Content marketing has been a buzzword for some time now, but how relevant is it for retailers and how can small business use it to increase sales? We have compiled a quick guide for retailers

1. Content is more than blogging

Most people think that content marketing is about blogging. However, running a blog on your website is probably the most difficult and time consuming form of content marketing. There are much easier types of content you should start with first like photos, short videos, Facebook and Twitter posts or events.

2. Less resource = more planning

There is a myth going around that you don’t need to plan your marketing if you have little resources available. The direct opposite is true, of course. Before you venture on your content marketing campaign sit down with your team and decide what you want to do, who is doing it and when they’re doing it. Most content marketing efforts fail because of lack of planning or over-ambitious planning, so always ensure that you and your team actually have time and resources to deliver on top of their existing workload.

3. Create a content calendar

Once you have decided what you can commit to, sit down with your team and draw up a content calendar. The calendar should say what content should be posted on what channel at what time. For example, you may decide to post on Facebook at least five times a week. The next step should be to define the type of content you would like to post, eg. two product promotions, one behind-the-scene photo or video, one event related post and one exclusive offer.

4. Use tools

The next step is to schedule these posts. Rather than having to remind yourself each day what to post when, you should use a so-called “third party client”. These are tools that allow you schedule your posts automatically across multiple accounts and channels. The two most popular ones are Hootsuite and Buffer. They are low cost solutions that will make your life easier. The easier it is, the more likely you are to stick to it and succeed.

5. Be consistent

Whatever you decide to do, the most important thing is that you do it consistently and regularly. If you don’t you will never find out if your content marketing strategy is working and the whole project has been a waste of time and effort.

6. Measure your success

No content campaign will deliver sales straight away. It’s a long-term game, which makes it critical that you’re learning how to improve your content marketing along the way. Facebook and Twitter have great analytics as part of their platform and they’re absolutely free. Hootsuite and Buffer will also tell you which content worked best. Make sure that you look at the stats at least once a month and translate your insights into real action points.