You need content in your business, plain and simple. And while I’m a writer and love to create written content for my audience, you don’t really need to be solely writing.
Think about how you work best, and what kind of content your audience loves to consume. Do they love podcasts? Or are they magazine junkies, devouring the in-hand works like Belong and Holl and Lane? Maybe they spend all their business development time on YouTube.
And, perhaps just as important, how do you like to deliver content? After all, you don’t want to commit to a weekly blog post if you hate to write. Or regular YouTube videos if the thought of getting in front of the camera gives you the sweats.
There are endless possibilities for pushing content out to your audience—and you don’t have to only blog (of course I love a good blog, but I might be biased).
If you’re not creating content for your audience, you’re really missing out. Let me tell you why.
[bctt tweet=”If you’re not creating content for your business, you’re missing out.” username=””]
Prospects might think you’re no longer in business.
Good, current content makes you more relevant to your audience and to current best practices. If the last blog you posted or the last video you promoted is from 2016, you’ve missed the boat somewhere. Best practices change and new technologies pop up every hot minute. If you’re not letting your audience know about it, why should they bother following along on your journey?
You risk losing prospects to someone else in your industry.
Putting content out there helps to set you up as an expert in your industry. You get to showcase what you know and “wow” your audience. If you’re not showing up as the expert in your industry, someone else is. And that means that your prospects may choose that “someone else” over you when they’re ready to buy.
You’re not learning.
I don’t know about you, but I feel like every time I write something or create some piece of content I learn something new. Maybe it’s a better way to format the content or maybe it’s a new tidbit of information within my industry. Sometimes it’s all about learning about myself. Either way, I always get something out of it. And if I’m not creating content, then I feel stagnant in my life and my business.
Your audience isn’t learning.
Content is meant to educate our audiences so they can make informed decisions—about your services or about a problem they have. If you’re not creating content that helps your audience, they’re not learning. Or they’re learning from someone else in your industry. You want them to be the first person they turn to for solutions—not someone else.
You’re leaving your personality out of your business.
Having a website is a great first step in adding a face to your business. But that’s where it ends: a face. Content that you puts out into the world on a regular basis is the personality behind that face. It’s an opportunity to really talk to your audience, whether it’s on video, in an email, on a blog or somewhere else. A website can get stale quickly, but regular content is timely and offers the information in a format that just begs for your sassiness and hustle.
[bctt tweet=”Your website is the face of your biz. Your content is the heart and soul.” username=””]
You have nothing to share on social media.
It’s important to be active where your audience spends their time, and that’s often on social media. While curating content from others is a good way to go, you also need to share some of your own content. Make your profile the place people go to gather information about your industry. Your latest video or blog post are also perfect for sharing when someone has a question in Facebook groups. Just make sure to check the group’s rules first so you’re not breaking any.
Content is so vitally important to your business’s success. Not every piece you publish is going to hit the mark with your audience, but you have a better chance of standing out if you have something to share.
What’s your favorite way to share content? Emails? Blogs? Video? Podcasts? Tell me in the comments!
