3 Ways Small Niche Businesses Can Breathe New Life into Their Content

Avinash Nair

November 27, 2018

How Small Niche Businesses Can Breathe New Life Into Their Content

The reality of business today is that consumers have more options than they know what to do with. Chances are, there are hundreds – maybe even thousands – of companies offering the same products or services that you are. In many ways, the fact that the buying process is no longer limited to geographic location is responsible for thrusting the importance of content marketing into the spotlight. Branded content is the key differentiator between companies.

Take energy drinks for example. While there are tons of different brands out there, Red Bull stands firmly above the pack. This is largely due to the quality of their content direction. For the better part of the last decade, the style, message, and overall feel of everything they produce is the gold standard of content marketing. Here was one of their most successful videos (over 44 million views):

So, if you are a small niche business, how can you spice up your content game to differentiate yourself from the next brand?

Here are three places to start.

1. Think Outside the Box with Your Copy

When a brand is looking to spruce up their content, examining the copy should be the first step. The voice, tone, and writing style is the foundation of how a company presents itself and shows differentiation. Whether it’s the content on your website, blog posts, native ads, social media, etc., copywriting is the heart and soul of your marketing strategy.

If you look back through the history of advertising/marketing, one of the common threads is that the most recognizable brands had copy unlike anything else in their niche. These days, social media is a huge arena where awesome copy can do wonders to set brands apart.

Many have been able to completely change the perception of their company with clever wording on their social channels. Warby Parker, Arby’s, and Pabst Blue Ribbon are a few that come to mind.

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Human Truth

The key to creating memorable copy is getting to the bottom of the “human truth.” The human truth is the universally accepted reality that determines your brand’s positioning in relation to common motivations.

For example, take a product like shaving razors. The human truth and motivation that drives people to certain brands is that they want a close, comfortable shave – not a patchy one where the razor tugs. This is often times the basis for how razor companies formulate their copy. A great example of a shaving brand thinking outside the box with copy is Dollar Shave Club.

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Once you have a firm understanding of the human truth that relates to your industry, you can start playing around with copy. Choose an angle to take.

Are you going to be funny?
Blunt?
Crude?
Bizarre?

Copy is one of the areas of marketing where you really get to showcase your unique creativity. Always remember: “Fortune favors the bold.”

2. Start a Video Series

Perhaps the biggest and most clear marketing trend we are now seeing is that video content is becoming the norm of the internet. Mark Zuckerberg has gone on record saying that he believes most content we see online in the future will be video.

So, whether you are a small niche business or have a new business idea in the works, planning out a robust video marketing strategy is one of the best things you can do to make a name for yourself. It is a great way to put a face in front of the brand, present your values, and relate to people on a more personal level.

Saddleback Leather is a phenomenal example of how to do an awesome video series. On their YouTube channel, they have an entire collection of videos in which they test the durability of their products. In this one below, the host travels to Africa and has locals throw a sharpened spear at a Saddleback Leather backpack.

Seriously, check out the series! They do all kinds of crazy things to test their products’ durability. It’s awesome!

Now, there are many ways to approach a video series. You can do live Q&As, demonstrations, industry commentary, explainers, myth debunking, you name it. Regardless of how you format the series, the personality of the host is crucial. Keep in mind, they represent a living, breathing aspect of the brand. They need to have a great deal of charisma and relatability.

An awesome video series can be the key to building a loyal following and standing out in the industry. The sky is the limit here!

3. Take a Stance on Relevant Social Issues

More and more these days, we’ve seen the line between social issues and branding get blurred. In fact, the purchasing decisions of many young consumers are influenced by brands that stand for a cause. According to a 2018 study by Edelman, 64% of consumers choose, switch, avoid, or boycott a brand based on its stance on societal issues.

Plain and simple, if small niche businesses want to make waves in the world of content marketing, taking a stand on a relevant issue is one of the best ways to do so. Perhaps the greatest example in recent memory was done by a microbrewery in Florida called Saltwater Brewery.

One of the biggest environmental issues these days is all the trash floating in the oceans. For years, the undisputed poster child of this issue has been the plastic six-pack holder. Surely, you’ve seen images of sea animals stuck in one.

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What Saltwater Brewery did was pure genius. They created an edible, biodegradable six-pack holder and sewed the idea into their content marketing strategy.

The results were amazing! Within five days, the campaign video got over 105 million views and 1.8 million shares on Facebook! Perhaps even more amazing is they invested $0 in media coverage!

This goes to show that supporting a pressing social cause can do wonders to get your name out there.

Can You Take Your Own Stance?

If you choose to go this route with your content, the most important thing is that there are parallels between your brand and the cause. Being as how Saltwater Brewery is near the ocean and their product comes in six packs, it was a match made in heaven.

If there aren’t believable congruencies between you and the cause, it will come off as an inauthentic PR stunt. You need to make it clear you have a devoted interest and a proven stake in the matter. If done correctly, your stand on a social issue can be the key reason why people choose you over similar brands.

The Wrap

The beauty of content marketing is that it gives smaller businesses the opportunity to compete on the same playing field as corporate giants. It’s an arena where an awesome strategy often times trumps a big budget.

As a small niche business, it can be your ticket to the next level. Always remember, in content marketing, you are only limited by your creativity.

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You may also want to read: Content Marketing Tips for your eCommerce Blog

How to Use Visuals in Your Content Marketing Strategy

4 Secrets for an Exceptional B2B Content Marketing Strategy

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