Selling the idea of content marketing to big brands is seen as a comparatively easy prospect in the grand scheme of things. They already have budgets stretching into the thousands, access to a veritable army of social media fans who want engagement and have a strong product or idea they wish to sell.

For smaller, much more niche businesses, however, it can become a little more troublesome. Those who work in smaller, hyper-specific industries may not feel as though the world is holding its breath on the next installment of Grout News or for their subscription of Dowelling Weekly to pop through.

This needn't mean, however, that content isn't right for these businesses. In fact, the opposite could be more accurate, as these may well be the companies that need it most.

Explanation

Many professionals in these lesser-known industries spend their entire working life trying to explain just what it is their business does or offers. Some even have the unenviable task of convincing consumers they have a need for something of which they may never have previously heard. For this, content marketing comes in to the equation.

Customers with vague ideas of what they want or need will certainly not be searching for a specific business. They may not even get the words or terminology right for the industry in mind. As such, material is needed to help catch all these people and educate them about solutions of which they may otherwise be unaware. Material, that is, such as content.

Blogs, articles or whitepapers can cover the topics that deal with the specifics of a certain industry. Then, thanks to Google's Hummingbird update, users can then ask a question, which will return such content. This material will not only answer their questions but sow the seeds ready for when the time comes to buy.

"There's no news"

It may well be true that the BBC would choose to ignore breaking developments in the world of drillbits, but that's not to say there isn't an audience out there at all. Tradespeople and interested consumers will always be looking to keep abreast of developments, whilst there's always the SEO benefits to consider.

Just because a subject isn't making the six o'clock news, that doesn't mean it is devoid of any source material. There are developments out there for those who can look in the right places.

It also helps to get a bit creative. Using the aforementioned drillbits as an example, an online retailer selling only these could intersperse more on-topic stories about new releases with something a little more upbeat, such as stories about housebuilding, flat-pack furniture or even using drills to carve wooden sculptures (and their pumpkin alternatives at Halloween).

Even if all this fails, long-form content can come to the rescue, with blogs on choosing the right drill, basic woodwork or suggested protection giving just some examples of the rich vein of options available.

There really is no reason why an industry should be too small or too niche to utilise content marketing. And if all else fails, you could always turn up as a guest publication on 'Have I Got News For You'.