How to Do Content Marketing With Limited Resources

A recent study from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs showed that 67% of B2B marketers say their team was asked to do more with the same resources in the last year. When the pressure is higher and the budget isn’t, it’s easy to feel like we don’t have enough time, budget or people to do all the things we want to do, or to pursue all the exciting new tactics and platforms we’re hearing about.

But there’s good news: That same study showed that not all of the most successful content marketers have huge teams and budgets. In fact, of the most successful content marketers, 27% reported having only one full-time employee dedicated to content marketing, and another 19% reported having not a single full-time employee focused on content marketing.

Maximizing resources is a concern for most of the small business owners I work with at The Convoy, which is part of why I love getting to share tips and tricks for helping to make the most of what you have when it comes to content marketing.

Whether you’re looking to start, continue or expand your content marketing efforts, here are a few of the ways you can maximize your ability to connect with prospects and consumers through content, even with minimal resources.

Re-Use Existing Content

Look for more ways to use the content you’ve already created in the past, to avoid the need to create more content, when possible.

Copy and excerpt content that lives in one part of your brand presence and find uses for it in another location or on another platform.

• Use a top performing blog-post as the copy of an email.
• Turn your FAQ page into a Twitter thread of commonly asked questions.
• Use quotes from a podcast episode or stats from an article as the copy of social posts

You can also curate collections of existing content to extend the life of content you’ve created and bring attention to great content being created by others in the industry. You can create lists of past content pieces by topic, allowing your audience to more easily benefit from your valuable content archive, or create a recurring roundup of top content created by others in your industry.

Build On What’s Working

Another short-cut to maximizing the impact of your content marketing is to take your strategic cues from content that’s performing well, and find ways to amplify that success.

Reformat content that’s getting good traction to extend it’s appeal, or add new formats to content that you think has even more potential.

• Create a blog post from a top-performing podcast episode
• Use a blog post as the voiceover script for a video using stock footage

Another way to give successful content more power is to update it, giving it a second chance in the spotlight, and making sure it continues to be relevant and useful as time goes on. Check for update data points, add new stats, replace old links and try new imagery or headline options.

You can also iterate on successful content by creating a slightly different version of it with slightly different criteria or details. See if successful content can be approached from a new lens based on the target demographic, necessary resources, relevant location, and more.

• A “Best CRM for Accountants” article could inspire a version for lawyers
• Adapt “Stretches for Back Pain” for those with neck, knee, or shoulder pain

Do Less, Better

When marketing with minimal resources, the best thing you can do—for your content, your company, and yourself—is to manage expectations appropriately.

Don’t feel pressured to be on every network and create every type of content. If you try to do too much, you’ll more than likely end up spreading yourself too thin. While that might mean you create lots of content, you’re likely not giving any single piece of content enough attention for it to generate meaningful results.

Instead, apply the 80/20 rule to your content: focus on the 20% of content activities that will create 80% of your results. As you grow increasingly confident and proficient with these content activities, you can expand into new content topics, content formats, and distribution platforms.

With a little bit of creativity, I’m sure you can find even more ways to share your business’ story with consumers without breaking the bank. Share your other money-saving marketing tips with me on Twitter (@mdeziel) so we can all save together.

I can’t wait to see the stories you tell.