We’ll admit it: we’re fascinated with creating outstanding content that drives your business. However, before we begin creating content, we must first establish a clear and effective content marketing plan.
And here’s the thing: We’ve spoken with thousands of marketers over the last decade. Many of them do not have a documented content strategy. If this surprises you, the statistics back it up. According to a recent study, only 57% of marketers have a defined strategy. Only 19% of respondents believed their strategy was “advanced.”
That implies there’s plenty of room to get an advantage over the competitors.
In this post, we will lead you through a step-by-step process for developing, measuring, and sustaining an effective content marketing plan.
But, before we get started, keep in mind that content marketing is a long-term, continuous approach. Meaningful outcomes necessitate thorough research, a strong commitment to quality, and consistency.
Let’s start with your foundation.
Start creating your content roadmap immediately with our printable workbook! Completing the worksheet accompanying this article provides an immersive experience for developing your content strategy.
Your Content Marketing Strategy Blueprint.
- Begin with investigation.
Conducting thorough research to identify and clarify your brand’s objectives is the initial stage in crafting an effective content marketing strategy. It’s vital to note that SMB and corporate firms frequently have distinct beginning points and goals for their content initiatives.
Here’s a closer look at some of the typical aims most marketers aim for when developing a content strategy.
- Revenue
- Lead generation
- Conversions
- Brand awareness
- Customer loyalty
- Domain authority
- User engagement
- Inbound links
- Traffic
Each of these objectives necessitates a distinct approach to content development and distribution. The goal is to understand your audience’s specific needs and customize your content approach accordingly.
Investigate your target audience. Analyze your website and social media metrics to create personas based on data. (If you need to construct a persona, HubSpot’s Make My Persona Tool (Open Link in new window) is a wonderful place to start.
Conduct a content audit. Audits examine the content you’ve released, how well it functions, and any issues that may have an impact on its efficacy and user experience (UX). If you’re not sure how to conduct a content audit, we have a step-by-step tutorial (Open Link in new window) that can help.
Decide on the types of material you will create. Content is developed in a variety of ways. Marketers utilize dozens of content kinds to reach their target audiences, including articles, podcasts, infographics, and white papers. We’ve determined the top 25 content kinds (Open Link in new window) to include in your content marketing strategy.
Executing all of these procedures will lay the groundwork for the remainder of your approach.
2. Create ideas for your content.
Next, you’ll start the ideation process. The basis of this stage is a thorough understanding of your audience’s demands and interests. Fortunately, we completed our research in the previous phase!
Start by reviewing your audience’s demands, because it’s more than just providing content. It is about providing people with material that resonates, engages, and adds value to their needs.
Consider: What type of material can you generate to best serve your audience? What will attract their interest while still providing value? More importantly, what can they do to remedy their problem?
The most effective content ideation begins and concludes with identifying your audience’s demands, pain areas, and interests. The more closely your content matches what your audience cares about, the more likely they are to share it and raise brand exposure.
If you’re not sure where to begin, we’ve created a checklist below to help you establish a powerful set of subjects to kickstart your content marketing plan.
3. Create a content spreadsheet.
As marketers, we are all aware that ideation can be messy. To manage and visualize your content plan, you must first collect all of your ideas properly.
Thank God for spreadsheets.
Create your table by adding the subjects you brainstormed in step 2 to your spreadsheet. In this example, we’re using “The Ultimate SEO Guide.” (You can create a spreadsheet using the example provided below).
Fill out all of the information in your spreadsheet; feel free to expand it to meet your content objectives and take notes as needed.
Also, remember to make your spreadsheet shareable with the stakeholders involved.
4. Create detailed content briefings.
Detailed content briefs are the blueprints that guide your writers and content creators in producing material that is consistent with your strategy and satisfies your objectives. They should include as much information as possible to position your creators for success.
You’ve already worked hard to lay the groundwork for your content. It’s time to start developing and publishing content. Use the spreadsheet as a guide when spreading your work. Create a column to keep track of whether the component has been completed, ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks. Continue to tweak your content for each marketing channel and target audience while tracking your KPIs to optimal impact.
Monitor your content’s performance:
- How well did it perform?
- Did it achieve the objectives it set?
- What did and didn’t work?
- Can the piece be reoptimised?
Remember that content strategy is not static. It’s an ongoing process of invention, measurement, learning, and modification. As you gain insights on the performance of your content, use them to refine your strategy and marketing objectives.
The optimal content strategy is one that adapts to your audience’s needs while still meeting your marketing objectives.
Congratulations, you did it!
You’ve built the foundation for your content marketing plan!
You can now track your content conception, development, and optimization efforts. But it does not end there. Remember that successful content marketing requires months of constant effort. This is a marathon, not a sprint.