Entrepreneurs: Why Do You Need a Content Strategy?

In the last piece, What is Content Strategy for Entrepreneurs?, I established that creating a business relies on making connections. As an entrepreneur, that connection will happen around content.

Do you think you can get by without making connections? You cannot just produce a product in a vacuum, emerge with it in finished form, and then start promoting it. The world is no longer that simple. Customers interact with brands in a completely different way, and they expect to feel involved. “Build it and they will come” is a myth. We all love the story of the brilliant entrepreneur who conceives and develops an idea—by himself—and then, against all odds, takes over the world. It looks easy.

It’s not easy. Growing a business is difficult. But the rules have changed, and they are in your favor now.

You have the means to connect directly with your potential customers now. You can reach them as you build your business, to help validate the product you’re building. You can reach them early, and make them feel like they are a part of the process—as if they are a part of the company.

So let’s get to the point. Why do you need a content strategy as an entrepreneur?

• Frame your story. A story is more than just a sales pitch. It’s the core of who you are. It needs to be authentic and believable. After all, people are buying a story from you, not a product or service. How do you help them change their own narrative?
• Build the foundation of your brand. Branding starts early. Too many entrepreneurs are head-down, focused on building the core of the business. That’s a good instinct, and I don’t want to undervalue the importance of that ethic. But what happens when you emerge with a product—ready to present it to the world—and no one’s listening?
• Build your credibility. People will trust your company if they trust you. That’s not going to come from reading your LinkedIn profile—it’s a story, but you need to do better than to offer a self-reported version of yourself. The time to start is now, not when your product is complete.
• Make direct connections. Social connections are an important part of your overall content strategy and customer development strategy. If people want to feel involved, let them.
• Help others tell your story for you. They have to do this willingly in order for it to be effective. But go ahead, help them with short, sharable pieces of compelling informational content.

Ready to get started? Begin by articulating the problem that you are trying to solve. That will be the topic of the next piece in this series—and how to construct your story around that solution.

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This piece is a part of a series called Content Strategy for Entrepreneurs. If you need specific help in building a content strategy for your business, please see http://michaelboezi.com/entrepreneurs.

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