Content marketing is the backbone of any business’s digital marketing efforts. But you should just be posting lackluster content just to fill a void. You need to have a solid content marketing strategy to help lead the way.
A content marketing strategy serves as the roadmap for B2C and B2B content marketing. 91% of B2B marketers stated that they use content marketing. But before you begin, it’s essential to understand the basic process involved first.
To learn more about the 5 basics of building a great content marketing strategy, keep reading below.
1. Understand Your Marketing Audience
Content marketing is only effective if you know what audience you’re aiming for. Instead of throwing out a wide net and hoping you reach a few potential customers, you’re narrowing down and zeroing in on your target audience. You can do this by specifying certain criteria known as a demographic.
A demographic includes data to help you identify your ideal customer persona. It includes areas of focus such as:
- Age
- Education
- Occupation
- Gender
- Income
- Race
You should also identify common pain points your target audience might face, their shopping habits, and their specific needs or interests. Doing this as a part of your content marketing strategy will help you create content that will have the most impact.
2. Set Clear Objectives and Goals in Your Content Marketing Strategy
With the next step of your content marketing strategy, it is important to set clear objectives and goals. You should put an emphasis on developing S.M.A.R.T. goals in particular. S.M.A.RT is an acronym that stands for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-based
Your content marketing strategy must also have well-defined objectives associated with it. These are the outcomes you most want to accomplish with your content marketing. For example, you may want to focus on increasing website traffic, generating more leads, improving brand awareness, or boosting your sales.
Having objectives and goals will make it easier to measure your success and direct your content marketing campaign.
3. Create Valuable and Engaging Content
Your content is the driving force of your content marketing strategy. That’s why you must always create content that provides value to your target audience. Your content must be informative and engaging to keep your target demographic interested in your brand.
It is vital to provide a variety of different content for your audience. This ensures that there is something for every interest level to engage with. You will want to use content forms like:
- Blogs
- Videos
- Social Media posts
- Infographics
- Podcasts
- Newsletters
Using video content is a popular format as it can generate more leads for businesses. It increases brand awareness by 54% as well.
Providing consistent and high-quality that align with your brand’s values and voice holds the of your audience. It also builds trust and establishes your brand as an industry authority.
4. Promote and Distribute Your Content
Once you’ve created your content, you need to put it out there. Your content marketing strategy should include the ways you intend to reach your target audience. This relates to the methods, channels, and platforms used to promote and distribute your content.
For instance, you may want to use social media platforms as well as your own website to showcase your content. You may also want to branch out into paid advertising, email marketing, social media influencer collaborations, and blog guest posting.
Choosing the right platforms, methods, and channels to distribute and promote your content will help you maximize your brand’s visibility and overall impact.
5. Analyze and Measure Your Results
Your content marketing campaign isn’t done just yet. You also need to measure the successes and potential drawbacks of your marketing efforts.
Use data and analytics to view areas like engagement metrics, website traffic, and conversion rates. Analyzing and assessing this data will help you adapt and optimize your content marketing strategy in the future.
Still have questions like, “What is content marketing?” You can learn more about the ins and outs of content marketing by reading Adobe’s guide to content marketing.
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Managing modern digital marketing requires overseeing many different aspects. Your content marketing strategy allows you to lay the basic framework for ensuring content marketing success.
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