Content Marketing Strategy
I’m excited to let you know that I was interviewed on the POWER to Live More podcast with Jo Dodds.
The show is aimed at business owners and leaders and is all about Productivity, Organisation, Wellbeing, Energy, and Resilience (POWER). On the show, we talked about what I do to be productive, organize myself, and keep myself and my business healthy. I also speak about what attracted me to the world of content marketing and how I ditched being an employee and took the plunge into full-time entrepreneurship.
CLICK HERE AND CHECK IT OUT!
What Is in a Content Strategy?
In the episode, I discuss the importance of constructing your customer avatar so you can understand your audience’s marketing preferences. This is crucial for creating a good content strategy. I also share some actionable tips on how to identify and resolve problems in your current content marketing strategy.
Note that when I say content marketing strategy I mean the entire process of planning to use the content for establishing your brand and promoting your business online. Content can come in various forms, from blog posts to live videos. You just need to find a consistent way to use that content to increase traffic and leads so you can grow your business.
Content strategy includes a lot of planning and strategizing. You want to create and deliver the content in the most optimal way. The most important thing is, naturally, having quality content, which means relevant content for your buyer personas.
What Are the 4 Types of Content Marketing Strategies?
There are 4 basic types of content marketing strategies I’d like to amplify. You can focus on blogging, podcasting, creating videos, or social media marketing. Naturally, you can do all of it but it’s better to make a choice that will suit your target audience. For example, if your potential customers don’t like videos, you shouldn’t waste your content marketing efforts on video creation.
Blog Content Marketing
Did you know that 70% of people prefer to learn about a company through articles than advertisements? A blog post can position you as an authority in the field while also connect you with your audience. Articles just feel more personal than ads.
Be careful when you’re creating a blog content strategy. You don’t want to blog about how your newest product is absolutely amazing. Instead, write about the topics that are related to your products, which you can mention occasionally. Your blogs should be informative so they can provide value to the readers. Give something valuable and it will return to you.
The best thing about blogging is that customers will come to you because you’ll be creating relevant content! They want to find out something online and your articles should be that something. Invite them to take a look at the topics that are relevant and interesting. If you know your audience, you’ll have no problem creating great content that resonates with them. A good SEO tool will also help you with this. You can find out what are keywords that your customers are looking for on search engines and then, just create content your audience wants.
For example, if you’re selling fitness equipment, you should write about fitness and health topics in general. Blog about different types of exercise, create how-to articles and overall create content related to fitness so people transition to your products naturally.
Remember that your readers want to find out something. They want solutions to their problems. In the previous example, let’s say someone is wondering how to start running. He or she is not searching for running shoes but for motivation. Your blog post can cover the topic of motivation to exercise and recommend good running shoes at the end.
Podcast Marketing
Podcasting is actually my favorite type of content marketing. Podcasts can help you connect with your audience on a whole other level. You have the option to go in-depth about the topics of your expertise and position yourself as an authority in your niche.
With podcasts, you’ll raise your brand awareness but also show a more personal side of your business. For me, that’s the best use of content marketing out there! Customers prefer to buy something from other people. If you present yourself as an ordinary person like them and show empathy for their problems, they’re more likely to engage with your brand.
As with any type of content, you need to create a podcast content strategy. You can’t just go with the flow and hope for the best. You need to see what are the topics your target audience is interested in, plan a recording and publishing schedule, research the best podcast networks to host your show, etc.
Video Content Marketing
If you want to create content in the form of a video, you need to put in a lot of time and resources in production. But it can be very effective! A lot of customers love video content because it’s easily digested.
You can present so much with visual media and show a whole different side of your business. It’s great to demonstrate how something works. Show your products in the best way possible but, as with blog posts, provide value to the viewers.
For example, if you’re a mechanic and own a car repair show, you can create videos on “How to change a flat tire”. You’ll give relevant content for the audience and position yourself as the expert. I’m sure that the people will call you first when they have a more serious car issue!
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is such a broad topic that it needs its own article. Luckily, I have a few in mind. Check out how to approach Facebook groups, use Instagram creatively, and create Twitter engagement. Or you can listen to a podcast on the topic of social media.
Social media platforms offer a lot of options for content creation. But whatever is your marketing plan when it comes to social media, you need to remember it’s all about people’s engagement. If you’re not getting those comments running, you’re doing something wrong. Always ask for people’s feedback because they’re the driving force of your content marketing efforts.
Most importantly, you want to be consistent with your social media marketing (as with your content marketing tactics in general). If customers see an unmaintained page, they will run. They’ll actually think you’re not doing business anymore! Make sure to post regular social media content and always respond to people’s comments. You can use a content calendar to keep you on the right path, as well as different analytic tools to track people’s engagement.
Note that you should always repurpose your content. You can get a lot of pieces of content from just one good idea. Use the content from videos to create a blog post or a social media post and vice versa. Share everything on your website, your blog, social media pages, and of course in your email marketing campaigns.
How Do You Write a Content Marketing Strategy?
Writing a content marketing strategy ain’t no easy task. As said, you need to carefully plan and strategize. To make matters a bit easier for you, here are 6 steps you can follow:
- Set your goals. What are your content marketing goals? Do you want to build stronger relationships with your clients, get new leads (and how much), improve your SEO rating, or something else? Naturally, the ultimate goal is increasing your revenue but you need to lay out exactly how you’ll get there.
- Know your audience. As said, you need to figure out exactly who your audience is so you can create relevant content for them. Look for demographic data, get customers’ feedback, and of course create buyer personas.
- Decide on the content type and channels. You can’t be everywhere all the time so it’s important to figure out what kind of content will you produce and where you’ll post it. You’ll decide this when you assess your current position and compare it to your customers’ wants and needs. If your audience was already responding well on Facebook but hasn’t been active on Instagram, you know where your focus should be.
- Schedule your content. Use a content calendar to plan your future posts. Think for the long term and always remember to repurpose the content. As said, one idea can be used in many pieces of content.
- Think of distribution. It’s not enough just to create the content. You need to distribute and leverage it. So if you created a podcast show, post it on all podcast directories, share it on your social media channels, use email marketing to promote it, etc.
- Track your progress. A very important part of content strategy is measuring the results of your content creation. You should know what kind of content resonates well with your audience so you can create more of it and avoid the types they don’t like. Analytic tools are your friends because they help you make constant changes to your content marketing strategy.
What Is the Difference Between Content Strategy and Content Marketing?
Basically, a content strategy is a plan that will lead you to a successful content marketing campaign. Don’t try to marketing without a strategy because you’ll fail to resonate with your customers’ needs. Without proper research and planning, you’ll just waste your resources and won’t get a high return on your investment.
If you really want to grow your business and get new leads, you need a plan! Smooth Sailing Business Growth will help you create that plan and guide you towards a successful content marketing campaign. Don’t wait to schedule a free consultation with me because I want to discuss the ways you can grow your business now!
