Content. It’s something you hear every day when you’re in business. You know it’s important but it can take a lot of resources in terms of both time and money. If you’re a small business or working with a limited budget, then it can be tough to make your content work hard for you. 

Follow these tips on how to create effective content on a budget. 

Use free tools to research keywords

How do you figure out what your target market wants? A great place to start is to find out what they’re looking for online. For example, a company such as Pastel, which is involved in the crypto market, could find that their target marketing is using terms such as learn how to use Metamask or which currency should I be investing in? 

The best way to find out which keywords to use is to use some of the great free tools out there. Try using Google keyword planner and sites like Answer the Public. 

Many of the premium SEO platforms also have free trials or freemium versions that you can take advantage of. 

Create a content calendar

It can feel overwhelming to be constantly trying to think about creating new content. A great way to prevent this is to create a content calendar for the year. You can map out your key dates well in advance and think of content you can create to go with them. Your calendar can include important dates for your particular sector, special days, holidays, and your own sales and service priorities. 

There are a lot of key data resources online that you can use to help you flesh out the calendar. 

Repurpose your content

Making your content work hard for you is vital. For example, if you write a blog post you could also create a number of social media posts, infographics, a press release, or podcast. 

Track your content

Creating content is one thing, but then what do you do? How do you know which topics are working well for you and which aren’t being seen? Use tools to track visits and engagement such as Google Analytics and the reporting tools on your social media platforms. These will help you to focus your strategy and create content that people want to see. 

Piggyback on current news stories

Great content marketers know how to plan in advance as well as jump on an opportunity that presents itself out of the blue. For example, if a news story pops up in your sector, getting content out fast can give you a huge advantage. This could be a social media post, blog, or even a live video.  The sudden peak in interest can push a lot of traffic to your site. 

Conclusion

A good content marketing strategy will focus on quality over quantity. Even if you don’t have a huge budget to work with, it’s still possible to create great content that speaks to your target audience and helps you to achieve your commercial goals.