- January 27, 2015
- 0
- Email This Post
- Print This Post
What To Include In Your Content Marketing Strategy
If you’re developing a new content marketing strategy or reevaluating the one you already have, there are a few common elements to consider.
To start with, it’s important to document your strategy. Putting your strategy into writing helps focus thinking and get everyone on the same page. It also provides a benchmark by which to measure the success of your efforts.
What follows are some of the key elements every content marketing strategy should include, as condensed from Michele Linn’s “Back to Basic” series from Content Marketing Institute.
What Should Go Into Your Content Strategy?
Innovation: This gives you permission to do what it takes to succeed, and also to fail. Being innovative means you take risks when you trying new things. You won’t get it right the first time out, every time. There’s no way to guarantee return on investment (ROI) before you conduct your test. When you include a plan to innovate as part of your content marketing strategy, you set up more realistic expectations.
Content Marketing Business Plan: How will you use your content marketing to convert leads into sales and build your business? Don’t try to set ROI expectations on content marketing at the beginning. You won’t know until you get a sense of how effectively it will be used.
Buyer Personas and Content Mapping: The people developing your content need to understand your customers as people who are looking for specific information to solve a problem or meet a need. Plan to create content that answers your customers’ questions at each stage of the decision-making process.
Your Story: What is the message your brand wants to convey? Decide on a framework that helps you consistently communicate your company’s reason for being. You don’t need to fit all the details into your strategy document, but you should outline how and what needs to be told.
Channel Plan: Specify how you will distribute and place your content. Decide which channels will be most relevant and effective for reaching your target audience.
For more ideas on successful content marketing, take a look at some of our previous posts: Merrill Lynch Reaches Affluent Americans with Content Marketing, and Acura Tweaks Content Mix to Fit Customer Tastes in Largest-Ever Launch.
