Content Marketing for Startup: The Ultimate Guide

Content marketing is a great way to advertise for both companies that are at early startup stages as well as those that have already been operating on the target market for some time. Are you wondering how to implement it in your firm? Or maybe you have already tried it, but you feel like you are doing something wrong and cannot reach the expected results? We have a guide for you which includes proven tips that will make your content marketing efforts successful.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is the type of advertising that allows you to reach your audience with interesting and helpful content. It is an alternative to traditional marketing. The content marketing strategy enables you to acquire potential customers, and thus increase brand awareness as well as sales. In addition, creating content of high quality significantly helps in building an expert image of the company. Recipients are much more likely to buy products or use services of a brand that provides factual, helpful content because they know that the selected enterprise is run by professionals who know their field well.

Is content marketing only about written content?

Many people think that the content strategy is only about written content. In fact, all blog posts, sponsored articles, posts in LinkedIn groups, or newsletters are a big part of content managers’ work, but there is more. Content marketing for startups also includes activities in social media, podcasts, and ebooks. Therefore, apart from writing content, it is important to prepare photos, infographics, audio, or video.

Content marketing for startup – is it necessary?

Are you wondering whether a content strategy for startups is an important part of marketing? The answer is: yes! Remember that nowadays without online promotion it would be impossible to gather the right number of people interested in buying your products or services. Content marketing is one of the solutions to build a group of loyal consumers relatively quickly. Creating content that is well-thought-out and tailored to the target audience can bring a number of significant benefits for a growing business, such as:

building brand awareness
strengthening the presence of the company on the market
making the brand recognized as an expert in its industry
building relationships with prospective customers
giving opportunities to develop a startup
supporting acquiring new customers
contributing to an increase in sales.

So as you can see, ignoring the role of quality content in a company’s marketing strategy can have a negative impact on its sales and image.

How to create a content marketing strategy?

All activities that are part of content marketing for startups should be very well-planned. Of course, during content creation you can be a bit spontaneous, but the content marketing strategy must be planned, as it is the base of the process. How can you create it?

Set content strategy goals

In order to create content, you need to think about its purpose. Should it educate readers, and as a result, build your position as an expert in the industry? Or maybe it should describe the services so that your customers understand why they need them? It may also be written to increase awareness of the brand you promote. You should accurately define the final role of content in order to create materials which ensure that this process brings real profits. Of course, your content marketing goals should align with your company’s overall business objectives. Failing to establish content strategy goals can cause marketing issues due to ineffective content marketing, lack of direction, and challenges in measuring success and ROI.

Specify the target audience

If you know what your content strategy aims to achieve, it would be a good idea to think about your potential customer. It is important in promotional activities to know the people who could be interested in your business. To illustrate it, let’s reverse the situation. Imagine you are a skateboard salesman, but you communicate in a serious, corporate way. Do you think that your target customers, i.e. skateboarders, will receive the message well, or on the contrary, will not be interested in the product? Most probably you have already reached a conclusion yourself. Yes, unfortunately, it is rather the latter. You need to remember that the language in which your brand communicates should be adjusted to the relevant communities. In order not to make such basic mistakes, you should answer a few questions about your potential clients.

Who are my potential customers?
What are their genders?
Where do they live?
How old are they?
What are their marital statuses?
What are their personal and professional goals?
What frustrates them?
What makes them happy?
What needs do they have?
What financial resources do they have?

Research the competition

A competitive analysis is essential in any business. In the case of early stage startups, it can be sometimes difficult to conduct, especially when dealing with niche topics and markets covered by only a few companies. However, if you want to achieve content marketing success, you must try to find at least a similar business model that works in a similar industry. When it comes to business, learning from others’ mistakes is extremely important and allows you to avoid many errors that could, for example, significantly reduce your financial resources. In addition, a competition analysis allows you to compare your company with other brands at various stages of the business lifecycle, and as a result, enables you to check whether your startup is developing at the right pace or if you are falling behind your competitors.

Gather content ideas relevant to your strategy

Now that you have covered the basics, it is time to do some research and pick relevant topics for your posts, articles, and any other form of content. It is worth starting SEO activities at that time to ensure your content is visible in search engines. As experts say, content marketing for startup and SEO should be implemented simultaneously because organic traffic to a website is just as important as traffic from ads. To make this process easier, you need to compile a list of topics that interest your target audience and match them to the keywords they search for most often. Thanks to this, you will create the first draft of your activities.

Review existing content

If you already have some content written for the needs of your company, e.g., social media posts, product or category descriptions, review them carefully and consider whether they are consistent with the brand communication you have developed. Feel free to remove or archive content that does not embody the current language of your business. Communication consistency is essential if you want to run effective content marketing.

