Your content can make or break your marketing strategy. In this article, we’ll cover what a content strategy is, why you need one, and how to get started.
What Is A Content Strategy?
A content strategy outlines how you will use your content to achieve your marketing goals. A good content strategy will include content for every stage of the buying process. A great content strategy will also include content for customers and help you grow your business over the long term.
What Do You Need To Consider?
A content strategy needs to reflect your overall business strategy. You need to consider who your audience is, what problems they’re looking to solve, and what they’re likely to need, and what you can do to help them. You also need to consider how you can use this information to create helpful, engaging content that guides them through the buying process.
How To Create A Content Strategy in 7 Easy Steps
1 – Define Your Goals
The first step is to determine your goals. Why do you want to create content? And what do you want to achieve with your strategy? Your goals could include raising brand awareness, generating more leads, converting more prospects, or retaining more customers. Be as specific as you can with your goals and be sure to set achievable targets.
2 – Conduct Market Research
The next step is to research your audience. If you know what your audience is interested in, what types of content they usually like, and where they usually go to find it, then you can create a much more effective strategy. If you know what types of content your competitors are creating, then you can also find out what content they’re used to and try to create something even better.
3 – Carry Out A Content Audit
The third step is to carry out a content audit. You can go through your existing content to see what you have and what you’re likely to need in the future. You can also see what has worked well and what has failed in the past. When doing your audit, think about whether the content you have will help you achieve your goals. Make a list of reusable content, identify content gaps, and then start brainstorming new ideas.
4 – Choose Your Content Formats
There are lots of different types of content for you to choose from. You need to focus on formats that will help you achieve your marketing goals. For example, if you want to generate more leads, then you can focus on improving your website and social media content. If you want to convert more leads, then you can focus on creating eBooks, case studies, brochures, presentations, and corporate videos.
5 – Choose Your Distributions Channels
The next step is to decide how to distribute your content. You need to focus on channels that will help you achieve your goals. For example, if you want to increase your website traffic then you might choose to focus on posting your content on blogging, guest blogging, and social media. If you want to focus on your lead generation campaigns, then you might choose to focus on having high value, gated content that you can promote on paid advertising networks.
6 – Create An Editorial Calendar
Now you know roughly what you want to do, it’s time to start planning things in more detail. Use an editorial calendar to note down the title, format, and distribution channel for each piece of content. Then use a project management tool to assign tasks, set deadlines, and hand out creative briefs. That way you, and anyone else on your team, knows exactly what to do and when.
7 – Publish And Manage Your Content
After you’ve completed all of the above steps, you’re ready to get started. Publish and promote your content in line with your editorial calendar. Monitor your performance reports closely and keep your targets in mind. Use the results to optimise your campaigns, modify your strategy as needed, and keep working towards your long-term content marketing goals.
Final Thoughts
Having a content strategy helps you focus your content marketing. It ensures you only spend time on content you really need. It also ensures you only spend budget on channels that will help you achieve your goals. As such, having a good content strategy can improve both your productivity and your performance. For more information about content marketing, feel free to check out the other articles on my blog.
