has been a great way to find people who need my services and whose services I can use,” she said. “One good thing about Alignable for me is there are a lot of marketing people there. I can tell my story better than anybody else, but there comes a point where I know I need help, and (Alignable) is a good place to get it.” Solving setbacks and other growth challengesWhen Emida first started out, her business was called Wall Designs by Emida. She concentrated on creating unique wall art in the interior of homes and businesses. To promote her work, she sent letters to local building contractors introducing herself and offering to personalize the interior walls of their model homes with her unique designs. “I was surprised because four of them took me up on my offer right away,” she said. It turned out to be a good marketing move. “You have 10,000 people walking through those homes in a 2-week period and that’s great exposure for my art.” Eventually, she started getting enough work to keep her going as an independent artist. She also began doing outdoor murals, which required figuring out many things – including how to set up a scaffolding by herself. “When you work by yourself, you have to tackle many challenges,” she said. Emida became so proficient at setting up a scaffolding alone that she had her daughter film the process. “Then, I uploaded it to my YouTube channel and shared how to do it with other people. I showed all the tricks I use by myself. Those videos have more views than the ones of my actual art stuff,” she said, laughing. Today, her business name has evolved to reflect the full experience customers can expect from working with her. “I’d been thinking about a name that encompasses everything I do. I don’t just show up and paint a mural and go home. Now, I have a conversation about the theme, get ideas from the community on what should be in the mural, and involve them in the whole process,” she said. “My big thing is how I engage with the community. That’s part of my branding. I’m not just an artist. I’m a community engager.” Her unique approach to community involvement earned Emida a lot of free press. Reporters would give her their numbers and ask her to call when she started her next project. Starting over again (and again)One of the challenges Emida has faced with marketing her business involves her and her husband’s shared passion for moving to new places. The couple recently moved to Georgia after spending about 3 years in Connecticut. Every time they move, Emida starts over again with marketing her brand. Instead of getting frustrated, she finds ways to connect with her new community to spread the word about her business. She attended a town meeting and contributed to a discussion about creative ways to get people involved. In the process, she naturally worked in how her business brings communities together on an art project. “Marketing is like a boulder rolling down a mossy hill,” she said. “The more you do, the more the ball rolls and gathers moss.” Even though her challenge is unique, the lessons about how to solve it apply to any small business struggling to market itself. Emida recommends looking for different places to spread your work and to do a good job when hired so those customers will keep recommending you to others. “Every 6 months, reach out to former clients to thank them again and remind them you’re still doing the work if they know anyone who needs your services,” she said. Keeping the pace (and peace)One of the lessons Emida learned early on in her business was the value of having a solid contract before beginning work with a new client. “I started out without (contracts), and I had problems,” she said. “Having a signed contract eliminates a lot of problems.” Another struggle she encountered in the early days was second-guessing herself through the slow times. “I would wonder if I could sustain myself with my business model,” she said. “But I found ways to keep the flow by spreading out the work.” Instead of trying to do 2 to 3 projects simultaneously, Emida staggered the start dates and rotated between large and small jobs to give herself breaks as needed. Final words of marketing wisdomRunning a small business comes with a steep learning curve. Generating enough leads to turn a profit is one of the many lessons you’ll either pass or fail. Learning to embrace the challenges as opportunities and stepping outside your comfort zone to build a strong network are surefire methods that have helped Emida survive and thrive. “Be prepared,” she said. “Know what you bring to the table and be willing to give a bit more than expected to leave a lasting impression. Be assertive, and you’ll close the deals.” About the Author - Shari BergAI content creation tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Bard took the spotlight in 2023. Content creators oohed and aahed about the benefits of using them to streamline your content marketing process. Since most entrepreneurs and small business owners value tools that save them time and resources, they quickly began harnessing the power of AI to generate content quickly and affordably. However, like any powerful tool, AI content creation requires careful consideration and commitment to following best practices for its use. The problem is the technology exploded before industry professionals could weigh in on and establish accepted approaches for its use. It’s impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. If you plan to use AI content creation as part of your marketing strategy, consider the following guidelines to maximize the benefits. 