Would you expect to walk into an interview without prepared questions? What about teaching a class – wouldn’t you expect the instructor to have a lesson plan? Then why do so many companies embark on content marketing without a strategy? We see it all the time.
“We have a newsletter. We send it out every quarter.”
Nothing more… No targeted information… No actionable items… No measurement… No strategy? And generally, that’s the extent of it.
How do people do business like that?!?
Your content marketing HAS to come with a strategy. If there isn’t thought behind the effort what is the point, really?
Building a strategy behind a content marketing effort doesn’t have to be an arduous process, though. Sometimes it’s as simple as finding the right checklist to guide you though a basic plan. So we did the base work for you.
Below is a quick 5-point Content Marketing Checklist you and your marketing team can use to make sure you’re covering the basics.
Is it rudimentary? Yes. It’s intended to be simple. When you start with a simple process, most times you’ll discover deeper elements that will take the strategy to a whole new level (A/B testing, Segmenting, Drop Schedules, etc.). For now, as I said, this is your starting point.
Your content marketing strategy is the foundation of an overall communications plan and should be tailored to your targeted audience. The content needs to best reflect your brand, its benefits, and how they specifically impact your audience.
Check below to see if your content marketing plan follows these 5 basic steps. If they do, you’re on the right track. If they don’t, you know what to do (call us). 😉
- Identify your target audience and their pain points: This allows you to come up with valuable and relevant content centered around what your audience NEEDS.
- Define your content marketing objective(s): Do you want to raise brand awareness? Increase site traffic? Increase sales inquiries? What is it? Figure out your top 3-4 objectives and create actionable items for each (call-to action).
- Define your content outlets: How do you plan to deliver your message? Blogging? Email? Social Media? Webinars? Figure out HOW your audience will best digest your message and dish it out!
- Define your measurement tools: Analytics are great, but conversions mean money. What tools work best for measuring success on the objectives you listed above?
- Be Consistent: This practice should go without saying, but we’re all guilty of “Tilting at windmills” from time to time. If you set a calendar reminder or build it into an editorial plan, you’ll have a guide for publishing as well as a great outline opportunity.
That’s it. Five simple steps to building a content marketing strategy that will help you get closer to achieving your marketing objectives.
SPOKE Communications offers strategies in digital marketing communications that include content marketing, search engine optimization and email marketing, and social media marketing. With that as well as a focus on strategic, measurable results, we create the tools businesses use to make a deeper connection with their audience.
If you would like more information on our marketing communications services or have questions specifically about content marketing strategies for your business, please reach out to us through the Contact page within our site, email us at biz{at}spokecom.com or call directly to 515-257-6584.
And, as always…
KEEP COOKING!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef.
