How Content Marketing Can Change How You Show Up in Business

What does creating content have to do with confidence? It wasn’t something that I considered when I started my business… I didn’t see a connection between entrepreneurship and issues with my confidence. I would have considered myself a pretty confident person, not really caring what others thought and certainly not taking others views over mine when decision making. Within the first month of business, I can say with complete honesty, that that went out the window… 

Many of us share the same story of leaving the corporate world in exchange for this new way of living, filled with freedom, autonomy and the ability to make all our own decisions in business. It sounds great, right? Don’t get me wrong, it is! However, with that comes responsibility and, for once, perhaps, WE are at the forefront. Being a business owner means there is nowhere to hide. I reminisce here in the hopes that it may bring some comfort to any business owner out there established or new, that feeling unconfident in business is something most of us will experience at some point or another in business. 

So, what is it to be confident? I would describe it as having complete and utter faith in your abilities and capabilities. Not only that, it is to have an unwavering belief in your values, what you stand for and WHY you’re doing what you’re doing. To get to the root of it and figure out these answers, we need to dig deep into ourselves and our business. Having worked with dozens upon dozens of new and existing entrepreneurs, it is clear that there is a correlation between content marketing and showing up with confidence.

Creating a successful content marketing strategy requires a lot more of you than just creating some content. You need to really understand your business, what you offer, who you serve and why you serve them. In this article, I am going to give you the rundown of what content marketing is, the steps you need to take to implement a successful content marketing strategy and the knock-on effect this important work can have on your confidence, the way you’re seen by your audience and even how you show up on discovery calls! 

What is Content Marketing and Why Are We Creating Content? 

Content marketing is the strategic planning and implementation of content in your business. It is purpose-driven, consistent and targeted. Creating content isn’t limited to just Instagram posts. The game is always changing. Content marketing can come in the form of any medium such as infographics, reels, videos, images, text, audio and more. We by no means have to cover them all and it will take a deep knowledge of your ideal clients to understand their habits, what type of content they consume and WHERE they consume it. Below you’ll find some areas to consider when creating your own content marketing strategy, which starts with figuring out that ideal client avatar. 

Your Ideal Clients 

If we try to speak to everyone, we are going to end up speaking to nobody. The most important thing is that you’re speaking to the right people, who resonate with you and your content. That is how a true connection is made. I often see with clients that they are afraid to niche down, that they will end up turning people away, which at the beginning of business seems ludicrous! Niching down in my opinion is the only way you’ll find YOUR people. You don’t need everyone on the planet to like you, resonate with you and need your services. Ask yourself “Who do I want to work with?”. This could be a demographic such as women, or an industry like wellbeing.  

Your Offers 

Now that you have an ideal client in mind, what is it that you’re offering them? Dissect your offers! Think about: 

1. What is included?
2. Who is it for? 
3. What is the transformation? 

Each of your offers should bring your ideal client from one place to another. It should solve a problem that they’re having. Ask yourself the above three questions about each of your offers, make it crystal clear as this will allow you to be more confident talking about them. 

Here is an example:

The Offer

Monthly Blog Writing Package 

What’s included? 

4 x blog posts 

1,000 words each 

Keyword research 

Copyright-free images 

What problem did my ideal client have? 

• Lacked time to write content 
• Lacked skills to write content 
• Didn’t understand what their audience needed 

Transformation 

• More time to spend on other areas of business 
• Had purposeful content to post every month 
• Was confident showing up online 
• Gained trust and credibility with their audience through their content 

What is the most exciting and inspiring part of the above? The transformation, right? This is content GOLD. Tap into the desires of your audience. The only way you can do this correctly is if you dissect your offers. 

Your Brand 

Business confidence as I mentioned above stems from understanding exactly what you value and what your business represents. Your brand is an extension of those values. How do you want your audience to feel when they visit your website or social media account? We always must remember that our brand is not only about what we like, it must attract our ideal clients and be what THEY like, too. Your branding is more than just a logo, consider the following key aspects of branding: 

1. Logos, fonts & colours 
2. Your brand voice 
3. What are your brand values? 
4. Brand personality

Now that you understand what you offer, who you serve and what your business values are, you can start to create content more consistently and impactfully. Plan content in advance and with purpose. I suggest following my 5 Ps to Content Marketing. You can view these steps in another blog I’ve written HERE. 

Creating Content  Benefits 

The benefits of having a successful content marketing plan are plentiful. It really is amazing the knock-on effect planning strategic content can have.

Builds Confidence 

Having the knowledge and understanding of your business and your ideal clients are going to build your confidence with every single piece of content you put out into the world. You’ll no longer be second-guessing yourself and whether your voice is valuable and needed. We cannot expect a prospective client to have confidence and trust in us if we don’t have any in ourselves. Grow this confidence by showing up consistently and with purpose every week. It doesn’t matter if you have two or two thousand followers, if you have an impact on ONE person, you’ll know what you’re doing is worthwhile. 

Builds Authority 

Creating content that is targeted, informative and purposeful is going to allow you to build authority in your industry. You will start to be seen as VALUABLE and the go-to person in your field. 

Builds Trust 

With consistency, comes trust. Your audience is going to start expecting content from you and trust that you’ll deliver. 

Creating Content & Discovery Calls 

I know I am not alone in saying that discovery calls are scary AF. I remember at the beginning of my business, I used to have a script that I would try and follow for every prospective client call. It would have questions and what I would say to different answers, including objections. I’m pretty sure that I used to shake for the first 6 months of my business whenever I would get on a call with someone! I thought this was just because it was all so new to me.

However, what it actually came down to was how unconfident and unsure I was in my business. I hadn’t done any of the work needed to really understand my business, my offers and my ideal clients. If I had, there would be no question I could be asked that I wouldn’t know the answer to! 

Well, do you know what happened when I did the work? Things started to change drastically. So, I started closing more clients not only on Zoom calls but in my DMs. Those prospects not only got the answers to their questions, but they also saw how confident I was in what I did. How completely self-assured I was in what I had to offer. My close rate now when I hop on a call is 90%+ 

I KNOW who I serve, I KNOW what I have to offer and I KNOW my value. If you put in the time to understand your business and show up every day, I promise you can feel that way too.

Want to know more about Content Marketing? The Visibility Mastery Academy is my self-paced nine module content marketing course diving deeper into the topics covered in this blog and LOADS more. If you have any questions about VMA, why not drop me a message on Instagram?