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It is common knowledge that having great content is crucial to marketing your business on the internet. The question is, how do you put out that's not only great, but also relevant?
To achieve this combo, it is important to have a plan in place. This plan will be the cornerstone of the results you get from publishing your content.
This is where content marketing strategies come in handy. A solid content marketing strategy can ensure that your brand gets the credibility and visibility it deserves.
This comprehensive guide will help you understand a what content marketing strategy is, why you need it, and how to create an effective one.
What Is a Content Marketing Strategy?
A content marketing strategy is a plan created for the creation, publication, distribution, and management of your content. It helps you answer key questions like who you're creating content for, what kind of content you're creating, why you want to make certain kinds of content, and how to promote your content.
A content marketing strategy exists to help your business smash its set marketing goals. For example, you can create a content marketing strategy solely to boost conversion rates and build your strategy roadmap around that goal.
Why Does Your Business Need a Content Marketing Strategy?
Here are some things you standout reasons why you need a content marketing strategy:
1. Increased Focus and Productivity
It is easier for you and your team to focus when there is a clear plan to work with. A content marketing strategy helps to outline what needs to be done and how to go about it. This means that there is no confusion regarding tasks, deadlines, or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). A content marketing strategy fosters the kind of environment your team needs to be focused and productive.
2. Achieving Business Goals
A strategy helps you define your goals and targets. It further helps you set out the path to achieving these goals. You are essentially creating a roadmap to your marketing dreams. You will be able to cut out any unimportant or stagnant tactics and focus on what works. This will enable you to reach your business goals faster.
3. Better Brand Awareness
Having a strategy can help increase traffic to your website and pages which in turn, helps with brand awareness. More of your target audience will find you because you will be creating content that appeals to them.
4. Streamlined Content
A content marketing strategy saves you from the time-wasting strategy of creating and publishing random content that does nothing for your business. Instead, you will divert your time and resources to content geared to achieve your set goals. This gives you a safety net but also gives you the freedom to occasionally experiment with your strategy.
What Are the Key Components of a Content Marketing Strategy?
There are four main components of an effective content marketing strategy and they include:
1. Target Audience
Every form of marketing has its target audience. You are not just promoting your business, you are promoting your business to someone. A good content marketing strategy has its target audience narrowed down. You don’t just need to know who your target audience is but also what they like, their goals, and behaviors. This can help you narrow down your objectives faster.
2. Goals and Objectives
You need to set parameters for the content that you create. What are you aiming to achieve with your strategy? And also, what do you expect each content piece to achieve? It is easier for your strategy to be effective when striving towards a particular goal. Having set goals and objectives also helps you stay organized and be more focused.
3. Competitive Research
The market is large and there are other brands in your line of business. Do some research on these brands and note their marketing strategies. Look out for weak points and similarities in their strategies. Use that research to stand out and to ensure you do not make any mistakes they already did.
4. Content Creation and Management
Before you can market something, it needs to exist. Your strategy should include the kind of content you want to promote and how to create said content. It should also contain how you intend to manage this content. This involves the promotion, distribution, tracking, and organization of your content.
How To Create a Content Marketing Strategy for Your Business
Now that you know what a content marketing strategy is, we are going to take you through the steps of creating an effective one. Here are the things you need to do:
1. Set Clearly Defined Goals
What do you want to achieve with your strategy? Why are you creating a strategy in the first place? The answers to these questions will influence the other steps in this process. This is because your goals will determine your strategy. You should ensure that your goals align with your overall business and marketing goals.
Some common marketing goals are building brand awareness, client retention, and building customer trust and loyalty. However, these are general goals. Your goals can also be incredibly specific. For example, you could set a goal to increase your social media followers by 20% or to get to the first page of a Search Engine Result Page for a specific keyword(s).
It is best to arrange your goals in order of priority. This way, you can direct your time and resources to the most pressing objectives and slowly but surely work towards the others further down on your list.
