Dear tired entrepreneur,

I know how you feel. You’re burnt out on social media, trying to keep up with the constant changes to algorithms, the endless stream of notifications, and the pressure to constantly produce new content that’s fresh and engaging. You feel like you’re always chasing the next lead, and you wish there was an alternative way to market you business.

But what if I told you there’s a better way? What if I told you there’s a way to reach your target audience without the constant stress and pressure of social media? Guess what, you’re looking at an example right now- this blog post. Which is also a Youtube video.

If you’ve heard of content marketing, but you just aren’t sure about it… here’s what it is.

Content marketing is the practice of creating valuable, informative, and engaging content that’s designed to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. The idea is to provide something of value to your target audience, whether it’s a blog post, a video, a podcast, or an infographic, that they can use to solve a problem or learn something new.

The beauty of content marketing is that it doesn’t require you to be constantly producing new content. Instead, you can focus on creating a library of evergreen content that will continue to attract new visitors and leads long after it’s been published. THAT is what sets it apart from social media.

But aside from the fact that  you’re just plain tired of dancing for likes on IG and TT, here are some reasons why you should consider content marketing:

1. Build trust and authority: By providing your target audience with valuable information, you’re positioning yourself as an expert in your industry. This builds trust and authority, which can lead to more sales and conversions.
2. Better ROI: Unlike social media, content marketing has a longer lifespan. You can create a piece of content once and it will continue to attract new leads for months or even years. This means you’ll get a better return on your investment over time.
3. Targeted audience: With content marketing, you have the ability to target your content to a specific audience. This means you’re more likely to attract the right people who are interested in your products or services.
4. More engaging: Content marketing allows you to create content that’s more engaging than what you can do on social media. You can create longer-form content that’s more in-depth and provides more value to your audience.

So, how do you get started with content marketing? Well, you’re probably already doing the foundation of it when you’re planning out your social media posts. But let’s review, shall we?

1. Define your target audience: Before you start creating content, you need to know who you’re creating it for. Define your target audience, and make sure you’re creating content that’s relevant to their needs and interests, and not just entertaining them with your dance skills.
2. Create a content plan: Develop a content plan that outlines the types of content you’ll create, the topics you’ll cover, and the publishing schedule. I do this in AirTable but used Trello before that. If fancy programs aren’t your thing, a simple Google Doc is your friend.
3. Start creating content: Once you have a plan, start creating content. It doesn’t have to be perfect or glamorous. As long as you provide value you’re good. And if you’re feeling some major creative block or imposter syndrome, I can promise you it gets better with practice. 
4. Promote your content: Tell people what you created through email marketing, social media, and, you guessed it, Pinterest!. But didn’t I say do content marketing instead of social media? Well, not exactly. This gives you content to post TO instagram, so you don’t have to dance to trending audios. See the difference?
5. Remember, content marketing is a long-term strategy (You can see how Pinterest is part of that long term strategy here). It takes time to see results, but because the half life of content marketing is so much longer, you’ll see a better ROI on your time and energy, especially once people start flooding your website and joining your email list while you sleep, and ultimately drive more sales.

I’m currently taking a break from posting on Social media unless I feel like I have the capacity to. It’s been a breath of fresh air and my creative juices have come back. Come do this with me!

Happy Pinning,

Sarah