Content. You can't avoid it if you're a digital marketer. Whether it's videos, social media posts, native ads, landing pages, marketing emails, or blog entries, all online marketing revolves around content.
It's reflected in marketing budgets. Companies are boosting their expenditure on content marketing, according to a SEMrush survey; nearly half of respondents claim they spend more than $10K on annual content output, up from 38% in 2019.
Let's take a closer look at what content strategy is and how to do it well.
What constitutes a successful content strategy?
The prospect of developing a content strategy may seem daunting. Consider your content strategy as a game plan for your content marketing objectives, methods, and outcomes. That's all there is to it.
What should be included in a content strategy?
A content strategy is made up of various components, all of which must be present for it to be successful. They are as follows:
Great material does not appear out of thin air, thanks to talented authors and designers. It necessitates the dedication of writers, graphic designers, and video editors who are capable of producing high-quality content that is readable, visually appealing, and appealing to certain audiences.
A variety of content types: The most effective content strategies employ a mix of content types to pique audience interest from various perspectives. Articles, ebooks, movies, emails, infographics, podcasts, testimonials, and more are all examples of content types.
Budget requirements: There is no such thing as a free meal (or free content strategy). The goal of content marketing is to produce leads and money. It's crucial to set aside a budget that allows you to fully fulfil the possibilities of your content strategy.
Appropriate marketing and automation tools: Today's content strategy is just too complicated to manage manually. Marketers can utilize a variety of digital marketing tools (some of which are even free) to automate certain procedures in their content marketing operations.
Detailed goals and KPIs: To determine if a digital content strategy is accomplishing its objectives, it should be tracked and measured. That requires outlining the objectives as exactly and thoroughly as possible right from the start.
Several content marketing channels: To optimize content exposure to the target audience, it is critical to work with multiple internet channels at the same time. This entails conducting research to determine where the target audience spends their online time.
In-depth content calendar: Because a content strategy has so many moving pieces, it's crucial to plan out the publication schedule using a content calendar. It will be easier to manage the content calendar if you have a visual "map" of it.
What is the best way to create a content strategy framework?
A good content strategy necessitates meticulous planning. As a result, we've boiled it down to nine phases that serve as the foundation for any successful content strategy:
Read: 5 TIPS TO CREATE STELLAR CONTENT
Step 1: Define your content marketing goals.
Defining your business is the first step in developing a content strategy: Who are we, exactly? What are our options? What motivates us to do it? What customer aches and pains are we attempting to alleviate? What can we do to make it better or different? What are our immediate and long-term objectives? What role will content marketing play in our efforts?
Your content strategy will always be judged by how well you respond to these types of questions. Make a list and begin brainstorming.
Step 2: Learn everything you can about your target audience.
Because content is designed to be consumed, it's crucial to understand who you're making it for. Determine who you want to reach: What are their passions? What exactly are their issues? What websites do they frequent?
The easiest method to understand your target audiences is to conduct research and develop a broad profile for each customer type. These are referred to as "buyer personas." For more information on how to create great personas, check out this handy beginner guide.
Step 3: Develop a unique voice for your material.
There's a good chance your product or service isn't unique. And there's already a lot of useful information available online. How can you make your material unique, interesting, and useful? By engaging with your brand's genuine heart and providing your unique knowledge and insight.
We also know that sincerity is effective. According to the 2017 Authentic Brands Study conducted by global PR company Cohen & Wolf, 91% of customers are likely to buy from or recommend a brand that they believe is genuine. So don't put it off any longer; find your voice now!
If your content strategy is in the air, it won't get you very far. According to joint research conducted by the Content Marketing Institute and the Intelligent Content Conference in 2017, 44% of businesses do not have a written content strategy.
Don't let yourself become a statistic; write down your content strategy right now. It will not only make your content marketing easier to understand, but it will also make it a lot easy to adapt and refine as needed. You may also utilize it to bring your team together so that everyone is working toward the same goals.
Step 5: Determine the most effective avenues for promoting your content.
The usual approach to digital marketing is multichannel marketing. This entails using a variety of platforms to promote content and connect with viewers. Social media, email marketing, native content suggestions, owned websites, display adverts, and more can all be employed in a content strategy.
The key is to figure out which channels are most popular with your target group. A B2B content strategy, for example, will almost certainly include LinkedIn as a significant channel, but a B2C strategy will rely on Facebook or even TikTok for younger consumers.
To increase site visits, a company that does not receive a lot of traffic to its blog could explore pitching guest pieces to popular blogs in the niche with backlinks to their site. There are a lot of channels and chances out there, so make sure you find the finest ones.
Step 6: Evaluate your content strategy in as many ways as feasible.
A content strategy must be measurable to be effective. Consumption, sharing, lead generation, and sales are the four categories of content marketing KPIs.
Step 7: Put your content and campaigns to the test.
A content strategy entails much more than simply submitting content and hitting "Publish." Because there are so many variables that influence content performance, testing is the only way to figure out what works and what doesn't.
A/B testing, often known as split testing, is one of the most prevalent methods for evaluating digital advertising. A/B testing is done by running two copies of an ad or piece of content at the same time, with only one element different in each, such as the headline, picture, CTA button color, CTA copy, and so on. Each version's performance is tracked and examined to see which one performs better.
Step 8: Improve your content frequently.
All of this tracking, measuring, and testing of content campaigns is done to offer the essential data for optimization, which will help to improve campaign performance over time.
Rewriting an article with relevant keywords, experimenting with fresh subject lines for an email campaign, changing the style and appearance, or simply publishing material on a different day of the week are all examples of content optimization. After all of the data about the content's performance among the target audience has been obtained and examined, optimization should be a continuous activity in a content strategy.
Step 9: Repurpose content for a variety of purposes.
It's not easy to create effective content that generates results, and it might take a lot of time and effort. It's a shame to let content go stale if it's performing well. By including repurposing into your approach, you can extend the life of your material. Content repurposing is the process of updating, reworking, refreshing, or adapting content for a new purpose so that you can gain more out of it in the long term. Consider it "recycling" — don't throw away content that can help you get more clicks, conversions, and customer engagement.
Let's say a particular blog post is gaining a lot of attention. Why not use it as the foundation for a lengthier ebook that will be promoted through native advertisements or social media? Make a step-by-step video out of a popular "how-to" tutorial. The only limit is your imagination when it comes to repurposing information and bringing it back to life.
Key factors to consider when writing articles or posts
Catchy headlines
Font size and type
Keywords
Length of article
Readability
Usability
Keywords
Length of article
Readability
Usability
Great content marketing isn't something that just happens.
Content marketing is a lot more than just writing a great blog or making a cool video. It necessitates a comprehensive plan that includes the creation of the material itself, how and where it will be promoted, and the desired outcomes. It necessitates meticulous preparation, execution, and meticulous attention to detail, as well as the involvement of numerous stakeholders inside the company. A successful content strategy won't happen overnight, but the sooner you start, the sooner you'll have one up and running and reaching those KPIs.
