There’s no better time to start content marketing than right now, today. From fortune 500 enterprises to pre-revenue startups, a content marketing strategy can engage your target audience immediately to create both brand awareness and an engaged list of potential customers (even if you don’t yet have a product to offer).

This is part 1 of 2 of a response for a request for professional content on the topic of content marketing.

Content Marketing Builds Brand Awareness

Create brand awareness by getting your name and, more importantly, your way of looking at the world out there so people can start to get to know you. And if your way of thinking resonates with them, you know have someone who’s started to like you and trust you. In B2B, your clients will benefit if they see it from your point of view. And so will you, since, if they listen to you and learn from you, you’ll be the only option in town, since you’re the only one who really understands them. And that’s like having monopoly power.

Content Marketing Builds Your Engaged List

Create an engaged list, even when you don’t have anything to sell yet. Startups can’t always create a product before selling it. Sometimes, you need to find out if people are interested before you build it. In fact, many entrepreneurs build landing pages to get emails of people interested in the product before they ever make it. They just keep making landing pages that sell great ideas. When one gets enough interest, they start building. Now imagine doing this for a product you really do have.

The Best Time and Place for Content Marketing

The right content, that provides great value, delivered to the right people at the right time can really make a brand.

1. Content: Fresh enough to add something interesting, maybe even changing their point of view on a topic.
2. Value: Make sure you at least know why you THINK they’d be interested. You’d be surprised how often people make content without thinking about who they’re talking to and why they’d want to buy.
3. The right people: Remember, you’re serving people. You should be convinced in your soul that what you’re selling will in some way make their lives better.
4. The right time: Where and when are people able to think about this message? In B2B, it’s usually at work or even maybe at lunch. So Facebook might not be the best ad medium. But there are even exceptions to that. Just make sure you’re not trying to sell them a business solution when they’re just thinking about how they’re going to arrange for the big family camping trip.

Start Content Strategy from Day 0

Your content strategy expresses your brand and gives info about your product or service. So start from day 0 to use content to define your brand and offerings to your audience and continually grow and refine it to support marketing, sales, customer service, and operations.