Content marketing plays an integral part in a business’s success, and last year, over 84% of businesses had a content strategy. But just having a plan isn’t enough for success. You need an effective content marketing strategy that gives your business a worthy return on investment (ROI). Whether you are at the early stages of content marketing or you’ve been doing it for years, it’s never late to evaluate your strategy and ensure you’re on the right path.
This blog will explore the best steps to follow when implementing a content strategy for your business.
Let’s get started!
1. Have a Clear Goal and Purpose
The first thing you need is a clear set of goals you want to achieve. Your goal may be to increase brand awareness, grow your traffic, or even increase lead generation.
Whatever your goals are, make sure they are SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. You may have one or more related goals, but avoid having too many goals all at once. You want to be able to focus on a few rather than spread your efforts thin.
Having a clear understanding of what your content aims to achieve will help create a clear path for other aspects of your content strategy.
2. Understand Your Audience
At this stage, you want to understand who your readers will be and what kind of information they are looking for. Create a reader profile with as much information as possible, such as age, spending habits, preferences, challenges, family orientation, and level of education.
Just as you may have different clients for your services, you may also have different types of viewers or readers. Similar to dealing with specific clients, you should create content in formats that resonate with each type of viewer. Deliver the content in channels specific to each consumer group.
3. Know Your Audience’s Pain Points
In this stage, you want to explore your readers’ problems or questions. Your content should educate your audience through their pain points, show them how they can be addressed, and present yourself as an expert in that field.
An effective content strategy will speak to those trying to understand their pain points and those who have solved their problems through your products or services. Your content should create a clear connection between the problem and its solution: your business’s product or service. Reinforce the message to those who are currently customers too.
When your content coaches your audience into understanding their problem, your product should be the first to come to mind when they think about a solution.
4. Be Authentic and Unique
Your competitors have similar products and target the same audience. So, what will differentiate your business from theirs? Think about what is unique about your brand and consider things like your voice, tone, approach, stance, and positioning. Many companies offer the same product or service, but what sets them apart is how they market themselves.
Ensure you remain consistent in all your content efforts to build trust with your audience. When consumers see you as authentic, they’ll realize that your business is one worth listening to and buying from.
5. Choose the Right Channels
Don’t limit your content to one channel. Instead, distribute it on different platforms and be specific to each. Don’t copy and paste the same content to different channels. The most popular avenues for delivering your message are:
- Blogs
- Social media
- Email marketing
- Public relations
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing
6. Determine Your Content Format
Before creating your content, you’ll need to decide which format you’ll use so that you can plan the budget and materials. There are several ways to deliver content. Some of the most popular include:
- Videos
- Infographics
- Blog posts
- Podcasts
- E-Books
- Press releases
- Whitepapers
- Webinars and presentations
7. Implement your Content Marketing Strategy
Now that you’ve established clear goals, understand your audience, and have selected content formats and channels, it’s time to implement your strategy. Here’s how:
- Choose your content management system (CMS), such as WordPress, where you’ll plan, create, publish, and promote your content.
- Brainstorm content ideas for upcoming projects.
- Assign roles in the content creation process and determine whether you’ll have an in-house team to do it or you’ll outsource to freelancers or agencies.
- Publish your content on your pre-determined channels. You may need content repackaged and repurposed for specific platforms. For example, you can publish a blog post on your site and repurpose the content to share on social media.
- Promote your content with unpaid or paid options. If you are just starting, organic traffic can work with less money, and once you know the best-performing content, you can then promote it using paid options.
8. Measure Results
In this final stage, you’ll want to know how your content is performing. It’s essential to measure the results based on your initial goals and targets. For example, did you increase traffic and generate leads? What’s the percentage of increased conversions? Are people engaging with your content and increasing social share?
Use both qualitative and quantitative data to know how you can improve going forward. Adjust your goals for the next period, and begin again!
Zero Gravity Marketing Can Help You Implement an Effective Content Strategy!
We understand how challenging and time-consuming it can be to create and implement a content strategy for a high return on your investment. That’s why we’re here!
With our expertise, skills, experience, and tools, we can help you create a content strategy that gives you a competitive advantage and increases conversion. Contact ZGM for content marketing solutions today!
