You need a strategy to achieve your goals if you want to use content marketing to grow your company. Set goals to guide your content marketing efforts, establish KPIs and create a content calendar. These steps will help to identify who you want to reach and how to deliver content. Once you have this information, you can start to plan how to get there.
Create a content marketing strategy
An editorial calendar is key to a successful content marketing strategy. Regular content must be scheduled. This involves planning out what content will appeal to your target audience, identifying their needs, and writing quality for each piece. Another key element of a successful marketing plan is consistency. You can maintain a steady stream of content by having enough content to post on a regular basis. It is important that you consider the stages of life and how they consume content.
Setting SMART goals
Planning your content marketing strategy requires you to establish SMART goals. As a rule, SMART targets should be specific. They should be measurable, realizable, realistic, time-bound, and easily attainable. This framework will allow you to keep track of your progress, measure success and help you monitor it. It's important that you set achievable goals and challenges people. To keep you on track, it's important to set time limits.
Defining KPIs
A content marketing strategy is not complete without metrics. To monitor your progress, page views can be used as a simple indicator. You can also segment traffic according to channel to see which channel is driving more traffic. This allows you to track the results of your marketing efforts. It is not enough just to see how many page views you have. You also need to look at conversion rates to understand the effectiveness and efficiency of your content marketing.
How to make a content calendar
A content calendar is vital for creating high-quality, consistent content. This can help you identify topics and trends that are most popular. You can use it to plan how you will publish your content across multiple channels. A content calendar will help you organize your content production more effectively. This calendar will help you pinpoint gaps in your content marketing strategy. It will also alert you to excellent copy ahead of time. It's a great way for you to keep track of your content outputs and identify collaboration opportunities.
Attracting audience members
An effective content marketing strategy can help you draw people to your website, and increase sales. Content marketing can take many forms, including videos, articles and photographs. Your strategy will determine which types of content are most beneficial to your business and which won't. You can also determine your content distribution channels. To attract audience members, your content should be useful to your target audience. The benefits of content advertising will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
FAQ
What are some common mistakes people make in starting a content-marketing program?
For any content marketing strategy, a plan is essential. You will waste your time and money if you don't have a plan. Without a plan, you'll end up with tons of content that isn't useful or appropriate.
A well-thought-out content marketing strategy provides direction, focus, and goals. It helps to keep things on track as you move between phases. If you are doing social media campaigns, it might be a good idea to first analyze which posts get the most engagement. This will let you determine what posts will bring traffic to your site. These results will help you decide whether to create a series or video blog.
Another mistake that people make is not considering how long their content marketing campaign will last. It's logical to write content today if your website will be launched tomorrow. However, if your content marketing strategy has been in place for six months, it's a good idea to start writing new content now.
Great content takes time. Don't rush yourself or underestimate this step.
If you are a business proprietor and would like to learn more on content marketing, In that case, we recommend reading our guide on How To Create Content That Works, which includes ten steps to follow to ensure that your content marketing programs are effective.
Are content marketing agencies the best?
Most content marketing agencies have extensive knowledge in developing content strategies for clients.
The knowledge they have can help you save time and money by creating a tailored plan that suits your needs.
However, not all agencies have the same skills. Some companies specialize only in certain niches, like eCommerce. Some companies specialize in specific industries like law firms.
Ask them to identify the areas that they specialize in, and then find the right agency.
Is content marketing easy to measure?
Yes! It is part of the process to measure results. It allows you to assess whether your efforts have been successful and if there are any changes you should make.
You can track which visitors came from different sources (emails, social media, paid advertisements, etc.) and track conversions, such as sales leads and purchases.
These metrics will tell you what pieces of content did well and where there are the most opportunities.
How many hours per week should I spend on content marketing?
It depends on the situation. You might not have to spend much time on content marketing. If you are trying to attract traffic to your site, however, you may need to invest at least 1 hour each day.
Do I need an agency for Content Marketing?
No! No. There are many online tools that can help you create high quality content. A premium price is also a common charge for agencies.
Is a Content Marketing Strategy right for me?
If you already know your message, then a Content Marketing Strategy works perfectly.
Here are some questions to ask to get you started.
Do my company need to communicate a particular message? Or do I want to create content that resonates with general audiences?
Do I want my efforts to convert visitors into buyers or generate leads?
What product am I trying to promote?
Would I be interested in reaching out to people outside of my industry sector?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then a Content Marketing strategy is exactly what you need.
What are the 7 Steps of Content Marketing?
The seven-step process for content marketing includes:
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Identify the problem
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Find out what's currently working
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Make new ideas
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Turn them into strategies
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Try them
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Get the best results
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Keep going until you find the right solution.
This strategy has proven to be effective for both small and large businesses.
Statistics
- According to research compiled by Coschedule: Companies that publish 16+ blog posts a month get as much as 3.5x as much traffic as those that publish 0-4 posts a month. (criteo.com)
- Content marketing produces 3X more leads per dollar spent. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing. (criteo.com)
- An example of an overarching goal could be: "In 2022, we want to achieve a 20% increase in revenue created by organic content and generate 15,000 MQLs with a budget of $30,000." (semrush.com)
- In fact, would pay more for a better customer experience, and 86% of B2B buyers would pay more. (neilpatel.com)
- Forty-seven percent of buyers view 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales representative. (mailchimp.com)
- Progress indicators (0–100%) allow each team member to see how attainable each goal is and understand what remains to be accomplished. (semrush.com)
- This marketing strategy landed Ford a 15.4% conversion rate. (neilpatel.com)
- Companies that use content marketing see approximately 30% higher growth rates than businesses not using it. (mailchimp.com)
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How To
What is a Content Marketing Strategy?
A content market plan (CMP), a strategic document, helps you identify your goals, objectives, strategies, and methods for building and executing your online presence. It is a guideline for achieving those goals through content creation, distribution, and other means.
The CMP is often broken down into three main areas.
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Your overall strategy. What are your goals?
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Your content strategy – Where can you find the right people who will write, curate and distribute your content content?
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Your strategy's execution tactics - What channels will you use for sharing your content? And what types of content will you produce?
These are the components that make a CMP effective.
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Goal Setting – Define your target audience. Set measurable KPIs that will measure success.
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Audience Research: Understand your ideal customers to know where you should look.
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Strategy - Develop a clear vision of where you're going. Break it down into smaller pieces.
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Execution: Set realistic expectations regarding when you will see results.