Smaller Companies Spending More on Content
As freelance writers and copywriters, we read tons of information about how to go after ‘higher quality’ clients — in other words, the client with deeper pockets who has a better grasp of what it means to work within the freelance environment. It’s the Holy Grail, isn’t it? Having access to a wellspring of loyal, Fortune 500 clients who regularly come back for more? And yet so many of us seem to struggle to achieve this goal. It’s the #2 concern of freelance writers, according to my informal February survey.
I know this is nearly a blasphemous thought but…maybe we’re worrying about attracting the wrong companies.
According to the 2010 Content Marketing Spending Survey conducted by Junta42*, and disseminated by HubSpot, the use of content marketing is growing. But not in the way you think.
33% of the total marketing budget among all companies goes to content marketing. This is up by 11% from 2009. (Is the economy recovering, or are companies risking spending more to create greater balance?)
More interestingly, companies with 99 employees or less spent 40% of their marketing budget on content marketing compared with 18% spending for companies with more than 99 employees.
Wait. What? Small companies are spending more than large companies?
Perhaps we copywriters are having a positive effect on the market after all.
Or perhaps smaller businesses are simply catching up and wising up to the fact that content is and always has been king. Engaging, relevant content in the form of website pages, blog posts, social media marketing, case studies, white papers, reports, newsletters…are now required to magnetize, build and preserve customer and prospect relationships. The client can go ahead and bang his head against the marketing wall as much as he likes…in the end, he’s got to have great content. That’s good news for writers! (And also a lesson to those of us struggling to market ourselves. It works both ways.)
Quality content gives birth to new thought leaders, raises online and offline visibility, improves search engine rankings, builds brands and positions products and services in front of the ready-to-buy B2B or B2C consumer. Small businesses no longer need deep pockets to play on the same field with the big boys. They simply need time, patience, a willingness to listen and learn… and stellar talent. (Translation: a wonderful writer like you.)
I say, go get ‘em. What’s your take?
* More than 250 marketing professionals responded to the survey.
8 Responses to “Smaller Companies Spending More on Content”
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Interesting…although I am not sure if it is about smaller companies having significantly smaller budgets on marketing activities…spending 10k per year might mean 50% for small enterprises but 5% for large ones.
However, I do believe that smaller companies have deeper pockets in terms of understanding what it means to work with freelancers. The closer you are to the, ahem, victims, the less brutal you become…
Good point, Isao! Thanks for sharing.
Perhaps smaller companies are recognising that they have to have an edge if they are to compete and stay competitive. Larger companies may have gotten slighly complacent and are perhaps depending on their brand weathering the storm. Smaller companies are doing whatever is necessary to get that extra inch ahead. And having good content is the first step. I work in Central Eastern Europe where many companies cut corners and translate using ‘fluent’ non-native English speakers rather than sticking to the golden rule of using translators who are translating into their mother tongue. You would think that this would lead to a lot more copy-editing…but companies, large and small, still have to ‘get’ the value of adding copy-editing to their publication process. Those that do reap the rewards. It’s a slow battle but one that’s there to be won.
I agree, Mary. It’s like the business world has been turned on its head these days. Whatever was once true is no longer true. Those who can keep up will survive. Translation and dictation are two fields where outsourcing has taken over. Small businesses seem better able to be flexible as needed, which certainly levels the playing field.
I agree with your article, Victoria. I believe that many companies are realizing what has been known for a while – content is king. The more content there is, the higher the site’s ranking. But of course, this can’t be any kind of content. It has to be relevant to the product or whatever the theme of the website is. For instance, if a company sells Sprite on their website, the content they create would either be about soft drinks, Sprite in general, the chemicals found in Sprite, and whatever else relates to the soda.
But of course, when referring to relevancy, the content has to be right, but also the keywords used in that article has to be based on what the web page is about. Google loves relevancy and fresh content. If you do both, you will see your ranking improve dramatically.
You’ve got it Harry! I regularly emphasize the important of keyword analysis prior to writing copy. When one understands how people search, the copy is more highly targeted and therefore gets better results. Relevancy, keywords, and superb writing that brings it all together-it’s the Copywriting Trifecta!
I find myself coming to your blog more and more often to the point where my visits are almost daily now!
Thank you for your support.