Build a content marketing strategy

Only when you have analyzed the above-mentioned matters, can you move on to building an actual content marketing strategy for a startup. In order to do this, it is necessary to specify:

what distribution channels you will choose for your content strategy (e.g., Instagram, blog, and TikTok, or newsletter, text messages and Facebook)
what type of content you will publish on each of the channels (e.g., whether each new blog post will contain only photos or a lot of substantive text)
how often you want to post
what the final content in each of the distribution channels will be
who will take care of individual tasks (i.e., how many people you already have in the team, and who you still need to hire, or which subcontractor you can outsource activities to)
what marketing budgets you have and how much of them you allocate to content marketing strategy.

Create a project schedule

The last step involves scheduling and assigning specific tasks. In this case, you need to have selected specific topics, sources of distribution, and a described brief for each single task, e.g., for a social media or blog post, and then put it to a content marketing plan.

Prepare a content marketing calendar

One of the useful tools in the content strategy is the so-called editorial calendar. It should contain information such as:

a topic,
a place of publication,
materials needed (e.g., photos, video, audio, etc.),
a person responsible for creating content,
a person who supervises the publication,
additional people who are to provide specific elements (e.g., photos),
deadlines for all tasks
a publication date
field for additional comment.

For example, you can prepare such a calendar using Google Sheets and grant access to it to all people who will create content, so they can introduce changes on an ongoing basis. Thanks to this, you will easily follow the content marketing strategy step by step.

Content marketing efforts – content formats

As we have mentioned, content marketing for startups can be implemented in many different ways. Here are the fifteen most popular ones.

Articles – of various types, e.g., sponsored ones on external websites, blogs or in online magazines. Running a blog with articles on a specific industry is very popular, especially among companies that want to build the image of an expert. Besides, it is also an important aspect of a SEO strategy.
Product and category descriptions – a must-have in every online store, whether you sell services or material goods. Without appropriate, specific descriptions, the customer will not buy what you offer.
Video content – one of the most popular strategies today. Short videos, such as those on TikTok or Reels on Instagram, are now particularly strongly embedded in video marketing trends. You can use them to create epic content that will stay relevant on the Internet for a very long time. Currently, YouTube has lost its leader position in video content marketing, but it is still worth publishing on this platform.
Social media posts – Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and all other social media portals are one of the best ways to communicate with your target audience. That is why it is worth using many distribution channels of this type to boost your reach as much as possible.
Newsletter – a lot of people claim that email marketing is dead. It is not true! Well, email open rates are usually only a few percent, but people who view them are actually recipients who have a real interest in your company, and therefore are potential customers.
Ebooks – currently, due to the fact that electronic publishing is a much cheaper content format than traditional, printed copies, it is more often chosen, especially by companies or online creators. It is good to remember that the e-book is appreciated as quality content by the recipients. So, if you want to encourage them to use your service or purchase a product, it is worth giving them access to it, for example, as a bonus for purchases with a certain amount spent.
Podcasts – recently, it is one of the most popular forms of content, as many people have given up video in favor of audio.
Graphics and photos – many people forget that visual content is just as important as text. Remember to always add photos or images to a social media or blog post. What is more, if you have a product or service that is best shown through images (e.g., you take photos at weddings or product graphics), you can actually skip the text altogether because the photo gallery on the blog is enough to present your portfolio.
Live broadcasts – when you meet your audience in real-time, it helps you build relationships, which impacts the purchasing behavior significantly.
Case studies – particularly often included in a content strategy of companies operating in industries where it is necessary to develop an expert position, e.g., in law firms or marketing agencies.
Interviews – a good way to collaborate with other entrepreneurs, as you introduce someone to your recipients and then, in turn, they recommend your offer to their target audience. You can do this, for example, as blog articles or guest posts on social media. However, you should remember that the interview can also be part of SEO content, so in addition to interesting and substantive insight, it should be preceded by keyword research done by SEO specialists. Thanks to this, you will generate even better results. Keep in mind that you should not submit guest posts too frequently, so as not to overwhelm and bore your audience. Diversification is important.
Animations – an interesting alternative to graphics or photos. If you are looking for content marketing strategies that have some original element, it is a way to go.
Mind maps and infographics – a great solution for businesses that provide difficult quality content, focused around a particular niche, not known to many people. It is worth explaining certain matters on a well-prepared infographic, as it makes people remember information better and come back for more.
Comments – it may come as a surprise, but comments left on other people’s profiles or replies to comments on your posts are an extremely important part of content marketing. Why is that? Because it helps build relationships and make the company more accessible. You should really consider incorporating this method into content marketing strategies.
Marketing one pager – when it comes to startups, presenting the offer in the form of a one-page, graphically and textually polished document is a good idea. It is important to note that it is also an example of content marketing. You can prepare such documents as landing pages or print materials. Would you like to explore this topic more? You can read about one pagers on our blog.

How to create good content aligned with the company’s marketing strategy?

