Simplify Your Content Marketing Strategy

Do you believe in the value of online content marketing? Congratulations, you are ahead of the game! Now, to really succeed with content marketing and beat the competition, you need a simple and sound content marketing strategy.

Marketers need to plan for what content should be created, how and when it will be delivered, and what metrics will be used to evaluate a campaign’s success. The process should be adjustable as needed and repeatable in the future. If you don’t have an online content strategy, it’s time to develop one.

Appoint a leader.
Too many organizations are cranking out content without a leader. Without a leader, coherent strategy is all but impossible. Regardless of the size of your organization, it is essential to assign a skilled, trusted individual with the power to drive your content strategy.

Create a content team.
Yes, appoint a leader for your content strategy, but from the beginning, also tap the others you want to include in future endeavors, including key marketing reps, copywriters, designers and the rest of your creative team. Let them know what each of their responsibilities are. Also make sure to talk to relevant senior management, as keeping key decision-makers in the loop from the beginning can help smooth out any problems that may pop up as launch approaches.

Conduct an audit.
Determine exactly what online content you already have, where it resides, who’s responsible for it, how it is being created and who is the target audience.  Because many organizations have pieced together content over many years, they may not know what they already have and where it is. Without having a basic understanding of where your brand is at, you cannot create an accurate map for where you want it to go.

Start at the source.
Your website is like a home base for your content strategy. Most of your efforts are meant to funnel traffic to your site, so this has to be the most well designed aspect of your plan. Make certain that text includes relevant key words for organic search engine queries, but also ensure  that it reads well for human. This also requires an understanding of information architecture and user interface design.  All of these elements must work together to deliver results.

Understand your target.
Effective content is much more than key words and images assembled in readable phrases. Your content should reflect an understanding of how your target users will respond to your content. You must have a clear assessment of what your target customers expect to find online when they are searching for answers to their problems.

Define a repeatable process.
Although great ideas inspire great content, without effective process management, consistent quality is up in the air.  Like a traditional publication, marketers should develop quarterly and annual editorial calendars, as well as workflow plans for each element. Since you are now in the content creation business, it is time to act like it!

Like any other campaign or marketing endeavor, content marketing needs a strategy for it to perform at its best. It shouldn’t be overly complicated, it just needs to be well thought out and easy to follow. With repetition and adjustments, marketers can reap rewards for greater than if they published a hodge-podge of information.

What steps have you taken to ensure you have an effective yet simple content marketing strategy? Share below and help inspire others.