What is content marketing, and how can freelancers use content marketing?
You’ve probably heard the term ‘content marketing’ before, but if you’ve never considered using it for marketing your freelance services then you’re missing a trick.
Content marketing: a self-employed person’s introduction
Content marketing is an effective tool for attracting, engaging and retaining potential clients by establishing yourself as a thought-leader who can offer them expertise that they won’t find elsewhere.
Here, exclusively for FreelanceUK, I will explore the benefits of content marketing for self-employed freelancers, writes Emilie Heaney, founder of Start Up Marketer, and I’ll specifically answer -- what is content marketing, and how can freelancers use content marketing?
But spoiler alert -- as a digital marketing consultant myself, running my own self-employed business, you could say that this article itself is an actual example of ‘content marketing’ in practice!
How content marketing is changing for 2023, 2024, and beyond
In the age of information overload, one of the main challenges of content marketing is making your content stand out from the crowd.
Gone are the days when content marketing involved simply writing articles. Now, in 2023 and likely for 2024 too, content marketers are creating a wide range of content to attract and engage prospective customers and get their brands noticed -- on an ever-growing range of platforms.
The upside is that this opens up opportunities for freelancers to create unique content that really showcases your expertise and your skill-set.
If you’re a self-employed animator for example, you can create innovative ‘shorts’ showcasing your animation skills. You could the even find yourself going viral on TikTok or Instagram, meaning you’d reach thousands of potential clients overnight!
16 different types of content marketing
So what are the different types of content marketing?
The real answer to this question is whatever your imagination and expertise will allow you to create!
But here are some of the main types of content marketing, and a few often-overlooked content marketing platforms and ideas to get you started…
Blogs
Social media posts
White papers
Podcasts
Memes and Gifs
Video content
How-to guides
eBooks
Case studies
Newsletters
Webinars
Audio books
Infographics
Education articles
Checklists
Recipes
As you can probably tell, the possibilities are endless!
What is the key to freelancer content marketing?
But the key to content marketing is making the content relevant to your target audience. Ensuring that it is valuable to them will encourage them to engage with the content.
For example, a freelance videographer might choose to create a video that highlights ‘How to avoid the 5 most common mistakes brands make with product videos.’ This video would show the videographer’s potential clients the five most common mistakes and tips on how to avoid them. The self-employed videographer isn’t trying to sell their services here, that comes later.
Instead, the trick is to showcase how your expertise can help them avoid those five common pitfalls and by default, they will start to understand how working with you – or in this case our videographer -- could help them get their next product launch video frame-perfect.
The idea is that prospective clients taking in your content will begin to trust you because you are sharing this valuable information with them while expecting nothing in return (even though the plan is to absolutely get something in return, just later down the line)!
As a result, they will happily engage with more content from you in the future.
Equally, choosing the right channel to distribute your content is vital, so that your target audience has the chance to see it and engage with it.
How to choose the right marketing channel for content?
There are now so many different channels for sharing your content digitally, that it has actually become harder to identify the right channels for distributing your content. The key here is to put yourself in your client’s shoes. Do that by asking three questions:
· Where do they look for help online?
· What channels do they engage with in their working life?
· Where do they spend their free time online?
Depending on your type of content, you may get more engagement if you catch them during downtime rather than when they are in work.
For example, if you’ve developed a hilarious meme or gif to catch their attention, this is likely to be far more effective when they are scrolling through social media on their way home versus when they are doing some quick research ahead of a meeting.
Here are some examples of marketing channels that your potential clients might use to engage with content.
But it’s up to you to match the channel to your target audience and your content…
Your blog
Other relevant websites/blogs
YouTube
Pinterest
TikTok
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Tumblr
Mastodon
Reddit
Audiobook sites such as Audible, iTunes, Spotify.
Email
How to match type of content to channel or platform
Once you have identified the channels that will allow you to reach your target audience, you need to match the type of content to the channel. Some of these marketing channels support certain types of content better than others. For example, infographics work brilliantly on Pinterest, but not so well on Instagram.
Remember, the key is to make your content relevant and valuable to your target clients. If they struggle to read the content because you’ve uploaded it to a channel that is incompatible with your content, it reduces the value and the relevance because it is inconvenient for them to interact with it, and they are unlikely to bother trying.
