Most marketers have probably heard the saying that content is king. And in modern-day marketing, this certainly seems to be the case. Social media platforms have become awash with both short and long-form marketing content, and it’s left many small businesses scrambling to keep up with competitors who are working with superior budgets. Don’t worry if you can’t afford to work with an ecommerce digital marketing agency; throughout this article, we’ll highlight a few budget-friendly ways to level up your content!
Create content in batches
One of the most cost-effective ways to approach content creation is by creating your content in batches before drip-feeding it to your audience. This helps you avoid spending time and money travelling to various locations to shoot content. Instead, dedicate one whole day (or however many days are needed) and capture a few months’ worth of content at once. You can always use lighting, props and photo editing apps to manipulate your environment, which may be needed when creating content for seasonal products. It can also be wise to focus on creating evergreen content, as this can be reshared over time and means your business doesn’t need to constantly create fresh content every month.
Leverage user-generated content
One of the best ways to eliminate the cost of producing content is to have others produce it for you. While this sounds too good to be true, user-generated content refers to content that has been created and distributed by the people who use your audience, and it’s becoming increasingly popular. Product reviews are common on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and you’ll often find that users are more trusting of content that has come from an individual as opposed to a brand.
DIY approach
You might think that levelling up your content requires you to invest in a state-of-the-art camera, hire an expensive photographer or work with a video production agency. In reality, great content can be shot with nothing more than a smartphone. In fact, this type of raw, DIY content lends itself well to platforms like TikTok, where content is often less filtered than on other platforms. While it might not work for getting those all-important product shots, this approach does lend itself well to day-in-the-life style content, where viewers appreciate a less polished and more authentic style.
Jump on trends
If you are worried about competing with competitors in terms of production quality, another way to improve your content is by focusing on the creative behind it. Prioritising trends and being quick to react to trending topics is one way you can attract eyeballs without increasing spend too much. Quite often, larger brands have more decision makers, which means they’re slower to react to trends and have content approved. This provides a great opportunity for smaller brands that can go from idea to reality in a short space of time.
Collaborate with influencers
Influencer marketing has proved to be an extremely lucrative strategy in the past 10 years. While you may not have the budget to work with the world’s most famous names, collaborating with small-scale influencers is a great way to enhance your content. Many smaller influencers will be happy to work with you in return for exposure or free products, but there’s also a strong chance that they’ll be skilled in content creation, which takes some of the workload off your small team. Many small influencers also have more followers than small businesses, so the relationship could also benefit a business in terms of reach and brand awareness. The key lies in working with influencers who are relevant to your target audience.