Writing one blog after the other, sending out emails, and interacting with clients through social media amounts to nothing if you don’t have a content marketing strategy. After all, you will not know whom you are targeting and what they want. And you won’t offer your audience enough value to attract and retain their interest.
This guide takes you through creating a content marketing strategy designed for your specific target market.
What will you need?
A channel: Your content marketing strategy will rely on advertising channels. Start by going through this article to learn how to start a channel. And if you want to use both paid and own channels, this article will show you just how to integrate both for better content marketing results. Oh, and to make sure your channels are valuable to you and your clients, please check out this article for tips on optimizing your channels.
A marketing plan: Your content marketing strategy should have a SMART goal that aligns with your marketing plan. Only this way can you ensure that the strategy delivers value to your clients and discover the most optimal stage of your customer funnel.
Do you have these two components ready?
Here are the steps to a successful content marketing strategy:
Know your goals: What do you want to achieve? Go through this article to learn how to set marketing goals in line with your SMART goals.
Who is your market? Nail the demographics – age, interests, income levels, etc.
What Platforms are most effective for your target market? E.g., millennials are highly active on social media, including Instagram and Twitter. Yet Gen Zs are highly active on TikTok.
Behavior: How much time does your target market spend on these Platforms? Are they active? Do they interact with brands?
What content is most effective for your target market? Should you use videos? Do they prefer images?
Can you create the kind of content they want? For example, if your target audience is on Instagram, do you know how to make reels? How about how to edit photos? Create a SWOT analysis of your capabilities regarding your target market content needs.
In-house vs Outsource: Can you outsource such content creation skills if you can’t create the content they need?
What makes you different from the rest of the brands in your industry? You must research your industry and conduct a PESTEL analysis (political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors). Know what you can exploit and what can adversely impact your business. Are there gaps?
How can you encourage user-generated content? Peer content sells more than business-generated content. So, how can you get your target audience to promote your business voluntarily?
Metrics and Analytics: What analytics will you use to gauge the success of your content marketing strategy? Also, which KPIs will you use? If you do not track your strategy, you have no way of knowing if it’s a success or not.
Download your worksheet here, meet with your team and design a content strategy that stands out from your competition in line with your marketing goal.