So -- find the content that works best for your chosen channel and you will have a match made in marketing heaven!
The three stages of content marketing
You’ve now chosen the types of content you will create and you’ve chosen the channels that your audience will be most likely to engage with.
Next, you need to decide which content is relevant at the different stages of the buying process.
As a freelancer, you are selling a service to your clients and they will go through a buying process for that service, in the same way that you go through a buying process every time you purchase something. In simple terms, people go through three stages:
Research
Consideration
Decision
So when you are planning your content marketing strategy, you need to consider which messages are relevant to your target clients at each of these three stages; which channels they are likely to be interacting with at each stage, and which form of content they would be most likely to engage with at each stage.
Research
This is the stage where your target-client has identified a pain point and is searching for a solution. They have a problem to solve, but they might not be sure yet how best to solve it.
Alternatively they might know how to solve it, but they are not sure which product or service to choose to achieve that result. Either way, they are looking for answers, so your content marketing needs to be informative, not sales-focused.
This would be the ideal time to use long-form articles or videos that share your expertise on a subject. Either of those will position you as a thought-leader and provide helpful insight to your target-client. You will offer advice, knowledge and insight -- you will not try to sell them your services.
It’s also a great time to hit them with some memorable memes that will catch their attention when they are scrolling through social media.
These prospective clients are likely to be conducting internet searches, so it will be vital to ensure your content is optimised for search engines.
Identifying and including keywords that you think your target audience will be searching for will help your content show up in their search results.
Consideration
At this stage, your potential client has identified what they need to do to solve their problem, they have done their research and have shortlisted some solutions. They are considering which provider they will choose to deliver that solution.
This is where you hit them with facts and figures to help them make a decision. For example, an infographic showing results of hiring a professional versus taking a ‘DIY’ approach, or a checklist for key things to remember. If you can encourage them to sign-up via email to receive the checklist then even better -- that way you can move them through to the next stage when they make a decision far easier because you can contact them directly!
Decision
This is the first time you will sell your services explicitly. Up until now, you have been using your content marketing to share your knowledge and expertise with your potential clients without openly selling your services. You will have laid the groundwork for your sales pitch by positioning yourself as a trusted expert, so now you just need to spell out the benefits of choosing you.
In the decision-making phase, you can use examples of how you personally have added value to people in their ‘shoes.’ For example, share case studies of previous clients and how you helped them solve similar problems, or upload a report that showcases results from recent projects. Or post for them a miniature portfolio of your recent work.
This content will help close the deal because you have already established trust with the prospective client through the other content marketing you have shared with them. If you bombard potential clients with these messages at phase one, you might turn them off completely. But wait until phase three and they will be ready to sign on the dotted line!
Be realistic with your content marketing strategy
Finally, when designing your content marketing strategy, you need to be realistic. Creating content takes time, lots of time. This content is your digital ‘shop window’ -- it represents your business and needs to be written or created with careful consideration so that it positions your business for success. You will be judged on the strength of your content, so triple-check for grammar and spelling errors. Ensure it looks professional and follows your brand guidelines. Don’t rush it!
Think about how much time you have to dedicate to creating your content marketing. If you have time to write one article each month, then factor this into your content marketing strategy so that it is achievable and not too daunting.
Less is more, and other top tips for content marketing strategy
The main focus here should be in creating great quality content in whatever medium you choose, so sometimes ‘less is more’ and it is better to take your time to create content that truly offers value to your potential clients.
If you know you won’t have time to do your content marketing justice then consider hiring a professional content marketeer to deliver your content for you. A good freelance content-creator will take the time to understand your target audience, your objectives for your content and your key messages. They should also be across ‘tone of voice’ to create content that looks and sounds like it’s been written by you (but potentially even better!). And they will help you get the most potential out of each piece of content and at each stage of the buying process.
Final thought
Now do you see how this article was actually a form of content marketing?! If so, then you’re absolutely ready to get started on your own content marketing strategy. Good luck self-employed freelancers!
The author, Emilie Heaney, is the founder of Start Up Marketeer, a boutique digital marketing agency. Start Up Marketeer specialises in digital marketing for small businesses and freelancers with big ambitions. As freelancers ourselves, we understand the barriers you face and can help you overcome them.
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