1 – Become a prompt engineerThe quality of the content AI produces is only as good as the prompt you give it. Generic prompts deliver subpar results. Don’t just say, “Write a blog post about market trends.” You’ll end up with copy that isn’t what you had in mind when you asked AI for assistance. A well-crafted prompt explains the topic, purpose, target audience, tone, and any key points you want covered. AI language learning models like ChatGPT and Claude are trained to follow your instructions closely. The more information you provide, the better the output. Going back to the example about a blog on market trends, a better prompt would be: Act like a financial analyst with expertise in market trends. Write a detailed, 800-word blog post discussing current market trends and economic conditions in the U.S. as of January 2024. Cover topics such as GDP growth, unemployment rates, inflation, consumer spending, business investment, manufacturing activity, housing starts, stock market performance, interest rates set by the Federal Reserve, and other key economic indicators that provide insight into the overall health of the economy. Provide context by comparing current trends to historical norms over the past decade. Analyze the data to identify areas of strength, weakness, or uncertainty in the economy. Discuss what factors may be driving observed trends, such as government policy, consumer behavior, or global market conditions. Include perspectives from economists and industry experts on the outlook for the rest of 2024 and implications for businesses or investors. Make sure to cite any statistics, quotes, or findings from reputable published sources. The tone should be professional and analytical, written for an audience of business leaders and market analysts interested in understanding the current landscape to inform strategy and investment decisions. 2 – Review and edit outputThere’s no argument over whether AI can generate content efficiently. When prompted well, most AI tools can produce hundreds of articles in a few hours. However, the speed of AI content creation isn’t a substitute for quality. Raw AI output should never appear on your digital or print assets without the skilled eye of a human reviewing it first. You’ll want to tweak the copy to align with your brand voice. Verify the accuracy of any data the AI included in its content. One of the most concerning issues with AI-generated content is that it’s not always true. These factual errors and misleading results happen so frequently that industry leaders have given the phenomenon a name: AI hallucination. While it sounds cute, the problem can tarnish your professional reputation. Just ask Manhattan attorney Steven Schwartz, aka “the ChatGPT lawyer.” With 30 years of experience in practicing law, he was caught using case law generated by ChatGPT that didn’t exist. A New York federal judge sanctioned him in June 2023 for the faux pas. Schwartz claimed he had no idea that ChatGPT made up facts before he used it in lieu of human paralegals and then failed to check for accuracy. Don’t end up like Schwartz. Establish a thorough editing and review process to guarantee the final output meets the highest standards for your brand. 3 – Customize content to avoid plagiarismReviewing and editing any AI output involves customizing the content to avoid plagiarism. While AI tools like ChatGPT are supposed to write original text, that’s not always the case. Some output has failed to pass plagiarism checker tools because it contained significant chunks of exact wording from the original source. One of the most effective techniques you can use to combat this issue is to put your original spin on what AI spits out. Add new paragraphs that include your insights on the topic to demonstrate your subject matter expertise. Expand on thoughts the AI suggested to make the content meatier and more engaging for your ideal customer. If you use any statistics or quotes the AI generated, check for accuracy, and cite your sources to lend credibility. 4 – Steer clear of copyright infringementInformation is readily available in today’s digital age. With just a few strokes of your keyboard, you can find search results that match your queries. AI is no different. Some AI language learning tools, including ChatGPT4 and Google Bard, can access the internet to scan for documents and other materials they deem relevant to your prompt. Sounds great, right? Here’s the rub. AI tools may inadvertently generate content that includes copyrighted materials. If you’re really unlucky, it might replicate those sources word-for-word. To avoid getting into legal hot water, educate yourself (and any team members) on the basics of copyright and implement best practices that help you steer clear of infringement. Check usage rights for any external sources cited in the AI-generated copy before publishing them and offer attribution to any sources directly quoted. 5 – Offer transparencyAI content creation raises some ethical concerns around transparency. While not mandatory, it’s recommended to disclose when content is generated by artificial intelligence. Doing so builds trust with your target audience. Consider including a brief disclaimer on your website or within the content that states AI tools were used to enhance creativity and efficiency. Here’s an example of how that might look: At Pipefitter’s Dream, we value transparency as part of our commitment to customer service excellence. We want our valued visitors to know we use AI tools to create all or portions of the content they engage with and enjoy on our site.
