Have you ever spent hours making a post for instagram, only for it to get 11 likes and a single comment from your mum? I’ve been there. I’m not really a ‘social media girlie’ in my personal life, so social media for business used to feel like an uphill battle for me, and one that I was fighting everyday. Heck, I even got so overwhelmed with the whole situation that I just ghosted social media for 8 months. Whether it was the imposter syndrome or my inner perfectionist coming out, I’ll never know. Fast-forward to today, I’ve started to meet other incredible freelancers online and build a community, and am learning to love the marketing journey.

I’ve moved from an Instagram-first approach, to providing valuable information about branding and web design to my target audience.

Even though I haven’t got it all figured out just yet, I know other small business owners have been in the same place as me. If you are ready to make a few changes to help market your products and services online, and want to have fun doing it too, you’ve come to the right place.

Why content marketing is a phrase that all small business owners should know

Content marketing is not just jargon; it's an approach to marketing that I like to think of as having a friendly chat with your audience. You share insightful articles, fun videos, engaging podcasts, and more. It's about showing off your expertise, getting your brand out there, and ensuring that when it's time to buy what you offer, your business is the first one your dream customer thinks of.

With a content marketing approach, I feel like I’m finally getting comfortable showing my expertise, and slowly learning to love social media too. I discovered that I really enjoy writing blogs and social media captions (ie, word-vomiting my thoughts and feelings into Google Docs). But most of all, I am genuinely enjoying creating helpful, valuable content for my audience. Without further ado, let’s dive in to some of the tips that I can share from my learnings so far.

Content marketing is sharing valuable, free content with your audience, building trust and showcasing your expertise.

(If you hadn’t noticed, I’m attempting to do it right now…)

Lesson 1: Done is better than perfect

I’ve learnt the hard way that spending 6 hours creating a single instagram post is not an effective use of time as a small business owner. Changing your mindset to ‘done’ instead of ‘perfect’ is not an overnight fix, but moving away from the perfect post, the perfect feed, the perfect sentence, is a great place to start enjoying the ride of marketing your small business. It will never be perfect, and whatever you make will also never be everyone’s cup of tea - that’s okay! What is important is getting your business out into the world and getting content out there.

Lesson 2: Get critical about your marketing process - is something holding you back?

For me, it was my insta feed - this was a major pain point in my perfectionism. I would spend hours twiddling away in my illustrator mockup that I’d made, worrying about what my feed would look like. I knew that I was taking too much time out of my day on something that only really matters to new followers, not my audience that I am trying to nurture, so I deleted it! I’m still conscious of what my instagram grid looks like, but now I plan my content first, visuals later.

Take a long, hard look at your process, and identify parts that are taking longer than they should, or just make you feel uncomfortable. This could be getting hung up on what to post and when (hint: just post at a time that suits you), or not liking the visuals that you are creating (use a template). If there’s a part of the marketing process that you really struggle with, brainstorm ways to overcome it, and remember that there’s not just one way to achieve your marketing goals.

Lesson 3: Don’t look to your competitors for inspiration

This is for a couple of reasons, first is your specific audience. Your audience and your competitors’ audience probably want different information or inspiration from you. Keeping your dream customer top of mind when planning your marketing is so important - you are here to serve your customers, not keep up with industry trends. You can use chatGPT to generate potential pain points for your customers, or brainstorm with pen and paper, but whatever you do, don’t include looking at your competitor’s content as part of your planning process.

Second is the green-eyed monster (side note: anyone else feel super childish about getting jealous?) While I love seeing beautiful, functional design out there, sometimes I would start to feel bad about my own work. The answer - mute whoever is giving you negative thoughts and feelings when you see what they are up to. Not as petty as it sounds, I do still go and look at what my competitors are up to sometimes, and if there’s someone in the community that you have a genuine connection with and you hype each other up, obviously keep them around. The difference now is that I’m consuming my competitors’ content consciously, rather than when I’m logging in to instagram to reply to some DMs.

Pro-tip for small business owners:

Mute your competitors on social media channels - it’s not petty, it’s for your own good.

Lesson 4: The process of holistic content marketing

Spoiler alert - it’s not all about instagram.

When you have done some research into your target market, you can map out which marketing channels will be the best places to spend your precious time.

Make a marketing plan that covers all of the channels, including at least one long-form like vlogs, blogs, e-books, or case-studies. For me, my focus is blogs, case studies from client work, instagram, email marketing, and pinterest.

I start by looking at my dream customer and what problems they are facing, or maybe I have a question that I’ve received from a client in the real world. From here I can use my knowledge to make some long-form content that I will add to my website. This means that my website - where my audience eventually enquires and converts - is getting the benefits of my marketing efforts too. If you have a product-based business or ecommerce store, your version of this might be video guides about how products work or are made, or it might be a blog post about how to style a piece of clothing or hang your artwork.

From here, it is also much easier to repurpose and cut down into short-form content (for example, email marketing, carousels, reels) and visual content (pinterest). There are so many little bits and pieces of information that you can pull from your long form that you would not have thought of if you had started the other way around. Even if you don’t think you’re a good writer, start jotting those thoughts down and give it a go (remembering that done is better than perfect!)

Lesson 5: Templates templates templates

Before you ask… yes I am still a designer and will make my visual posts in illustrator if I feel the need. But having some social media templates ready, to pop in text for educational content, reviews, or screenshots, is proving so useful already! It means I can make posts when I’m on a train, or when I just need a break from my laptop and want to sit with my coffee on the couch and pump out some tips and tricks, or a reel. You can also make the most of email marketing templates created in Mailchimp, Mailerlite, or your chosen email marketing provider. Less decisions is always a win in my book, so I can spend less time getting nitpicky, and more time brainstorming and creating.

Lesson 6: Try things out to see what you enjoy

It can feel like everyone in your industry is making an e-book, or doing a ‘behind the scenes tour’ of their office or workshop. Not every possible form of content marketing will be up your alley, or align with your business goals. Don’t jump on the bandwagon for the sake of it, but do try your hand and see what fits - you might be surprised. Stick with it for at least 3 months before changing things up, so that you build trust with your audience and clarity around your brand. Remember that the best form of marketing for your small business is one that you can do consistently.

The takeaway:

Prioritise 'done' over 'perfect' for more efficient content creation, and more fun with your marketing strategy.
Streamline processes by focusing on planning original content before creating the visuals.
Don’t look to competitors, look to your audience and dream customer.
Embrace holistic content marketing over social media marketing.
Use templates for time-saving and messaging consistency.
Experiment with content forms that resonate with your business goals, and what you genuinely enjoy creating.

This transition has not only helped me enjoy social media, but has also allowed me to create valuable, authentic content for my audience. In my books, it’s all about embracing the journey (including the ups, downs, and in-betweens) of marketing a small business, and finding what genuinely works for you.

How I changed my marketing mindset

I’ve moved from an Instagram-first approach, to providing valuable information about branding and web design to my target audience.