Robert Rose Shares 5 Content Best Practices for Small Business Owners

In the latest installment of our Behind the Sign webinar series, content guru Robert Rose shared how small business owners can build trust with customers by revving up their content game. The marketing coach, consultant, author, and educator left us with a host of takeaways, including some that doubled down on the importance of trust, data, and the need to set yourself apart with your digital content.

Rose emphasized that successful marketing is driven by relationships. Whatever our business size, we need to expand our relationships with customers: 

“When we start thinking about what it is we could do to create a better audience relationship, what are the things that might be the most important?”

In a marketplace inundated with options, your content can thrive if you treat it as an extension of your offerings – a product that sets businesses apart:

“Start thinking about this content thing, whether it's an email newsletter, or a website, or a blog, or a podcast or something that you want to do to create content. I want you to start thinking about it like a product, like as important as your products and services that you already have, that will become your relationships differentiator.”

Small business owners must analyze each touchpoint through three lenses: 

• Trust level: How trustworthy your website, your blog, your emails? When customers first discover your business, what is the level of trust? If you’re asking for their personal information, have you already gained their trust?
• Is it too new? Are your content experiences too cutting edge? In other words, is there a relatability factor for new content ideas that would make sense to introduce to your customers? If your ideas veer into uncharted territory that has nothing to do with your business, you might lose their trust.
• Consistency: How consistent are your content experiences over the course of your mapped customer journey? Does it resonate with the same audience every time? Ensuring it is focused and consistent will increase trust with the audience it’s intended for.

By diagnosing these trust touchpoints – even just your website homepage – can identify areas for improvement and inform more meaningful connections with your audience.

Rose emphasized the need to look at your data to understand customer needs and preferences so you can deliver personalized experiences. By analyzing data effectively, small businesses can tailor their marketing efforts to resonate with their target audience.

“Find those gaps in the experiences that you've created already, find where you need to fill a gap to create deeper, more meaningful trust, whatever that is, whatever your cool, interesting idea might be.”

Best Practices for Small Business Owners:

2. 🗺️ Map your ideas into story packages

Rose advocated for a storytelling approach to content creation. By developing a central narrative and breaking it down into smaller, interconnected content pieces, businesses can create engaging and compelling experiences for their audience.

For example, if you wrote a blog, could that also be a podcast, a social media post, or an email that drives deeper brand engagement?

4. ✍️ Do an audience audit

Understanding your audience is key to crafting effective marketing strategies. Some who discover your digital content might not have any intent to buy from your business. Rose labeled three types of audiences to watch out for: those in the “zone of indifference” (apathetic), “zone of unintended” (fake email, competitors, jobseekers) or “zone of opposition” (online trolls, etc.).

“We're all about creating a customer. And a customer is the one who decides what the business does, for it is the customer who pays and converts and adds wealth to the business.”

With these insights from Robert Rose, small business owners have the opportunity to navigate the complexities of modern marketing with confidence and creativity, unlocking new opportunities for content success. By prioritizing relationships, fostering trust, and leveraging insights informed by data, businesses can create authentic and compelling experiences that resonate with their audience.

Ready to revolutionize your business? Register for upcoming webinars at Behind the Sign of a Better Business and stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing.