Strategy is intrinsic to content marketing: You have to have a well-considered approach to the creation and distribution of valuable and relevant content to prospective customers.
Digital and social marketing have amplified the need for a strategic approach to content. More content is floating around in more channels than ever before—exponentially more than when Bill Gates declared “content is king” nearly 20 years ago.
With ever more content being created and disseminated via ever-evolving distribution points, marketing is undergoing constant transformation. This increased complexity requires not only experienced content strategists but also a well-documented plan for marketing teams to communicate and follow. Sounds like common sense…
So, how do you build a content marketing strategy? Follow the following steps and repeat.
1. Research your competitors, target audiences, and overall marketplace
The main purpose of the effort is to determine your distinct differentiators. The research and subsequent introspection provide the foundation for your marketing strategy and tactics.
2. Define your target audiences
Use the information you’ve collected in step one to define your target audience and create a customer profile using demographics as well as psychographics. You’ll find you may have multiple customer profiles and therefore multiple messages and strategies within an overarching strategy.
3. Create a unique story
Use the research you’ve done so far to create a story that’s unique to your brand, service, or company. This is the absolute Holy Grail and most important step of all. If you don’t have something of value to say, why should anyone listen? Do your homework in step one. If you have strong differentiators, you won’t be grasping at straws and copying competitors. You’ll have discovered your value positioning and the truth in your marketing story.
4. Create art/produce creative
This is the marriage of strategy and creativity to ultimately tell your story via compelling creative produced for the channels you’ve secured (print, digital, social, direct mail, PR, event, tradeshow, etc.).
5. Promotion and distribution through diversified channels
Content marketing is a way of life now—it’s just the way marketing is done. Meaning, you need to connect with your target audiences where they choose to converse—from social media to event marketing and everywhere in between. But don’t put it out there and walk away. Many channels require constant care—and a strategy for steering customers where you want them to go.
6. Create conversation—where possible
The story you put out there is good if it starts a conversation. It means your audience didn’t just look at it… they spent time with it. Why would they spend time with it? Because it holds value for them. And, keep in mind that social media is the most cost-effective channel for both starting conversations and keeping them going.
7. Measure—when possible
Measurement is key for knowing what to replicate in the future and what to change, but it’s not practical for every marketing channel. Just because your efforts aren’t measureable, however, doesn’t mean they’re ineffective: Creating brand awareness is often not measurable, but it pays dividends down the road.
8. Reflect on key learnings
Marketers often skip this step because they get lost in daily minutiae and they are continually putting out fires, but take the time to reflect so you can duplicate successes and avoid mistakes.