Let’s face it: in the world of content marketing, winging it is about as effective as bringing a knife to a gunfight. Yet, shockingly, a recent study by the Content Marketing Institute found that only 41% of B2B marketers have a documented content strategy. If you’re part of the 59% flying by the seat of your pants, here’s your wake-up call: you’re not just planning to fail, you’re failing to plan.
In today’s digital landscape, content isn’t just king – it’s an entire royal flush. It’s the currency of the internet, the lifeblood of your digital presence, and the bridge between your brand and your audience. But without a solid strategy, your content is just noise in an already deafening digital echo chamber.
This article isn’t about making you feel bad for your lack of strategy (okay, maybe a little). It’s about lighting a fire under you to get your content game in order. Because here’s the truth: a well-crafted content strategy isn’t just nice to have – it’s the foundation upon which successful marketing is built.
So, let’s pull back the curtain on content strategy. It’s time to confess our planning sins and chart a course for redemption.
The Anatomy of a Content Strategy
Picture your content strategy as the blueprint for your marketing skyscraper. Without it, you’re just piling bricks and hoping they don’t topple over.
At its core, a content strategy is a comprehensive plan that guides the creation, delivery, and governance of your content. It’s not just about what you’ll post on Instagram next Tuesday (though that’s part of it). It’s about aligning your content efforts with your business goals, understanding your audience’s needs, and creating a roadmap for delivering value through your content.
A robust content strategy typically includes
- Clear business and content goals
- Detailed audience personas
- Content audit and gap analysis
- Content themes and topics
- Channel strategy
- Content creation and workflow processes
- Distribution and promotion plans
- Measurement and optimization framework
The benefits of having a well-defined strategy are manifold. It ensures consistency in your messaging, helps you use resources more efficiently, allows you to measure and improve your efforts, and ultimately, drives better results.
Take Spotify, for example. Their content strategy goes beyond just promoting their music streaming service. They create personalized playlists, year-end wrapped campaigns, and even venture into podcast creation – all aligned with their goal of becoming the world’s leading audio platform.
Developing a content strategy isn’t a one-time task; it’s an ongoing process of planning, execution, and refinement. But trust me, the effort pays off. Companies with a documented content strategy are more likely to report success in their content marketing efforts. Still think you can afford to wing it?
Audience Analysis: Know Your Content Consumers
If content is the heart of your marketing, then your audience is the blood that keeps it pumping. Yet too many marketers create content in a vacuum, based on what they think their audience wants, rather than what their audience actually needs.
Understanding your target audience is more than just knowing their age and location. It’s about diving deep into their psyche – their pain points, desires, behaviors, and content consumption habits.
Start with data. Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and customer surveys to gather demographic and psychographic information. But don’t stop there. Engage in social listening, conduct interviews, and analyze customer support queries to uncover the questions your audience is really asking.
Once you’ve gathered this information, it’s time to create buyer personas. These are semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers, based on real data and educated speculation. They go beyond basic demographics to include motivations, goals, challenges, and preferred content types.
For instance, a B2B software company might have personas like “Tech-Savvy Tom,” a CTO looking for cutting-edge solutions, and “Bottom-Line Barbara,” a CFO focused on ROI. The content needs of these two personas would be vastly different.
Remember, your audience isn’t static. Their needs and behaviors evolve, and so should your understanding of them. Regularly revisit and refine your personas based on new data and insights.
By truly knowing your audience, you can create content that doesn’t just reach them, but resonates with them. As content marketing guru Ann Handley puts it, “The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” It feels like you’re reading their minds – and that’s exactly what thorough audience analysis allows you to do.
Content Audit and Gap Analysis
Imagine walking into a cluttered garage, determined to organize it, but having no idea what’s actually in there. That’s what trying to create a content strategy without a content audit feels like.
A content audit is your chance to take stock of what you have, assess its performance, and identify what’s missing. It’s like a Marie Kondo session for your content – keep what sparks joy (or in this case, engagement), and thank the rest for its service before letting it go.
Start by cataloging all your existing content across all platforms. Yes, all of it. That forgotten blog post from 2015? Include it. That customer service FAQ? That too. Categorize each piece by type, topic, target audience, and any other relevant factors.
Next, analyze the performance of each piece. Look at metrics like traffic, engagement, conversions, and SEO performance. Tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, and your social media insights can be goldmines for this data.
But here’s where many marketers stop, and that’s a mistake. The real value of a content audit comes from the gap analysis that follows. Look for:
- High-performing content topics that you can expand on
- Underperforming content that needs to be updated or repurposed
- Topics or content types that are missing entirely
- Content that no longer aligns with your brand or strategy
For example, you might discover that your how-to videos consistently outperform your written tutorials. Or you might realize you have plenty of top-of-funnel content but are lacking in middle and bottom-funnel pieces.
