Once upon a time, not that long ago, new businesses and start-ups would find it hard to compete and stand out in a crowd of big corporations. Fast forward to the age of social media and the boom of the internet, and things have changed where all businesses can compete on all levels, including content marketing.

The goal for most businesses, regardless of size, is to use great content to attract qualified customers, however while people may think it is easy to put content out, achieving the best results through content creation and promotion is the hard part!

In a nutshell, content marketing is a marketing approach that involves creating and sharing content, whether through a blog, social media or FAQs on a business website. The goal is the attract individuals, convert them into customers and then into repeat buyers. So basically, it is content you use to inform and engage with people so they know, like and trust you enough to buy from you.

Great content can mean wonders for your business and you don’t need a big budget to produce good content. Below are a few tips on how to produce great content.

1. Make a personal connection

Storytelling is an important part of content marketing as it helps build an emotional connection between the business and the reader, and help your brand stand out. So, what is your story and how can you use it to increase brand awareness?

2. Be creative

Think outside the box. There are other ways to produce great content, from producing a video, having an infographic or even a fun style quiz. You don’t need to be Scorsese or Da Vinci to produce a great bit of content but having a sense of humour and going a bit out of your comfort zone could be a great way at capturing new audiences.

3. Take advantage of media outlets

Do you have a great case study to share or a customer review to shout about? Picking the right one and sharing it with the media, or even vice versa – if the media has picked up on a story about your company, is another way to help increase brand awareness to a wider audience and can help instil trust from potential customers. Always keep an eye out of what is being said about your company in the media and don’t be afraid to work with them.

4. Become an information hub

If you want to keep things simple you can always produce great, informational articles. Though we live in a world where quick and fun videos stand out and become viral, people will always look for information on everything and anything. Think about the industry you work in and how you can help the people looking to be in it. How can you help your customers further? You could be a travel company and offer great travel tips, or a luxury retailer and offer advice on what products holds its value. Make sure to be relevant to your audience and they will see you has a reliable brand.

Though a lot of this can sound daunting and time-consuming, don’t be afraid to try content marketing. The best content marketing campaigns always include a mixture of the above methods and there are millions of examples online to get inspired by – Buzzfeed for example create content for many brands through advertising. Just remember to keep your audience in mind and go forth and create!