Content marketing is so hot right now. No, really, it is.
According to Content Marketing Institute’s recent B2B Content Marketing report, 9 out of 10 B2B marketers are using content marketing, and 45% plan to increase their spending on content marketing over the next 12 months. More marketers are shifting their content creation efforts in-house, but at the same time, producing enough content is their biggest challenge heading into 2013.
SMB Marketers certainly need to focus less on producing more content and turn their attentions towards producing quality content. And, while content marketing is more than just tools and needs a solid strategy to be successful, there are a plethora of tools out there that can make the job of creating content just a little bit easier.
In order to get inspired, here are some awesome blogs to provide some inspiration:
- Convince and Convert | Thoughtful posts on content and social media marketing.
- Search Engine Land | Must-read news about search marketing & search engines.
- Moz Blog | Articles on modern-day SEO and inbound marketing.
- Seth’s Blog | Pithy marketing and business posts from Seth Godin.
- Social Media Examiner | Social media marketing how-tos, research, case studies, and news.
- ProBlogger | Blogging tips applicable for all inbound marketers and content creators.
- Search Engine Watch | Articles on everything related to search engine marketing and optimization.
- Matt Cutts | Gadgets, Google, and SEO.
- Inside Facebook | Articles on Facebook and the Facebook Platform for developers and marketers.
- HubSpot’s Inbound Hub Blog | Articles about all things inbound marketing and sales.
- Harvard Business Review | Business articles and case studies.
- CMO.com | Digital marketing insight for CMOs.
- A List Apart | Articles about the state of the web, design, content, UX, industry, and business.
We can’t stress enough the importance of content marketing in this digital revolution. As a small business you should be an active marketer. Today, your competitors are spending a higher percentage of revenues on marketing than their large enterprise brethren. And, although you may be more leanly staffed, you should consider using a set of tactics and techniques similar to those of their counterparts in large enterprises. Content Marketing is your chance.
If you would like to discuss how you may implement your Content Marketing Strategy, give us a call.