Use these insights to inform your content strategy. Maybe it’s time to pivot to more video content. Perhaps you need to create a content series addressing a common customer pain point that you’ve been overlooking.
Remember, a content audit isn’t a one-and-done task. Make it a regular part of your strategy – annually at minimum, quarterly if you can manage it. Your content, like your business, should be constantly evolving and improving.
In the words of David Ogilvy, “Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.” The same goes for your content. So roll up your sleeves and dig into that content garage. You might be surprised at the treasures – and the opportunities – you uncover.
Setting SMART Content Goals
If you’re creating content without clear goals, you might as well be throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks. It’s messy, inefficient, and leaves you with a lot of cleanup.
Enter SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These aren’t just buzzwords; they’re your roadmap to content marketing success.
Let’s break it down:
- Specific: “Increase engagement” is vague. “Increase average time on page for our blog posts” is specific.
- Measurable: Attach numbers to your goals. “Increase newsletter subscribers by 20%” gives you a clear target.
- Achievable: Be ambitious, but realistic. Doubling your Twitter followers overnight? Probably not. Growing by 5% month-over-month? Now we’re talking.
- Relevant: Your content goals should align with broader business objectives. If your company aims to expand into a new market, your content goal might be to increase traffic from that geographic area.
- Time-bound: Set deadlines. “Produce 10 thought leadership pieces by end of Q3” gives you a clear timeframe.
Here’s a SMART goal in action: “Increase organic traffic to our blog by 30% over the next six months by publishing two SEO-optimized articles per week and promoting them across our social channels.”
Remember, your content goals aren’t set in stone. They should evolve as your business grows and market conditions change. Regular review and adjustment of your goals keeps your content strategy agile and effective.
Content Ideation and Planning
Ever stared at a blank page, cursor blinking mockingly, as you wrack your brain for content ideas? We’ve all been there. But with a solid ideation and planning process, writer’s block becomes a thing of the past.
Start with your audience. What questions are they asking? What problems keep them up at night? Tools like AnswerThePublic or BuzzSumo can provide insights into popular topics and questions in your industry.
Next, look at your competitors. What are they talking about? More importantly, what aren’t they talking about? That gap could be your opportunity to shine.
Don’t forget to mine your own resources. Your sales and customer service teams are goldmines of content ideas. They’re on the front lines, hearing customer questions and objections daily.
Once you have a list of ideas, it’s time to plan. Create a content calendar that balances different types of content – educational, promotional, entertaining – across various channels. Tools like Trello or Asana can help you organize and schedule your content pipeline.
Remember, your content calendar isn’t just about what you’ll publish. It should also include key dates for your industry, product launches, and major marketing campaigns. This ensures your content aligns with and supports your broader marketing efforts.
Resource Allocation and Workflow
Creating great content consistently is like running a well-oiled machine. It requires the right resources, clear processes, and smooth workflows.
Start by assessing your needs. Do you have the in-house talent to create the content you’ve planned? Or do you need to outsource some tasks? Perhaps a hybrid model works best for your organization.
Next, establish clear workflows. Who’s responsible for ideation? Writing? Editing? Design? Approval? Publishing? Having defined roles and processes prevents bottlenecks and ensures consistency in your content production.
Invest in tools that streamline your workflow. Content management systems, project management tools, and collaboration platforms can significantly boost your team’s efficiency.
Don’t forget about distribution and promotion. Allocate resources not just for creation, but for getting your content in front of your audience. The best content in the world is useless if no one sees it.
Finally, build in time for analysis and optimization. Regular review of your content performance allows you to refine your strategy and improve your ROI.
The Path Forward
Congratulations! You’ve just taken the first step towards content marketing redemption. You now understand the key components of a solid content strategy. But remember, knowledge without action is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
Your next steps?
- Conduct a thorough content audit. Know what you have and where the gaps are.
- Define your audience personas. Get to know your content consumers intimately.
- Set SMART content goals that align with your business objectives.
- Create a content calendar and establish clear workflows.
- Allocate resources wisely, balancing creation, distribution, and analysis.
- Most importantly, document your strategy. Remember, those with a documented strategy are far more likely to succeed.
Content marketing without a strategy is like embarking on a road trip without a map. You might eventually reach a destination, but it probably won’t be where you intended to go, and you’ll waste a lot of time and resources getting there.
So, are you planning to fail, or are you ready to strategize for success? The choice is yours. But remember, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” It’s time to prepare for content marketing triumph.
If you would like to know more about this topic and how to grow your business, please reach out to me.
The views expressed herein are personal and do not reflect the views of any of our clients or partners. Some content links may be affiliate links and are an endorsement of the product or service.
Photo Credit: Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash
Original article: https://www.activelinkmedia.co.za/content-strategy-confessions-are-you-planning-to-fail/