Many startups and growing businesses overlook the importance of content, because they are focused on other matters. But content is essential to communicating your product, and reducing the cost of servicing your customers. Content strategy will help you make the most of your content. It is "the practice of planning for the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content" (Kristina Halvorson). It can stop you worrying that you don't have the 'right' content or 'enough' content. Done well, content strategy drives traffic to your website and makes you money through improved branding, social engagement, usability and SEO. In this presentation, I'll offer a quick overview of how startups and SMEs can create useful, usable content without breaking the bank.

1. Content Strategy
for startups and SMEs
by Hannah Adcock
contentedstrategy.com

2. Companies often overlook
the importance of content
They are focused on other matters…

3. But content is essential

4. It can communicate your product
It can reduce the cost of servicing
your customers

5. text goes here
It can also help you
to grow faster

6. – Kristina Halvorson, Content Strategy for the Web
“High quality web content that's useful, usable,
and enjoyable is one of the greatest competitive
advantages you can create for yourself online.”

7. However, high quality web
content can be expensive
With limited time and resources you need to create
content that appeals to your customers

8. What you need is
lean content
What you
need
is lean
content

9. If you've already read The Lean Startup
by Eric Ries, you'll probably be familiar
with this approach.

10. The lean approach is about learning what your
customers really want, testing your vision
continuously, adapting and adjusting.

12. How does this work?

13. 1. Test content ideas before
creating content

14. Run short Google or Facebook advertising
campaigns and see what makes people click
through
See which tweets and posts on social media get the
most traction

15. 2. Work out who you are writing
for

16. Conduct user research to find out more about your
customers, including surveys, interviews and
checking your support queue
Draw up user personas based on your research,
and always target content at specific personas

17. 3. Make sure
people can read
your content

18. Make sure your content looks good on all viewports
rather than brilliant on one and terrible on the others.
A recent report on mobile behaviour found that 91%
of customers say access to content any way they
want is important.

19. a/b test different layouts to see whether one works
better than another
If you're on a tight budget, try the five second tests
run by Usability Hub. By taking part in the tests
yourself, you can earn credit towards running your
own tests.

20. 4. Repackage
existing content

21. Consider repackaging existing content into another
format, for example a blog post into a slide show
Consider curating user content, although make sure
you set the tone and edit material if necessary

22. 5. Make the most of
evergreen content

23. Evergreen content can be a good investment
because you can keep using it to attract customers
Consider updating content that feels dated to give it
a new lease of life

24. Make your content work harder
So you don’t have to

25. See my free content strategy guide for
startups and SMEs for more content tips
http://contentedstrategy.com/content_str
ategy_for_startups

26. social media collage: https://flic.kr/p/7zffoz
lean startup: https://flic.kr/p/bfHE3V
parcels: https://flic.kr/p/4TCYga
evergreen: https://flic.kr/p/ox43Zi
collage of people’s faces: https://flic.kr/p/9ajNeA
iphone:https://flic.kr/p/bzmdS4
sunflower: https://flic.kr/p/zyB7Y
Image credits

27. Turn your content into a competitive advantage
contentedstrategy.com