If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you’re aware of the importance of having a content strategy. But just knowing about it isn’t enough – you also need to know how content marketing works to execute your marketing strategy effectively. Luckily, we’ve put together this guide to educate you on how it works and how to implement a strong strategy.
Ready to get started? Read on:
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest surrounding a specific product or service.
Content marketing is often used by businesses to build relationships with potential and existing customers, create loyalty among customers, and increase brand awareness.
It can effectively reach new audiences without seeming like a traditional advertisement and provide valuable information or entertainment for current fans/potential customers.
The 4 Phases of the Buyers Journey:
Customers today are more savvy and sophisticated than ever before. They have access to a wealth of information at their fingertips and are no longer content to purchase the first product they see. For businesses to succeed in today’s market, they need to take their customers on a journey through content marketing that will help them make informed decisions about what they purchase. Content marketing can be used to build relationships with customers, provide valuable information, and drive sales. By taking customers on a journey through content marketing, businesses can build loyalty and trust while increasing sales.
- Awareness: Customers may have needs without being aware that companies have solutions.
- Research: Discover the options of existing solutions and how their needs might be fulfilled.
- Consideration: Comparing different products to determine the value and finding the best quality for the best price.
- Purchase: The customer finalizes a decision and makes a transaction.
How to Implement a Sustainable Content Marketing Strategy:
To implement a well-oiled content marketing machine, there are several answers to seek first about your company and brand. A content marketing strategy only works when you have built a thoughtful path to success.
Document Your Content Strategy
Plan for success! Documenting your content strategy is important in creating a successful online presence for any business. By understanding what your audience wants and how to provide it, you can create lasting relationships with both customers and potential investors.
Documenting your content strategy starts with mapping out your goals for the website and blog, then determining which topics will help you achieve those goals. After that, it’s vital to track each post natively so that you constantly have updated evidence of whether published content effectively reaches its objectives.
& if you haven’t yet, consider making a content calendar. Laying out your plan in a spreadsheet you can consistently refer back to will make your life much easier while holding you more accountable!
Conduct a Content Audit
Reaching a large audience isn’t easy – it requires time and effort, both of which are easily wasted if not done correctly. That’s where a content audit comes into play – it provides data as a baseline to help you measure your current content strategy against your future efforts (and make necessary adjustments as needed). This gives you an educated jumpstart to your strategy that can save you time and energy down the road.
Some things to include in your content audit would be:
- Current analytics such as domain authority and traffic
- A list of already curated articles, landing pages, and resources
- A list of keywords you are already ranking for
SEMrush is an excellent tool to consider for tracking these
Understand Your Audience
Too many businesses focus on creating content without understanding who they’re speaking to, or what their audience wants or needs. This can lead to ineffective and repetitive content – not only for your website but also for all your social media posts and marketing materials.
Try to reconsider using industry jargon or diving deep into specs when creating marketing content. We’ve seen that writing benefit-focused content is an effective way to connect with your target client or customer.
Define Your Goals and KPIs
Define Your Goals and KPIs is a popular tip to create a content strategy approach that helps businesses plan, measure, and track their online presence. This helps small businesses respond more efficiently to fluctuations in the ever-changing internet landscape by being able to define what success looks like for them individually.
Knowing where you want your business to be in the next year or two makes it easier for you to prioritize your goals as well as focus on what works best for your specific brand and target audience.
Now Get Started
Now that you understand how Content Marketing works, you may be asking yourself if you are too far behind or if there is any hope of success.
There is a lot of work to help you catch up, but every day that goes by, you could be growing your audience. If you are looking for an agency to help you execute your plan, be sure to check out of packages and pricing and request our media kit!