How can a small business join a trending conversation online?
Supporting small businesses with their content and social media needs
Content marketing for small businesses is more than just broadcasting information on social media. In my experience, it’s easy for small business owners to forget the ‘social’ side of social media. If you’re a small business owner who is looking to engage more with your customers online, you will need to participate in relevant conversations – and much of that is responding quickly to trending topics. But how can you join in that conversation online?
Why invest time in trending topics?
To be a part of the conversation, you have to build a connection with your customers – you have to show that your opinion on a subject is worth their time and is providing value for them. With a good content marketing strategy, you can create relevant content and bring in new customers. And by using social media, you are helping to increase your authority with your audience. By investing time in trending topics, you are:
Establishing credibility with potential customers
Building your business’s brand online
Trending topics for small businesses in 2022
1. Supporting other small businesses 🤝
As a small business owner, you are more than aware of the difficulties local businesses have faced over the past two years. It is hoped that the government’s ‘Living with Covid’ plan will bring some much-needed stability to small businesses, but some unrest does remain.
You can participate in online conversations with other small businesses by showing how you have navigated your way through the pandemic so far. Write and share useful resources aimed at other local businesses and share how you have adapted to the changes thrown your way since 2020.
On social media, tag your favourite local businesses and make full use of the popular hashtags associated with small businesses, including:
#smallbusiness #supportsmallbusiness #shopsmall #shoplocal #smallbusinessowner #supportlocal
Key small business events to mark this year:
12th-26th March – Fiver Fest
10th-16th May – Local Business Week
3rd December – Small Business Saturday
2. Health and wellbeing 🧘🏻♀️
The pandemic has changed the way we think about health. How many times did you – or a member of your staff – turn up to work full of a head cold before 2020? Hopefully, fewer of us will now do that in the future 🤞
I’m not suggesting you base your content marketing around writing about Covid; that strategy isn’t going to work. But certainly if you run a business within the health sector and have something unique and relevant to share with your audience, do it. Dispense tips and write blog posts about relevant topics such as nutrition and exercise and start conversations on social media. Readers are looking for authentic, trustworthy resources on the subject of health and wellbeing, so if you have the experience, join in with the discussions.
Key health and wellbeing events to mark this year:
9th March – National No Smoking Day
20th March – International Day of Happiness
April 2022 – Stress Awareness Month
10th October – World Mental Health Day
13th November – World Kindness Day
3. Meeting customer expectations 🛍
Covid hasn’t just affected your business operations, it’s affected the lives of your customers. Just as you have had to adapt to massive change, so have they. The way in which small businesses communicate with customers has altered and that is your opportunity to build trust and better meet their expectations.
If you have implemented new strategies to help customers, shout about them! Write blog posts about how you have adapted your small business to improve the service you provide customers. Perhaps you’ve improved your customer service support or personalised your communication with them. You could also survey customers directly to ask them what they would like to see from your business or service. They are also likely to respond well to promotions or offers, so consider whether you need a new marketing campaign to drive new customers to your website or bring them into your physical shop.
Key customer service events to mark this year:
3rd-7th October – National Customer Service Week
4. Working from home 🏡
Some of us (🙋🏻♀️ ) were very used to working from home well before the pandemic arrived, but for many it has been the single biggest change of the last two years. Juggling work and family life from home has been a challenge that many of your customers will have faced, but it has brought its benefits too.
If you’re a business that has switched to allowing employees to work from home on an ongoing basis, you can bring value to the conversation. Share your experiences about how your business has adapted and how employees have felt about the change.
Working from home advice is still a popular search topic online, so share relevant blog posts on your website and short, easily-digestible ‘top tip’ videos on social media. If you’re struggling to come up with interesting content ideas for your business blog, get in touch.
Key WFH events to mark this year:
8th March – Organise your home office day
19th April – Wear your pyjamas to work day
Find the right trending topics for YOUR business
Not every topic is going to be a good fit for your small business blog. But there are likely many more opportunities than you might think. To really succeed with your web content, you need to produce highly-relevant articles consistently. Don’t hit publish on a blog post and then forget about it for three months.
Publishing regular content will not only improve your search rankings on Google, but it will also build greater authority and trust with your customers. Post regularly on social media and engage with trending topics as and when they are relevant to your business and experiences.
If you need some help when it comes to producing SEO-friendly content that works for both customers and Google, get in touch.
