Every big brand’s marketing plan today includes content marketing. However, the necessity of a well-planned and systematic content strategy is still overlooked by many marketers.
Another way, 88% of USA B2B companies say they use content marketing. Despite this, 68% of companies believe that their content marketing initiatives are ineffective, while 32% believe their content marketing endeavour produces positive results.
Why do you need a content strategy?
Without a content strategy, you will only lose your time and efforts. The content strategy is necessary to beat your competitors and boost your business revenue.
1. Setting and achieving goals is easier with a content strategy.
Ideally, all of your marketing activities should get you one bit further to your ultimate objective. But on the other hand, misguided efforts merely result in a waste of resources.
You may, for example, be writing for a readership that has nothing to do with your intended market. Or, you may be focusing on highly competitive keywords while overlooking the less competitive ones that are more likely to bring in traffic.
2. A Content marketing strategy helps you keep track of your progress.
“There is no content marketing success without measurement strategy,” says content strategy expert and keynote speaker Rebecca Lieb. You need to establish whatever you want to accomplish before starting any content project, regardless of the medium or platform.”
As a result, you can use your short- and long-term objectives to gauge the success of your content marketing efforts. Content marketing success may be tracked and measured using specific metrics included in a well-thought-out content plan.
3. Helps you discover new business opportunities.
They are always on the lookout for fresh content possibilities. It helps them in their efforts to connect with more of their potential customers by creating content surrounding hot-button news subjects.
So, a robust content strategy should include how a marketer might track news and current trends and identify article ideas. Uncoordinated efforts to find new possibilities will show in the brand’s publications and tone if there is no content strategy.
4. A content strategy reduces the cost.
Creating and disseminating information may be expensive. Marketers that don’t have a content strategy risk overspending on initiatives and leaving themselves with little money for the rest of the financial year.
Content strategies are essential when determining how much budget should be invested in a particular project, how it will support, and the potential savings we may realize.
5. Your marketing team will benefit from a content strategy.
Making any development is impossible without holding oneself and others accountable. Without an established content marketing strategy, your marketing manager will not know how much material should be generated, where and when to publish it, or how your organization may reuse it.
Most individuals require a little push if you want to get anything done. A defined content strategy acts as that shove.
It outlines team member performance metrics, establishes a content production timetable, provides instructions for handling social media accounts, and oversees the operation of a marketing automation system, among other things.
This is a lot simpler when you have a plan in place, leading to a more effective marketing team.
Recommended Reading: Why You Need Content Marketing for Business Growth (Definitive Guide)
What are the four keys to content marketing?
The four keys to content marketing are awareness, evaluation, conversion and enhancement.
1. Awareness
In the early stages of the content funnel, you should presume that your audience has never heard of you or the services you provide.
As a result, it’s up to you to let them know about the situation. There are many different ways that you may educate your target audience at the top of the funnel. Types of material you may utilize:
- Blog content
- Social media content
- Infographics
- YouTube video content
- eBook guide
- Podcast
2. Evaluation
Potential clients decide whether or not they need your good or service at the midpoint of the funnel.
You’re also working to earn your customer’s confidence during the review process. Anyone considering making a purchase from or doing business with your firm must first have faith in you and your company’s products or services.
People want material that explains why they should buy or use your product or service.
- Research data
- White papers
- Emails newsletter
- Free guides download
- Free webinars
3. Conversion
When making a purchase, we all want to have complete faith in our decision. Therefore, make it clear to your prospective consumers why they should purchase your goods or service.
The content funnel’s goal has been to pique clients’ interest in your product. Give consumers a cause to purchase at the end of the content marketing funnel.
You may quickly influence purchase by providing comparisons of comparable items and emphasizing what your product is better.
4. Enchantment
Even though it’s not part of the standard content marketing funnel, several organizations have added an extra stage to keep or delight consumers.
Your whole content marketing planning should be focused on attracting and retaining an audience. This effort goes much beyond the point of purchase.
Your material should make it easy for consumers to remain involved and share their thoughts with you. What do you need to do before this?
- Does it encourage the customer to input valuable comments?
- Is the information compelling enough to encourage readers to share it with their friends?
- Is this information based on real-life client success stories?
What are content marketing activities?
Content marketing activities are how you utilize your content and distribute it, such as social media content marketing, infographics, podcasts, and video and blog content.
It’s simple to see why so many firms employ social media marketing, given that over 3.6 billion people are using social media worldwide.
It’s possible to generate and distribute content on various platforms, including Facebook or Twitter, and multiple methods.
2. Infographics.
Infographics are visual representations of facts and information that make it simple for anybody to grasp. Infographics are an excellent approach to successfully expressing your material since they combine essential words, brief assertions, and explicit imagery. They’re a perfect option for instructive and complicated topics that need to be simplified.
3. Blog content.
There is much room for experimentation regarding blogs’ purpose and subject, which makes them a potent kind of inbound content. It’s possible to include product information in posts, connect to other material on your site, and put social media share buttons using a blog.
4. Podcast.
Surveys show that over half of 12- to 32-year-olds in the United States listen to at least one podcast a month for six hours each week. Several corporations and media organizations have started producing their podcasts in response to this trend.
5. Video.
Customers, according to Wyzowl, prefer to watch a video when learning more about a brand’s good or service. In addition, video marketing may increase conversions, enhance ROI, and allow you to make connections with your audience members.
Social networking channels, landing sites, or co-website marketers are all options for sharing your video material with your audience.
What are the four steps to creating a content marketing strategy?
The four steps to creating a content marketing strategy are, first, create a solid plan. High-quality, relevant, helpful content, distribute content correctly and convert potential audiences to paid customers.
1. Content marketing begins with a well-thought-out plan.
Content marketing begins with a well-thought-out plan. According to a survey conducted in December, sixty-four per cent of marketing and advertising specialists have already established their content marketing strategy.
More than half of those surveyed said they use an editorial calendar to organize their content marketing strategy.
2. An effective content marketing strategy relies on high-quality material.
You’re all set to get started on your content now. It’s important to remember that your content comprises both the media and the message itself. Both have equal weight. Maintaining a consistent approach is also critical.
Consider who you want to reach with your message. Are they at a certain point in the client’s journey? In the early stages of the buyer’s journey, you’ll want to focus on providing broad information. Assume you’re just starting in the world of content promotion.
3. Getting the word out about what you’ve written.
This means that your material is now ready to be shared. Now is the moment to distribute it to your intended audience. You may do this via a variety of methods. For a starting point, the PESO model works well. “Paid, earned, shared, and owned” media is referred to as PESO.
For example, you may start by writing blog articles about your products or services or answering client questions on your website (owned media). However, your newsletter is one of the most important for your media.
4. Convert potential audience to a paid client.
Everyone in the content promotion industry is focused on increasing conversion rates. That should come as no surprise to anybody. Companies, after all, want to know how much money they’re spending on content marketing.
You might quickly ask conventional advertising the same question. For example, what is the best way to calculate a billboard’s return on investment? Still, it’s more difficult to gauge the success of a content marketing strategy than an AdWords ad.