Content Marketing has been around since the 1700s – if not longer. It is how a business markets itself – how it creates a way to attract customers and clientele. Granted, the methods behind content marketing have changed quite a lot since 1732.
Today, businesses can take advantage of technology and the accessibility it brings to help lengthen its reach. Now, companies have social media accounts, e-mail adverts, digital ads, and so much more.
Yet the question remains: how does one create an effective marketing strategy? Here are several tips and tricks to get any business started on the right foot. Even if a company already has a content strategy in place, there is no rule stopping them from reworking what is already in place.
Set Goals
Setting goals is a common first step in any business planning – and with good reason. Setting goals helps guide the business (and those that run it) through the content marketing process.
It’s essential to set a clear goal and hold to it. Don’t change the goal halfway through the process. Doing so runs the risk of leading to scope creep, which ensures that a project will grow unwieldy and fail to complete.
Know/Define the Target Audience
Knowing who a business wants to be marketing to is a significant part of content marketing. Likewise, it is vital to understand what information needs to be handed out to those potential clients or subscribers.
This may sound like an easy task, but it can take some doing if you don’t know the target audience. A business should know all of the details (the audience’s age, gender, income, interests, and reasons to care) before creating a content marketing campaign.
Answer Questions
When sitting down and creating a campaign, several questions need to be answered. First, what problem will you be solving for your audience? In essence, this question asks why the audience should care or invest in the business/product. Second, what makes the business unique? Are there any qualities, traits, or products that make the business stand out? This should be mentioned during the campaign.
What forms of content does the business want to prioritize? This will define the marketing strategy. Will it be a virtual campaign and concentrate solely on videos, blog posts, and ads? Will infographics come into play?
Where and how will the content be published? How will the marketing campaign be scheduled and dispersed? Are there be repeating elements in the campaign, or will there be unique elements every time?
Promote!
One of the biggest keys to success is promotion. A business or individual should consistently be promoting their new content marketing campaign. There are several ways to do this.
One could set up e-mail campaigns. This is an excellent way to reach out to current followers and make it easier for new ones to keep up. Ensuring that the new content is searchable is another critical element and requires a basic understanding of SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Scheduling. New content supports old content. Consistent content helps to drive attention and overall adds to the success of a marketing campaign.