Maximizing Success with the Content Marketing Pyramid: A Guide for Small Business Owners

As a small business owner, you might face some challenges because of your company’s size. But content marketing can level the playing field, giving you the opportunity to grow without having to worry about funding.

Content marketing is a long-term solution that can help you gain market share and boost sales by establishing your brand and building a loyal customer base. It’s easy to get wrapped up in your business needs, but it’s crucial to understand that customer expectations have changed. Phrases like “good price, great value” no longer work. Customers now seek satisfaction from their purchases, and content marketing provides just that.

But how much content is enough? And what guidelines should you follow?

A great way to manage your content is using Curata’s Content Marketing Pyramid. This strategic framework helps you run your content marketing campaign efficiently. It not only optimizes your content’s audience, reuse, and consumption but also aligns with your company’s objectives. This structured approach ensures you produce high-quality content consistently and on time, leading to increased sales.

The content pyramid acts as your content manager, organizing and centralizing all marketing efforts to prevent content duplication. The average consumer reads around 11.4 pieces of content before making a purchase decision, and the pyramid maximizes your content’s reach by adapting it for various formats and platforms.

At the base of the pyramid is promotional micro-content, which works to create buzz and awareness. In the middle are derivative assets like blog posts, slide shares, and infographics that can take various forms. At the top is core content, your most valuable asset, like books, guides, white papers, and eBooks. This content helps build trust with potential customers, increasing their loyalty and, consequently, your sales.

Promotional micro-content aims to spark conversations on platforms like social media. Engaging with your audience shows them they are a valued part of your company. Networking through guest blogging on other forums also promotes your content, attracting new audiences to your website, some of whom will turn into customers.

To implement the content marketing pyramid, first appoint a leader responsible for developing the strategy. Curata estimates that only 42% of companies have a content marketing lead. Choose someone wisely, and ensure you gather input from key departments to refine your strategy.

Set small, achievable tasks to make the strategy manageable. The pyramid breaks down the strategy into four parts: strategy, distribution, production, and analytics, further divided into smaller tasks that can be delegated to the most suitable team members.

The pyramid optimizes your content for maximum results, tracking it through a scoring system. Core content gets the highest points while promotional content gets fewer.

Small business employees often waste 23% of their time on manual work, so investing in resources like the content pyramid can save time and yield substantial rewards. A solid content marketing strategy will pay off in the long run by continuously generating traffic and leads, providing a significant return on investment.

Think of your content as a wheel and your content marketing strategy as the push that keeps it moving forward. A sound strategy ensures the wheel turns smoothly and consistently, driving continuous traffic and activity in marketing and sales.