Embracing the future of AI content creationAI content creation tools aren’t going anywhere, so we may as well learn how to use them responsibly to streamline our workloads. You can learn to harness the full potential of AI while maintaining your integrity by following the suggested AI content creation best practices in this article. Still have questions about the best approach for implementing AI tools into your content creation process? Entrepreneurs and small business owners who want to learn how to create best practices for AI content creation can schedule a 1:1 training session with a member of our team. Contact us today to schedule your lesson. About the Author - Shari BergSuccessful entrepreneurs and small business owners often have a do-it-yourself mindset. They take pride in single-handedly building their businesses from scratch and aren’t afraid of rolling up their sleeves and putting in the hard work to get things done. Combine that go-getter attitude with a creative personality, and it’s no wonder so many of them are interested in handling their brand content marketing assets. Before donning a content creator hat, it’s worth exploring the differences between DIY small business content marketing versus outsourcing the work to a professional content marketer. Both have their merits and drawbacks. Becoming a content creator isn’t for everyone. Using this guide can help you decide whether you’re ready to become a brand content creator in training or if you should leave the work to someone more experienced. DIY Small Business Content Marketing: Empowering the EntrepreneurCarving out your brand’s unique voice in the digital landscape is a thrilling experience that comes with its share of challenges and rewards. It’s empowering to control the direction of your brand’s messaging, adding your unique perspective to every piece of content you create. However, it’s sometimes frustrating when things don’t quite go as planned. Let’s explore the most common pros and cons of DIY small business content marketing to help you decide whether you’re up for the challenge. DIY Small Business Content Marketing AdvantagesPlenty of reasons exist for giving DIY content creation a try that appeals to entrepreneurs. Three of the biggest drivers include:
DIY Small Business Content Marketing DisadvantagesDIY small business content marketing isn’t all sunshine and roses. All it takes is one unhappy customer or social media troll to gaslight your efforts to make you question why you ever agreed to handle content creation yourself. The two biggest downfalls to this approach include:
Outsourcing to a Professional Marketer: Tapping into ExpertiseThe excitement of creating your brand’s content can quickly get overshadowed by the daunting nature of how frequently you must post fresh content to keep your audience engaged. Most marketing professionals recommend posting to social media between 2 and 5 times a week. If your website includes a blog, posting fresh content to it once or twice a week is recommended to boost engagement levels. Posting is the easy part. Strategizing and creating the content is what takes the most time. And sometimes, small business owners simply don’t have it to spare. They may start out strong with the initial excitement of serving as their official brand voice, only to find that task falling by the wayside as their business grows and they become overwhelmed with other responsibilities. Content Outsourcing AdvantagesAddressing the huge time suck of content creation by outsourcing the work to a marketing agency or consultant is one way to alleviate the pressure. It’s also one of the most common reasons why eager do-it-yourselfers eventually offload the responsibility. Besides the time-savings advantage, here are some other reasons why delegating the responsibility to a content pro benefits small business owners:
Content Outsourcing DisadvantagesIt might seem like the pros of outsourcing your content creation outweigh the cons. The truth is that they’re about equal. One of the biggest disadvantages of handing the reins over to someone else is the cost. The average monthly retainer cost for marketing agencies and professional marketing consultants is $3,500. Costs can swing higher or lower depending on your content needs. Some other downsides to outsourcing include:
Striking the right small business content marketing balanceDeciding between DIY small business content marketing and outsourcing can feel like a tug-of-war. It’s important to remember there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to guide your choice. An optimal approach depends on individual factors such as budget, the level of control desired, the need for specialization, and any time constraints. Some businesses might find blending the two strategies works best, while others go all-in with one approach. Ultimately, the key to choosing wisely is to align your chosen approach with your overarching business objectives. About the Author - Shari BergAn effective small business content marketing strategy is an essential tool for growth. Without it, you’re flying blind without a clear destination. Many entrepreneurs and small business owners struggle to effectively convert curious prospects into brand loyalists. Embracing the transformative power of marketing funnels turns stagnant traffic into engaged leads and one-time buyers into repeat customers. Understanding and leveraging the power of content marketing funnels gets your brand in front of your ideal customer to build trust and establish authority in your niche or industry. Constructing