What Most Small Businesses Get Wrong About Content Marketing (And How to Fix It)

One of the top mistakes we see business owners make when it comes to content marketing is confusing volume for strategy.

Making sure your content calendar is full of posts may feel like a huge accomplishment, but publishing alone is unlikely to create the kind of results you want.

Results like bringing in more leads and closing more sales.

The secret is making sure the content you’re publishing actually connects to your audience and to your revenue. A great place to start is with structure, like defining your content pillars.

But the real magic happens when you use those pillars intentionally.

Let’s take a look at how to do that by creating a solid content marketing strategy.

From Content Pillars to Content Strategy

In Part 1 of this series, we talked about how content pillars turn “What should I post?” into “Which pillar are we reinforcing?”

That shift already changes everything.

When every piece of content maps back to a defined pillar:

➞ Your messaging becomes consistent
➞ Your authority compounds
➞ Your audience begins to recognize you as the go-to expert for the problem you solve

Content pillars, used within a content calendar, are how you organize your messaging to ensure that what you’re posting is reinforcing your brand positioning to its audience.

A content strategy isn’t just about what you publish, but rather what you become known for in the marketplace. So, let’s make sure it’s the right thing, ok?

Step 1: Decide What Each Pillar Is Responsible For

Each content pillar is created to serve a different purpose.

Some build trust, while others demonstrate your expertise or help you book more sales conversations.

Start by defining what role each of your content pillars is going to play in your business.

Ask:

➞ Which pillar helps new people find me?
➞ Which shows me as an expert in my field?
➞ Which one(s) tie to the services I want to promote?
➞ Which moves someone closer to booking a discovery call with me?

Defining the specific job of each pillar is the first step to sharpening your content marketing strategy.

Step 2: Build a Flexible (But Intentional) Publishing Plan

Anyone who has ever been a small business owner knows that flexibility is absolutely essential when you’re juggling a hundred different things at any given moment.

That’s why a content marketing system that is rigid is one that’s destined to leave you feeling worse than if you had no plan at all.

Instead of assigning one pillar to each week in a strict cycle, zoom out and look at your month or quarter as a whole to ask:

➞ Are we reinforcing all of our pillars consistently?
➞ Are we leaning too heavily on one topic because it feels easy?
➞ Are we ignoring a pillar that drives sales simply because it’s not our favorite?

Rather than aiming for equal distribution, you’re looking for intentional distribution.

If you’re in the middle of a seasonal push or gearing up for a big launch, it might make sense to go heavier on one or more pillars that support those seasons of your business.

During more typical months or quarters, your trusty content calendar (because you hired us to help you create a great one, right? 😉) can help you spot any imbalance or underuse among your content pillars.

Step 3: Create Content To Support Sales (Not Just Engagement)

Creating content with potential likes, comments, and shares in mind over all else is where so many small businesses get stuck. Remember: followers do NOT equal sales.

Sure, creating strictly educational content for your audience without asking for anything in return is important and does a lot to build trust and authority.

But one crucial element so many small business owners miss is connecting content back to the problem you can actually help your audience solve.

Develop a list of a few key questions to ask yourself to make sure you stay on track when you’re drafting content.

These can include:

➞ What problem does this relate to?
➞ What service or offer solves that problem?
➞ Have I made that connection clear?

Entertaining people can be great for the algorithm, but for your content marketing strategy to be successful, it should be warming people up to the idea of working with you, too.

Step 4: Track What’s Reinforcing Authority

A real strategy is one that also pays attention. That means taking the time at the end of every month or quarter (whatever frequency makes sense for your business) to pull and review analytics. (Note: we did this at both times to get a close & 30k-foot view.)

You don’t have to track every number, but keeping track of key data points can really help you see improvements and weak spots over time.

Pulling the numbers is one thing, but recognizing patterns is another. Take time to review:

➞ Which pillar did we reinforce most?
➞ Which topics sparked meaningful engagement?
➞ Which content led to inquiries or conversations?

Answering these questions will help you identify which pillars resonated with your audience, so you can double-down on them.

Strategy Creates Momentum

Creating a solid content marketing strategy is one of those “slow down to speed up” things that can feel so tempting to skip over when you’re already running in a dozen different directions.

But taking the time to create direction and structure is a HUGE favor you can do for future you.

Not only will it make planning your content calendar easier, it will also make each piece of content you publish work harder to help you generate more leads and close more sales.

If you simply don’t know how you’ll ever be able to carve out the time to create a content marketing strategy, it’s a good thing you already know an expert who can help 😉

There is nothing we love more than helping small businesses get strategic with their marketing. Book a discovery call today.