Your content marketing strategy is your plan for how you will use content to achieve your business goals. It should answer the questions of:
who you are creating content for
what kind of content you will create
how you will distribute that content.
Your strategy should also include a plan for measuring the success of your content marketing so that you can make adjustments as needed. Without a solid strategy in place, it will be difficult to produce the kind of results you are hoping for with your content marketing. By taking the time to develop a strong strategy, you can ensure that your content marketing efforts are well worth the investment.
What is a Content Marketing Strategy and Why is it Important?
A content marketing strategy is a document that describes how you plan to attract and engage your target customers with content. In other words, it's a road map for your content marketing efforts. Typically, a content marketing strategy will include an analysis of your customers and the types of information they'll need as they look for solutions to problems you can help them solve. It will also discuss your business goals and the role your content will play in supporting those goals. And, finally, it will outline your plans for building and distributing content given your available resources.
In short, a content marketing strategy is essential for any business that wants to use content to drive results. Without one, you're likely to end up wasting time and resources on content that doesn't align with your business goals or resonate with your target audience. So if you don't have a content marketing strategy yet, now is the time to create one.
Ready to get started?
Step 1: Establish Your Goals and Objectives
The first step in creating a content marketing strategy is to specify why you plan to create content. You may be familiar with the potential benefits of content marketing, such as increased website traffic, greater brand recognition, lead generation, and the opportunity to establish key players in your organization as “thought leaders.” But this is the time to think bigger. Why do you want to create content? What are your goals? How will you measure success? These are tough questions, but they’re worth asking yourself before you get started. After all, you wouldn’t start a journey without knowing your destination, would you? So take the time to specify why you plan to create content. It may seem like a daunting task, but it’s an essential first step in creating a successful content marketing strategy.
Step 2: Get to Know Your Target Audience
Buyer personas are those semi-fictional characters companies create to represent their target audiences. By understanding their habits, needs, motivations, and challenges, marketing and sales teams can more effectively speak to them—and meet them where they’re at in their buyer’s journey. Knowing your audience is essential to success, but it’s not always easy. That’s where buyer personas come in.
Creating buyer personas might sound like a lot of work, but it’s worth it. By taking the time to understand your target customer, you’ll be able to better serve them—and close more deals. Here’s how to create a buyer persona in 6 steps:
1. Define your research goals. What do you want to learn about your target customer? This will help you determine the best way to gather information.
2. Identify your source(s). Where will you get information about your target customer? Customer data? Interviews with co-workers? Surveys? Sales calls? Current or past customers?
3. Collect the data. This is the fun part! Once you know where to look, it’s time to start gathering information about your target customer.
4. Analyze the data. What patterns do you see emerging? What does this tell you about your target customer?
5. Create the persona. Now it’s time to put all of that information into a written profile of your ideal target customer. Be sure to give them a name and picture to bring them to life!
6. Share the persona with your team (and anyone else who needs to know). Now that you have a clear understanding of who your target customer is, it’s time to start making changes in how you market and sell to them. But first, you need to share the buyer persona with your team so everyone is on the same page.
By taking the time upfront to create detailed buyer personas, you can save yourself a lot of time (and headache) down the road. When everyone in your company knows who they’re talking to, you can be confident that your marketing and sales efforts are aligned—and working towards the same goal: bringing in new business and delighting customers."
Step 3: Create and Promote Your Content
No matter what business you're in, you'll need to create content as part of your marketing strategy. This could involve anything from blog posts and service pages to eBooks and case studies. And don't forget about social media posts and email marketing campaigns! Each type of content requires a different approach, so it's important to know what you're doing before you get started.
Stay Focused on Your Goal
Emphasize Quality Over Quantity
Seek Opportunities to be Original
Promote, Promote, Promote
Always Be Learning
Thank you for reading! We hope you found this article helpful. If you need help with your content marketing strategy, we’re here to help. Our team of experts will work with you to develop a plan that fits your unique needs and helps you achieve your business goals. Contact us today for a free consultation, and let us show you how Alter Influence can help take your business to the next level.
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