a conversion-focused funnel allows you to map out an optimized path that aligns with your marketing objectives. Cracking the marketing funnel code unleashes your brand’s potential. Here’s how. Marketing funnels and their importanceA marketing funnel is a strategy that takes prospects through a series of touchpoints, moving them closer to becoming customers. The funnel method attracts a wide pool of prospects, and then narrows it down to the most qualified leads as they progress through each stage. Think of it like a master fisherman at work. First, they cast a wide net into the open waters, gathering an abundance of fish in their initial haul. But not all the fish match the kind the fisherman’s customers prefer. To sort their catch more efficiently, they feed the fish through a funnel that separates the keepers from the toss-backs. Only the prime, healthy fish that meet their standards move into the live well to go to market. A marketing funnel works the same way. Some content is designed to capture initial attention and traffic. Once you have interest, the next step is to turn that traffic into viable leads with more targeted content that educates, entertains, and solves the problems of your ideal customer. They continue to move through your small business content marketing funnel to become loyal customers, while lower-quality leads are tossed back out into the digital sea. Why marketing funnels are importantMarketing funnels are important for improving conversions and maximizing the ROI for marketing initiatives. They provide extra benefits to entrepreneurs and small businesses by:
Understanding the pitfalls of stagnant trafficStagnant traffic refers to website visitors who enter at the top of the marketing funnel but fail to move through the subsequent stages to become loyal customers. Your small business content marketing funnel is negatively impacted in several ways when traffic becomes stagnant:
Common stages of a small business marketing funnelThe stages of an effective marketing funnel vary depending on your specific business goals. While customization is possible along the journey, most small business content marketing funnels follow a similar underlying structure. Stage 1: AwarenessThe initial phase focuses on introducing your brand to potential customers and getting on their radar. Entrepreneurs and small businesses must prioritize awareness in their content marketing strategies if they hope to survive and thrive. Some of the most useful types of content for awareness include:
Stage 2: ConsiderationAfter prospects have regularly consumed your content, they start considering their options. This is where targeted content comes in handy to help them decide what to do next. Some of the content types that fit nicely with this stage of the funnel include:
Stage 3: DecisionOnce prospects know your brand exists and have explored some of the benefits of your products and services, they’ve reached the critical juncture where they decide to buy from you or shop elsewhere. Here’s where a little creativity goes a long way. Produce content that offers the following:
Stage 4: RetentionYour work is far from over once you convert a casual visitor into a first-time customer. This is where so many entrepreneurs and small businesses fall short in their marketing strategy. In this final stage of the funnel, the focus is on keeping existing customers engaged, satisfied, and loyal to your brand. Ideal content for this phase includes:
3 keys to implementing marketing funnelsWhile the stages and methodology behind marketing funnels provide a solid foundation, executing an effective funnel strategy requires honing in on some key elements. Three core focal points small businesses must concentrate on to put impactful marketing funnels into practice include:
Taking a strategic approach with your small business content marketing strategy centered around moving prospects through the funnel transforms how you acquire and retain customers. Common challenges in funnel implementationCreating and implementing a marketing funnel isn’t without its challenges. Understanding and addressing these roadblocks head-on enhances your ability to seamlessly convert stagnant traffic into valuable leads. Two of the most common obstacles include:
Quality content’s role in traffic activationHigh-quality content plays a pivotal role in activating marketing funnel traffic. It serves as the catalyst for capturing the attention of potential customers, engaging them, and seamlessly guiding them through each stage. Key roles include:
Crafting an irresistible lead magnetNo marketing funnel is complete without an irresistible lead magnet. It serves as an initial point of engagement and plays a pivotal role in shaping the prospect’s journey. Do it well, and a lead magnet kickstarts the customer journey, fosters trust, establishes authority, and sets the stage for successful marketing funnel progression by:
Kick your small business content marketing into high gearA strategic marketing funnel is the fuel that accelerates your small business content marketing efforts toward reaching your business goals. Marketing funnels convert passive traffic to engaged customers. Constructing your funnel with conversion-focused content tailored to each stage of the process empowers you to attract ideal leads. Consistently analyzing your funnel metrics enables you to identify and eliminate weak points that are costing you leads. The power of marketing funnels is yours to harness. About the Author - Shari Berg |
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