Having a Marketing Strategy that works isn’t always an exact science. In this blog post, we examine what a ‘Content Strategy’ is and why you need one. We also work out the process of developing one, step-by-step.  

The best SEO [1] practices and the most appealing website graphical design [2] may attract visitors to your site, but with the wrong information or misplaced content, you can almost guarantee that you will not convert these visitors into clients.

That is why having a professional content strategy is required. To be an authority within your industry you should aim to produce the right content in the right way. ‘Content’ can be quite a broad term that relates to media that your business produces that provides your customers with some form of lasting value.

What is a Content Strategy?

Content Strategy is not about getting more clicks, and it is not about striking engagement just for leads (Although this is often the result). 

It is creating and managing content that ‘represents your business’ for what it is and leaves a lasting impact on your ideal customer. Content can be in text, visual graphics/video, and even audio formats such as podcast and radio – as long as it conveys a message and provides some value to your customer. 

A content strategy incorporates all the messaging that influences both upper and lower-funnel users. By evaluating your content strategy and tweaking it from time to time, you can create stronger ‘Brand Awareness’ and, ultimately, drive more traffic and sales.

Why do you need a Marketing Content Strategy?

Having a dynamic and well thought out content strategy means you never fall short when delivering marketing campaigns to your customers. It also allows you to understand what content your customers appreciate to consume more. This allows you to focus on the elements that work best.

A well-placed strategy means the content is going out at the right time through the most effective channels. Analysing where your target audience are consuming content is extremely important. For instance, If they are predominantly on Twitter, you need to create content for Twitter. If you are in the process of conducting a content audit then you can also repurpose older content into new channels such as email campaigns and blog infographics.

How to Create a Content Strategy that Works? 

Define the Objective

Begin with the end-user goals in mind. What is it that you want to achieve from your content marketing plan? When you begin to assess the objective and work towards achieving it, the process becomes much easier and more worthwhile. Write this objective down. 

Know the Target Customers

Unless you know your target audience and provide them with the information they seek, all your content marketing efforts are bound to fail. It pays to conduct market research to identify your ideal customer. Understanding your ideal customer allows you to target them in the right way at the right time during the sales cycle.

Conduct a Content Audit

If you already have content published, which you generally should have, then it’s essential to conduct an audit of this. It’s essential to assess if the published material is helping you achieve your content marketing goals. To this end, log all the content assets like blog posts, webpages, videos, etc. and analyze their performance. Identify the gaps and then realign your content goals based on the audit.

Create an Editorial Calendar

Once you have conducted an audit, do some research and find the content that will clearly strike a chord with your audience. This is often a very difficult stage as there is no clear formula. Creating a calendar to schedule all your content in a simple yet crucial element for executing a strategy. An Editorial Calendar will ensure regular publishing of a diverse content library, besides adding consistency and discipline to your content marketing plan. There are plenty of free resources out there to help you with this.

Create and Publish Content

Before creating content, identify the brand personality your content should reflect. Whether you want a casual tone or a professional one, pick the right brand voice and hold on to it. This should be representative of the way your business operates. If you are heavily customer-focused, the content should reflect this. If your customers choose your brand for its no-nonsense results-focused solutions, the content you market needs to be exactly that. Finally, finalise the content and distribute it across your content channels. This needs to be executed regularly in order to be effective. A once-off video or blog is extremely ineffective for any marketing strategy. 

Measure the Performance and Adapt.

No content strategy is ever complete without assessing its success. Monitor the performance of your content and see what’s helping you attain your KPI’s. Doing this will help you tweak your content marketing strategy so that it stays aligned with your objectives.

What to do now?

Every business has unique business goals. Every potential client’s buying journey can vary slightly. Creating an effective Content Strategy is a recipe that takes significant time and effort. From identifying your audience to using tools that help your content resonate with them, your content strategy should be able to do all this and much more. Doing it right will give your brand the biggest possible boost in conversions. 

If you’d like our team at VIMAR Digital Marketing to work on a Content Strategy that will help your Brand be more effective, we are here to help.  We partner with businesses for assistance with long term growth plans.  Be sure to drop us a message or give us a call.