Your phone, your TV, your computer. Everywhere you look, there’s content. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the immense amount of content we engage with on a daily basis. Amid content overload, how do you get your brand’s content to stick out from the rest?
A content marketing strategy is a necessary first step. This plan can help you reach your audience directly, and it can also guide the content you create and determine where you share it.
A great marketing plan won’t just bring you right to your customers. It will also make sure they remember you.
While a memorable marketing strategy is something many brands dream of, it doesn’t just fall into your lap. It’s something your brand needs to optimize consistently and build out thoughtfully.
Forming a Strong Foundation
The first step in any good content marketing strategy is forming a strong foundation of your brand. You need to know both what your brand has to offer and how you communicate with customers. What kind of services do you have to offer customers? Is your website in great shape, or does it need to be improved to match your social media? Plus, starting your content marketing strategy with your foundation will make all the messaging cohesive later.
You also need to know who your target audience is. A good content marketing strategy has a clear target audience. With a deeper understanding of the needs and behaviors of your potential customers, you can more effectively reach them and demonstrate how you can meet their needs.
Finally, the foundation of your content plan needs goals. Are you looking to grow the business by 15%? Are you looking to expand into a new market? Are you hoping to improve customer retention or sell a new product? Answering these questions can help you identify what you want to do. Once you have an end goal in mind, you can figure out how to get there.
Transforming Ideas into Strategies
With a strong set of goals and target audiences, it’s easier to jump into researching the best practices to make it a reality. Creating content without a plan can be a nightmare. But with a content plan in place, it’s easy to identify the end goal and then determine what strategies will best achieve said goals. A blog post with some LinkedIn content may be one way to spotlight a case study, while a social media and website video may be the best way to announce a new product service. An influencer campaign can help you raise awareness among a specific audience, while a blog post can help you reach professionals.
Some stories may even be of interest to the media. With a content marketing strategy, you can jump at the opportunity for some positive press when your story connects with a broader topic or current event.
And throughout all your content, it’s important to be honest. Authenticity matters to consumers. The digital world is teeming with content, and that means audiences are searching for content that feels authentic and true to them. A brand’s authenticity in their content reflects the work they do, which can persuade or dissuade audiences from engaging with them.
Leaning on Authenticity and Analysis
In the midst of creating creative and authentic content, a strong content marketing strategy is implemented by communicators who reflect. Analyzing data is a critical part of a thoughtful plan.
Is the website receiving the right traffic? Are social media followers increasing, and is the data reflecting progress towards the established goals? Asking these questions and more can show you whether your strategies are resonating with audiences. Then, you can research ways to address areas of improvement. Constant optimization can be difficult while trying to create authentic content but finding the right balance can help your brand continue to grow and reach the right customers.
How Strategy and Substance Lead to Success
A good content marketing strategy makes all the difference. It can connect you directly to the right customers, and it can help you stand out in the midst of an overloaded digital world.
Joe’s team is there every step of the way in developing a content marketing strategy, from brand formation to content creation, brand authenticity to media engagement. Contact Joe today to learn more about how our team of experts can help you.