Developing a content marketing strategy can be overwhelming. There are so many things to consider – from the type of content you will create, to the channels you will use to distribute it.
But don’t worry – we’re here to help! In this article, we will walk you through the steps necessary to develop a content marketing strategy that gets results.
- Choose Your Campaign Goals
- Research Your Target Customer
- Audit Your Existing Content
- Choose a CMS That Works For Your Business
- Generate Some Content Ideas
- Publish & Promote Your Content
- Review & Update Your Content
- Choose Your Campaign Goals
When developing a content marketing strategy, it’s important to first set campaign goals. Your goals will help to dictate the type of content you produce, as well as how you measure success.
Some common goals include:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Generating lead
- Driving website traffic
It’s important to tailor your goals to your business and target audience. For example, if you’re a small business trying to increase brand awareness, you may want to focus on creating high-quality content that gets shared on social media. You may also want to check out these 5 ways to boost your brand awareness.
If you’re looking to generate leads, you may want to produce content that offers readers a free download or trial.
Whatever your specific goals may be, make sure they are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
These tips will help you stay on track and ensure that your content marketing strategy is effective. Let’s go through each now.
Specific
You want to make sure that your goals are specific. This means that goals should be clear and concise, with no room for interpretation.
Some examples of specific goals include:
- Generate 100 new leads per month
- Drive 500 website visitors from social media per day
- Increase brand awareness by 20% in the next quarter
Your goals should also be tailored to your target audience. For example, if you’re trying to attract new customers, your goal might be to increase website traffic or generate leads. If you’re trying to engage existing customers, your goal might be to increase customer loyalty or encourage social media engagement.
Having specific goals will also help you focus your content efforts and ensure that you’re putting out the best possible content for achieving your desired results.
Measurable
Your goals should also be measurable. This means that you should be able to track and measure their progress.
Some measurable goals to consider are:
- Increasing website traffic
- Generating leads
- Increasing brand awareness
- Improving customer engagement
Keep in mind that the goals you choose will vary depending on your business and what you hope to achieve with your content marketing campaign.
Once you’ve decided on your goals, come up with a plan for how you’re going to track them. That could involve setting up specific conversion tracking codes for your website, creating unique tracking links for lead generation campaigns, or using analytics software to measure engagement levels.
By taking the time to establish measurable goals and track your progress, you’ll be able to fine-tune your content marketing strategy and ensure that you’re getting the most out of your investment.
Achievable
A content marketing strategy should be achievable and realistic. The goals that you set for your newly developed content marketing campaign should be attainable, measurable, and time-based. You should also have a plan in place to achieve these goals.
With the right goals and the right plan, you can achieve great success with your content marketing efforts.
Research Your Target Customer
The first step in developing any successful content marketing strategy is doing research and understanding your target customer. This means understanding their needs, wants, and frustrations, as well as what content they are most likely to consume and share.
If you fail to do your research, you could end up creating content that doesn’t resonate with your target audience. This will result in little to no return on investment (ROI) for your content marketing efforts.
So take the time to understand your target customer inside and out, and use that information to create content that speaks to them on a personal level.
To do this, you will need to conduct market research. This can be done in several ways, including:
- Surveys
- Interviews
- Focus groups
Surveys
Surveys are one of the best ways to gather data about the needs and preferences of your customers. They can help you understand what types of content your target audience is interested in and what topics they would like to see covered on your blog or in your social media posts.
When designing your survey, make sure to keep it short and simple. Ask questions that will help you understand what your customers want and need from your business.
You may also want to ask:
- Interests
- Purchasing habits
- How likely they are to recommend your business to others
Once you have gathered all this information, you can use it to create content that is relevant and appealing to your target audience.
By providing the type of content your customers want to see, you can increase the chances that they will interact with it and eventually convert to paying customers.
Interviews
Another way to conduct market research is through interviews. You can reach out to customers, clients, or even industry experts and ask them questions about your target audience. That means taking the time to learn about your target customer, their:
- Needs
- Aspirations
- What motivates them
Talking to your customers one-on-one is the best way to get inside their heads and understand what makes them tick. By understanding their needs and wants, you can create content that resonates with them and speaks to their interests.
This will help you attract more customers and keep them coming back for more.
So, if you want to create content that connects with your target audience, start by doing some research and conducting interviews with your customers. You’ll be glad you did!
Focus groups
A focus group is a small group of people who are brought together to discuss a product, service, or topic. By observing how this small group interacts with one another, you can get a better idea of how the target customer behaves and what they want.
This information can be used to develop content that appeals to these customers. For example, if you find that your target customer is looking for ways to save money for their small business, you could create content around money-saving tips for small businesses.
Focus groups are just one tool in your research arsenal. Be sure to also look at demographic data and surveys to get a complete picture of your target customer. With the right research in hand, you can create a content marketing strategy that gets results.
Your research should aim to answer questions such as:
- Who is my target customer?
- What are their needs and wants?
- What type of content do they consume?
- When you have a good understanding of your target customer, you can begin to create content that appeals to them.
Audit Your Existing Content
If you already have a website or blog, chances are you have some existing content that you can leverage.
Before you start creating new content, it’s a good idea to audit what you already have. This will help you avoid duplicating effort and ensure that your new content is fresh and relevant.
