A content marketing strategy is a plan that outlines how you will create, publish, and distribute content to achieve your business objectives. The strategy should take into account your audience, your brand voice, the type of content you want to create, and where you will publish it. Creating a content marketing strategy helps businesses focus their efforts and ensure that they are creating content that is aligned with their goals.
An effective content marketing strategy can help businesses in a number of ways. It can improve audience engagement, generate leads, build trust and relationships with customers, and even boost sales. In today’s competitive landscape, having a solid content marketing strategy is critical for any business that wants to succeed.
1. Create A Narrative
Any successful brand will have a great story to tell, and that story is at the heart of their content marketing strategy. In today’s age, consumers are looking for more than just a product or service; they want to see brands that align with their values and that are working to make a positive impact on the world. Nike has always been a master of brand storytelling, and one of their most effective campaigns is Equality. The campaign highlights Nike’s commitment to social justice and provides athletes with more than just sneakers and workout gear – it gives them an opportunity to be part of a movement to effect change in the world. When done correctly, brand storytelling can be an incredibly powerful tool for connecting with consumers and building loyalty.
By sharing relatable and authentic stories, businesses can humanise their brands and build trust with consumers. In a world where we are bombarded with countless marketing messages each day, storytelling is one of the most effective ways to cut through the noise and stand out from the competition. Whether you’re sharing your company origin story or highlighting customer testimonials, make sure that your content is captivating, informative, and easy-to-follow. When done correctly, brand storytelling can be a powerful tool for driving sales and fostering loyalty among your target audience.
2. Figure Out Your Target Audience
Any good storyteller knows that one of the most important aspects of a narrative is the audience. Generating leads and traffic is consistently one of the most challenging aspects of content marketing, which is why it’s essential to research your target audience thoroughly. Before beginning to write, it’s essential to understand who will be reading the story and what needs to be done to hook them. This process is known as creating an avatar, and it involves fleshing out the details of an ideal customer such as their age, gender, average income, career. The more three-dimensional you can make this avatar, the more intimately you can understand your target audience. With this knowledge in hand, you can then begin to craft a story that will resonate with your readers on a deep level and facilitate greater engagement.
3. Make Content Generation A Priority
If you don’t have a dedicated content marketing team, it can be difficult to generate fresh content on a regular basis. However, there are a few things you can do to help you generate content ideas. First, take advantage of tools like UberSuggest, Google Trends and Buzzsumo. These tools will help you come up with content ideas that are relevant to your brand. You can also set up trend alerts on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. This way, you’ll be able to capitalise on viral videos and memes as they happen. Finally, consider running a user-driven campaign. This type of campaign relies on your audience to submit their own content, which you can then curate and share with your followers. By taking these steps, you’ll be able to ensure that your content is fresh, relevant and engaging.
4. Target Strategic Distribution Channels
It does not matter how good your content is if you cannot show it to the right people. Thankfully, there are many ways to share your content, such as ebooks, blogs, podcasts, social media graphics, and webinars.
Which channels you choose is dependent on your business objectives and target audience. However, there are three main channels: paid (e.g., Instagram ads), owned (e.g., email newsletters) and earned (e.g., social media shares). More often than not, a good content distribution strategy features a use of all three marketing channels.
Before you can develop an effective distribution strategy, you need to have a clear understanding of your target audience and what story you’re trying to tell. From there, you can begin to identify the channels that will be most effective for getting your content seen and shared. It’s also important to optimise your owned channels – such as your website and social media platforms – as much as possible, as this is the one place where you have complete control over the visibility of your content.
By taking the time to properly define your target audience and story, and then selecting the most effective channels for distribution, you can ensure that your content reaches the largest possible audience.
5. Look At Your Metrics For Campaign Effectiveness
When developing a content marketing strategy, it is essential to set goals and establish measurable key performance indicators (KPI). This will help you determine whether or not your campaigns are effective. Some common KPIs include content impact, engagement, traffic and sentiment. However, these can be further divided into more specific metrics, such as unique page views, conversions, top exits, bounce rates and social shares. Keep in mind that the metrics will vary depending on the distribution channel. Additionally, it may take some time to figure out the appropriate baselines and metrics for your brand.
Strengthen Your Content Marketing With @ASK Training
With 97% of 1500 businesses surveyed by Semrush indicating that content marketing was a key component of their overall marketing strategy, it is vital that enterprises look to help their staff upskill in content marketing to stay ahead of the curve. If you want to learn how to create a content marketing strategy that works for your business, then the Advanced Digital Content Marketing Course offered by @ASK Training is the perfect solution. If you’re looking to learn the various skills that can help contribute to your content marketing, we also have a slew of courses that is suitable for you:
- WSQ Copywriting and Content Writing Course
- WSQ Digital Content Creation
- WSQ Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
With experienced trainers in Singapore, you’ll get all the expertise you need to develop your skills. Contact us today for more information about this course or any of our other digital marketing courses.