As you can see, there are many possibilities, and we have only presented some of them. However, you must be aware that even the most regularly published content and the most well-thought-out content marketing strategy will not help if content creation is not done properly. What do you have to keep in mind during this process, whether you are writing a short Instagram post or a long industry article? Here are our content marketing tips:

You need to create substantive, engaging content that responds to the needs of users. Even if you create humorous content, you need to reach a specific target group that would understand your jokes. As we all know, humor is very subjective, so it is important to find the type of joke that would work for your audience.
The content should be error-free. Remember that the text must be perfect in terms of style, spelling, as well as language, the photo should be prepared in a size appropriate for the given platform, and the video needs to be recorded in good light, with a great quality lens. The times when high quality content was not that important on the Internet are long gone.
You must have an idea. There is no good content without creativity, regardless of a well-developed marketing strategy. In the modern world, it is worth trying to get creative materials even in such elements as the product description. Think unconventionally and try to come up with something that will surprise the recipient.
Make sure to combine different forms of content, e.g., text with photos and videos. As a result, you will be able to hold the attention of the audience for longer.
You need to publish regularly. If you get your audience used to a content-sharing schedule, stick to it because they will be waiting for your posts at that particular time. When it comes to an effective content marketing strategy, the content should be shared at least as many times as planned in the calendar, and sometimes even more when there are some spontaneous actions.
When you create SEO content, you must not forget that the text should be easy to read and insightful. The content needs to, above all, exhaust the topic and stay in line with the recipient’s search intent.

Which distribution channels are the best to use?

Now that you know how to create content that will attract your audience, it is time to discuss places where you can share it. We have already mentioned a few options, but let’s take a look at a more exhaustive list.

Blog/knowledge base

A blog is the foundation when it comes to content marketing for startups. Why is it so important? It is a place on the web that helps to build the image of your company and which belongs only to you. You decide when and what appears on it. It depends on your company’s marketing strategy whether you would include, for example, product placements. If someday the owners of popular social networking sites decide to shut them down, your customers will still know where to find you because they will be familiar with your website. However, you should remember about a few rules when you create such a place on the Internet:

Make sure to update your content with new information, trends, or legal regulations. The vast majority of recipients cannot stand it when the content provided does not comply with the current state of knowledge.
Optimize texts for SEO because it will make your website visible in search engines, and as a result, you will gain organic traffic that is not generated by paid advertisements.
Always reply to comments if you do not have this feature blocked.
Create high quality content that truly meets your customers’ needs.
Always use internal linking.

Social media platforms

Many people are afraid that they will need to use all available social media to take care of content marketing for startups. Currently, there are plenty of such websites: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, BeReal and a few more. How to master it all? You do not have to! Remember that an effective content marketing strategy should not be based on all available options. Of course, it is crucial to use different social media platforms, but you only need to pick a few of them. Most importantly, you need to use channels that best suit your brand’s communication and where your target group spends the most time. For example, if you publish articles for the younger audience, you must be on TikTok. An older audience, in turn, feels much better on Instagram or YouTube.

Paid advertising, such as Facebook Ads or Google Ads

If you want to advertise online to generate more traffic, apart from SEO efforts, you need to prepare content that will encourage recipients to click on the link and check out your offer. This type of content should be specific as well as eye-catching, and needs to contain a compelling call to action. It is worth involving the sales team for the process, as they can provide many tips when it comes to message building. Salespeople should also be a part of the marketing strategy because they know a lot about customers.

Email marketing

It is a good practice to gather a database of email addresses and send a newsletter to your customers, as it can help you in various situations. For example, if you lose access to your social media accounts, you will be able to inform your recipients about it. It is also a way to sell, even though many people do not consider it a distribution channel that can bring attractive profits. In our opinion, from time to time, it is worth planning a content marketing campaign carried out by mailing.

Content management is the key

We need to mention that in content marketing for startups you do not only release various types of content on many distribution channels, but you also take care of them. You can record InstaStories, post YouTube videos or add blog posts every day. However, they will not attract and bring profits if you do not interact with your viewers. Replying to messages as well as comments, reposting mentions, and initiating discussions is extremely important in order to build a relationship and loyalty among consumers. Remember that a brand’s presence is the absolute foundation of any online promotion.

A systematic analysis of results will guarantee your success

The final most important issue regarding the startup’s content marketing is an essential analysis of key performance indicators of activities. There is no way that each of your ideas will be a hit and immediately captivate your target group. It is natural that mistakes happen. However, you need to analyze your marketing campaigns to know which activities are effective and which need to be rearranged or completely eliminated. For example, it may turn out that even though your target audience are people over 30 years old, uploaded TikToks will gain their attention more than posts on Instagram. That is why you should not stick rigidly to what marketing experts say, and rather follow the voice of your audience. Each business is different. It can take weeks, and often even many months, to determine the perfect marketing campaign. Yet this requires statistical data and a regular analysis of consumer behavior that will show you realistic expectations.

Summary

Now you know how to create high quality content, what distribution channels to use and what to look for when planning your activities. We are certain that with this knowledge, you will create a successful content marketing strategy. If you want to know more about marketing for startups, visit our blog, where you will find articles about website content creation or marketing integrations. We can also help you create your own website or migrate to WordPress to make it easier to use. Contact us if you need such support.