2. Determine and Research Your Target Audience
Who are you creating content for and marketing it to? Are your current users or followers part of your target audience? You will be able to create much more impactful and useful content when you determine who you are creating for. Furthermore, it helps you narrow down your content rather than trying to cast a wide net which is less effective in content marketing.
It is important to research your target audience. You should know their purchasing and browsing habits, interests, and preferred content formats. You can carry out this research using social media or website analytics, surveys, or even check out posts on social media platforms.
3. Audit Your Content
You should take stock of all the content you have already published. Document what you have distributed and what. Try to note specific things like the times you posted, the word count, whether or not that post was promoted organically, and the content format. Once you have noted your current content, search for the ones that do not align with any new goals or objectives you have set and any duplicate content.
Auditing your content will also help you discover your best and worst-performing content. You can repurpose your lower-performing content ideas for other platforms. Furthermore, you will be able to notice any lapses in your former technique and use that to improve your content marketing strategy. Keep and improve on what works and throw out what does not.
4. Research Your Competition
You can check out your competition’s current marketing strategy. How are they attracting their audience? What content format do they use and which ones do well? How can you stand out from them and still reach your marketing goals? Your competitors are not always the businesses your target audience patronizes more. But they could also be brands that have managed to capture their attention. Focus your research on how you can be better and different from them and not copy their strategy.
5. Decide on Your Preferred Content Type, Format, and Channel
Now that you have clear-cut goals, a target audience, and a stock of your current content situation, you need to figure out what kind of content you will be putting out. Will it be informative, educational, entertaining, or promotional? What format will this content be in? Are you going to focus on videos, blogs, social media posts, or images? Where will this content be distributed? On your social media platforms, website, or even newsletters?
This step will help you form the outline of your strategy. You should also note that the information gathered from Steps 1 to 4 should influence your answers. If your content is not geared toward your goals and does not appeal to your target audience, your content marketing strategy will do little to nothing for your business.
6. Create an Outline
This helps you have all your information in one place. You will be able to note your goals and plans. It could be in the form of a document, a spreadsheet, or any other tool of your choice. Its purpose is to help you see what you have done, what you plan to do, and how you plan to do it. It is the documented form of your strategy. Here are some things your outline should contain:
- Your goals and objectives
- The key results from your content audit such as the content formats you plan to keep and mistakes to avoid
- Your preferred content format and channel
- Your budget
- Tools you plan to use for creation and overall management of your content
7. Create, Publish, and Promote Your Content
Going through the previous steps should have given you some clarity. You should have already figured out where you were, where you want to go, why you want to go there, and how to get there. This current step is part of the ‘how’. It is time to put all your theoretical work into practice and create the content your audience will want to engage with.
However, creating the content is just one part of your strategy. After creating, you will need to publish it so your audience can find it. Aim for a consistent publishing routine. A calendar can help with that. If your marketing strategy is focused on social media marketing, consider creating a social media calendar to help with organization and consistency.
Furthermore, you will need to promote your content. You can opt for paid promotions on social media platforms, partner with other businesses or influencers, or try search engine marketing.
8. Track, Measure, and Analyze Your Results
You need to constantly track your posts to ensure your strategy is working. This is also why you need to have set out goals. You can use those goals to measure the success of your strategy or otherwise. For example, if your goal is to increase website traffic, analyzing your website and measuring the results against your initial audit will help you determine whether or not your strategy has worked.
Measuring and analyzing your progress will also help you identify any opportunities for improvement. You can keep tweaking any ineffective parts of your strategy until you get your desired results.
What Next?
If you are looking to take your business to the next level, a content marketing strategy is key. Hoping that the right people will automatically find you is a surefire way to have a stagnant business. Instead, seek out these people and create the kind of content they have no choice but to interact with. This way, you will build a loyal and interested customer base.
Build a content marketing strategy that works for you today; we have already given you all the information you need.