To do a content audit, simply create a spreadsheet of all the existing content on your site. For each piece of content, you should include:
- The title
- A link to the page
- A brief description
- The date it was published
Once you have your spreadsheet set up, you can begin to analyze your existing content. Look for patterns and trends in the data. For example, you may notice that most of your content is published on a certain day of the week or month.
You can also use this data to identify which pieces of content are performing well and which ones are not. This will help you make decisions about what type of content to create in the future.
Choose a CMS That Works For Your Business
When it comes to content marketing, having a CMS that works for your business is essential. A CMS, or content management system, is a tool that allows you to create, manage, and publish content on your website. There are many different CMS options available, and you should choose one that fits your business needs.
Some factors to consider when choosing a CMS include:
- The level of control you need over your content
- The number of users who will be creating content
- The amount of technical support you will need
If you’re not comfortable with coding or website design, you’ll want a CMS with a user-friendly interface. If you’re looking for more control over your website design and layout, you’ll want a CMS that gives you more flexibility.
The bottom line is that there is no one-size-fits-all CMS. You need to find one that meets the specific needs of your business. So do your research, ask for recommendations from other businesses, and test out different options before making a decision.
Generate Some Content Ideas
Coming up with content ideas can be one of the most challenging aspects of content marketing. However, it is also one of the most important. Without a steady stream of fresh content, your website and blog will quickly become stale, and your audience will move on.
To come up with content ideas, you first need to understand your target audience and what interests them. Once you have a good idea of what your audience wants to read about, you can start brainstorming topics that would appeal to them.
Once you have a list of potential topics, it’s time to start creating content. This can include:
- Blog posts
- Articles
- Infographics
- Videos
Let’s go over the importance of each of these within content creation.
Blog Posts
Blog posts are a great way to share your expertise and build relationships with your audience. When writing a blog post, focus on creating helpful, informative content that will be of value to your readers.
Articles
Articles are similar to blog posts, but they tend to be longer and more in-depth. They can be a great way to position yourself as an expert in your industry.
Infographics
Infographics are a visual way to share information with your audience. They are highly shareable, and they can be a great tool to give your brand a boost.
Videos
Videos are a powerful way to connect with your audience. They can be used to show off your products, share customer testimonials, or give a behind-the-scenes look at your business.
No matter what type of content you create, make sure it is high-quality and informative. This will help you build trust with your audience and establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
Publish & Promote Your Content
The final step in your content marketing strategy is to publish and promote your content.
This can be done through many different channels, including:
- Social media
- Email marketing
- Paid advertising
Remember, the goal is to get your content seen by as many people as possible. By promoting it through multiple channels, you’ll increase your chances of reaching your target audience.
Social Media
One of the most efficient ways to promote your content is by using social media. By publishing your content on social media platforms, you can reach a wider audience and drive more traffic to your website.
In addition, you can use social media to engage with your audience and keep them updated on your latest content.
There are a variety of social media platforms that you can use to promote your content, including:
Each platform has its strengths and weaknesses, so you’ll need to tailor your content strategy accordingly.
For example, if you’re looking to reach a broad audience, then Facebook would be the best platform for you. Facebook has over 2 billion active users, so there’s a good chance that many of your target customers are using it.
Twitter is also a popular platform for promoting content. It’s perfect for sharing short snippets of information, and its 140-character limit makes it ideal for promoting links to longer articles or blog posts.
If you’re looking to target professionals, then LinkedIn would be a better option. LinkedIn has over 500 million users and is especially popular among business professionals.
Finally, if you’re looking to share visual content, Instagram would be the best platform for you. Instagram is a visually-oriented platform, and it’s perfect for sharing photos and videos.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to promote your content and keep your audience engaged. A successful email marketing campaign can help you increase traffic to your website and generate leads for your business.
When creating an email marketing campaign, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind:
Make sure your subject lines are compelling and eye-catching
Include calls to action in your emails
Segment your list so that you’re sending relevant content to each group
Email marketing can be a great way to promote your content and keep your audience engaged. By following these tips, you can create a successful campaign that can help you reach your goals.
If you’re looking for other resources to help start an email marketing campaign, you could get tips from this guide to run a successful holiday email marketing campaign.
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising is a great way to supplement your content marketing strategy. By paying to place your content in front of your target audience, you can ensure that more people see it and that it gets the attention it deserves.
Paid advertising can also be a great way to increase your website’s traffic and boost your online presence.
Choose the Right Platform
If you’re considering paid advertising as part of your content marketing strategy, be sure to research your options and choose the right platform for your needs.
There are a variety of paid advertising platforms available, from social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, to search engines like Google and Bing.
When choosing a paid advertising platform, be sure to consider your target audience and the type of content you want to promote. For example, if you’re targeting young adults then a good choice is to run Facebook ads, while if you’re promoting a new product, Google AdWords might be a better option.
Know Your Audience
Once you’ve chosen a platform, be sure to create targeted ads that will attract attention and encourage people to click through to your content. To create effective ads, you’ll need to know who your target audience is and what they’re interested in. You’ll also need to think about what makes your content unique and how you can communicate that in an ad. Paid advertising can be a great way to increase the reach of your content marketing strategy, but it’s important to use it wisely. Be sure to set realistic goals and track the results of your campaigns so that you can optimize them over time.
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