You post new content at least once a week, and it gets the kind of response most websites dream of. So you've got the content marketing part down, but what about your content marketing
strategy?
Only 49% of content marketers have
developed a strategy around their content, which means they're posting content with no clear reason for doing so. But a strategy is necessary if your content is going to grow your business. Not only does it create parameters around the kind of content you produce, but your content ultimately has a more direct impact on the future of your business.
So stop posting content for content's sake and start developing your content strategy in three steps.
Set your goals.
Not all content marketing strategies are equal because not all goals are equal. Maybe you're more concerned with
getting your site found, while another site wants to drive more sales or revenue. But every strategy starts with a goal that determines what type of content you create.
Certain content spreads like wildfire; funny videos, for example, go viral in a matter of days. But who's clicking and sharing this content? Are these people taking actions that grow your business, or do they view the content and leave for something better? The best way to keep visitors engaged with your site is to set business goals and then create content that helps you meet them.
if, for example, your goal is to increase online sales, create content touting your products. Send emails and texts about new products and special sales. Place ads with discount codes. Write blogs about the issues that your products are meant to address. Above all, add a compelling call to action that brings people to your site. Know what you want your content to do and then create the content that makes it happen.
Create a set of relevant metrics.
You know what your content is supposed to do, but how do you know it's doing it? No content strategy will ever succeed unless you have tangible proof that it's working. That's why you need reliable metrics and analytics to measure your efforts.
One reasons content marketing is more successful than traditional marketing strategies is because it's so much easier to measure response rates, cost per click, cost per lead, conversion rates, and many other aspects. However, the impact of your campaigns can't be known if you don't use the tools that make measurement possible.
While you can measure every element of your campaign, measure them only with your end goals in mind. For instance, if your goal is to increase your click-through rate, you can test one call to action against another, but don't measure them just because you're curious. Measure them to find the call to action that yields the best results. Focus your measurements and analytics on the goals of your strategy and each campaign will get you closer to meeting them.
Organize your teams and workflows.
Your content strategy is only as strong as the teams and workflows you build around them. Whether your content marketing department has two people or 20, they all need to understand their roles and responsibilities in bringing your strategy to life.
It takes several steps to complete a content strategy, from developing goals and creating content to analyzing results and optimizing future campaigns. No one person can do it all, so you need to put a reliable team together and organize each process in a way that makes everyone work more efficiently.
Create separate departments for each aspect of a campaign and delegate them to people with the right expertise and experience. Assign each department a specific set of tasks and ask for regular updates, then create a workflow that makes it easier to share information, perform tasks, and submit work. Create a chain of command and a set of procedures that turn your team into one cohesive unit working towards meeting your strategy's goals.
Content marketing is easier if you develop the strategy
before the content, not after. Know what you want your content to do before marketing it. Create a content strategy so your content does exactly what it's supposed to do.