Every Business Needs to Create Content & Start Acting Like a Media Company
When most people think about media companies, they think about big name TV stations, magazines, and publishers. At one time, this was a correct association. Media used to be expensive to produce and publish so only big brands and organizations could create it.
But, things have drastically changed.
Thanks to simple, affordable production and publishing platforms, now even individuals can regularly distribute, promote, and create content.
This shift has changed the media landscape and also created a significant opportunity for businesses.
Businesses, both big and small, can now become their own “media companies” and start producing interesting and engaging content that connects with existing and new customers. If you are a business owner and haven’t started thinking about media in this way, you could be missing out a big opportunity.
What Type of Media Can a Business Create?
Before we dive into why business should create media, let’s first explain what we mean when we talk about this type of media.
This media is any type of branded content that a company creates. It may exist online or in print, and it comes in a variety of mediums. It may include:
- Blog posts
- Custom graphics
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Social media posts
- Live streams
- Slideshows
- Ebooks
- Books and workbooks
- Magazines
- Whitepapers
- Photography
Just about every type of content created by a company can be considered branded media, and this marketing strategy is often also called content marketing.
The Benefits of Acting Like a Media Company
When businesses create content and act like media companies, they reap all sorts of rewards and benefits.
Develops on-brand media: When you develop your own media, you don’t have to rely on content assets created by another company. You can ensure that the language, voice, positioning, and messaging of all of your content perfectly matches your brand. And, you can create exactly what you need to connect with your audience.
Builds a library of content to share on social media: Having your own content gives you a library of content to promote on social media. You no longer have to rely on sharing content created by other brands or media companies. You can engage your audience by sharing interesting content that points back and connects to your brand, rather than promoting another company's content.
In the example below, you can see how Hubspot fills their Twitter feed with posts that link back to valuable, interesting content on their website. While they also share posts that link to other sites, they have so much content on their own site that they can regularly direct their followers back to their website.
Helps you stay in front of your target audience: Brands need to regularly stay in front of an audience to both draw in new customers and keep existing customers coming back for more. Producing your own content allows businesses to do just that. By creating interesting and engaging content, brands can get back in front of audiences without constantly pushing promotional, advertising content.
Answers FAQs: How many times do you or your staff repeat the same messages over and over to customers and clients? Instead of spending time repeating information, you can create content that answers frequently asked questions. This content can be passed over to prospects to help them get what they need while alleviating strain on human resources.
Supports your sales efforts: Another way that content can serve your internal team is by becoming a support system for your sales team. You can create media that educates prospects about your products, services, and industry. Your sales team can then send articles and resources to prospects as they attempt to inform them about the benefits and details of your offerings.
On the MyArea Network Solutions page we regularly publish content that provides educational information our audience can benefit from. It’s useful for our readers and also helpful for our sales team who use the articles to educate potential partners on our approach to marketing.
Boosts SEO: Websites that regularly and consistently publish relevant, valuable content can boost their appearance on search pages. Search engines prefer sites with fresh and deep content and therefore give them higher organic rankings on results pages. Higher rankings mean that more audiences will find your brand naturally through search.
Establishes industry authority: When your company has a variety of media resources that offer education about your industry, it also helps position your business as a leader in your field. A library of branded, educational resources builds trust as it helps prospects see that your company is well-informed and has expertise in your industry.
Creates newsletter content. Having a stream of fresh content also supports a strong email marketing strategy. You can stay in touch with your audience by sharing new content your brand creates. This approach makes your audience more interested in receiving messages from you because you deliver more than promotions and ads in your emails.
Attracts new leads. When you create valuable content resources like in-depth e-books, guides, or video series, you can use that content as a lead magnet. A lead magnet is an offer that you provide to audiences in exchange for their email address. This is a type of inbound marketing strategy that uses your content to collect leads from qualified, interested prospects.
Helps turn audiences into brand fans. Another benefit of regularly publishing branded content is that you can use it to continuously tell stories about your brand. As your business grows, changes, or evolves, you can create content that documents your story. This helps audiences see the human side of your business, get to know your brand, and form a deeper connection to who your company is.
Buffer, a social media business, does a great job at using their blog to show an inside look into their business. They regularly publish articles that show how they operate, the changes they make, and the lessons they learn.
How to Think Like a Media Company
Now that you’ve seen the benefits a business can gain from acting like a media company, let’s look at how you can execute a strategy to reap these rewards.
Intimately know your target audience. The most powerful media is content that connects deeply with its audience. The only way to create content like that is to intimately know the people you are trying to reach. So before you begin content creation, start by defining your target audience. Get to know them by detailing their demographics, psychographics, habits, wants, needs, and interests.
Publish content on your website. A business that acts like a media company is both the creator and publisher of their content. Your business website acts at the primary publishing platform. While not all of your content will be exclusively published on your site, all of your content should be curated in some way on your site. If content is published in other places, it should also be referenced on your site so you can promote and benefit from it.
Every business should have a blog section on their website where they can display updates and new and share interesting ideas, tips, and stories related to their industry. For example, Loving Life Therapy is a wellness and therapy center that regularly publishes content that relates wellness for mind, body, and soul as it connects them to their target audience.
Publish content on other websites. Being a media company doesn’t mean that you just share content through your own platforms. You should also branch out and distribute your content to other publishers and websites. By writing and submitting content to other platforms, you cast a wider net with your content and are able to connect with a larger, more diverse group of readers and viewers.
Publish content on other digital platforms. Another place to leverage your company’s media is through digital platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Slideshare. Media sites like this rely on users to provide media for the platform. They also have large audiences that use the site to find new content. So this is a great place to develop your online presence and seed your content in order to connect with even more people.
Don’t do it all on your own. While you should always to strive to be your own media company and create as much as your own content as you can, you can also partner with other media outlets to support your efforts. Partnering with other media platforms so they can write about you and share your stories with their audience is a smart way to support a strong media strategy for your business.
MyArea Network is an example a great platform to use to support your publishing outreach efforts. Businesses with a MyArea Network account are able to create posts and share media with our audience of thousands of users. We also love to help brands get exposure by featuring them in articles and news stories.
Ready to Create Content & Turn Your Business Into a Media Company?
All business owners know that content is helpful in connecting with potential customers and new audiences. That’s why they invest in advertising and marketing campaigns that spread messages using content. Turning a business into a media company takes this one step further.
Instead of relying on promotional content to connect with new audiences, you use educational, interesting, fun, and engaging media to connect with new audiences.
Businesses get the exposure they want, and audiences get the media they love. It’s a win-win for both sides. And, now it’s easier and more affordable than ever to start creating your own branded media. So, why isn’t your business acting like a media company yet?
If you’re ready to take the first step but need a little help along the way, let us know. Our team of marketing experts here at MyArea Network are happy to help you with the tasks of both creating and distributing content to draw more interested audiences to your brand.
