For several years now, content marketing has reigned supreme in the promotion of goods and services. It allows companies to make a name for themselves even when they are optimizing their budgets. So today I want to talk about what a content strategy is, how to create it, and how to make it effective. It should be noted that marketing starts to work when similar products with similar characteristics and application appear on the profile market.
That is, when there is competition and it is necessary to assert yourself, to prove that your product is the best and has certain advantages.
Each kind of activity has its own sales funnel. Even if you do not think about it or do not operate with such a concept. Through content marketing, you can significantly expand the top zone of that funnel. That's why a properly chosen and effective content marketing strategy is so important. It provides a step-by-step guide that details the following steps:
Of course, this is a simplified explanation. In fact, a well-designed, effective strategy has many more steps. But first things first.
It has two main objectives:
It is clear that both of these goals complement each other. And it is impossible to increase the figures of one without increasing the figures of the other.
Pay attention! If the increase in sales in general is relatively easy to assess and to notice, the loyalty of your target audience is not easy to assess, but without this indicator the growth of sales is impossible. Yes, and sustainable performance of the company in the market will not work.
Promotion through content (information) allows you to solve problems and achieve the above-mentioned goals. But in order to understand better how exactly the strategy is created, let's talk about the basics.
There are a lot of them! There is hardly any sense to list them all. But I will note the basic and most commonly used:
I'll be honest - it's quite difficult to divide types and formats. Plus, the division is arbitrary. Types are a variety of ways to contain material.
Formats are different forms, ways of delivering material on the same topic to users. For example, it can be:
How to distribute content: effective directions
In order to get the most out of the information you prepare, you should choose the best method of dissemination. Depending on the characteristics of your target audience.
Here are the most effective and accessible channels to "deliver" information to users:
Note that a content marketing strategy will be effective only if it has a properly defined goal, fully consistent with the direction of your business, your product/service or brand features.
So, what goals can a content strategy have? Here are a few possible and very real, valid options:
Having defined the purpose, you will already understand in what direction to move further. You have made the first and important step on the road to success.
Your content won't work effectively if you start attracting an audience that isn't your target audience through it. Therefore, knowing your audience is very important.
Put yourself in the shoes of a potential customer/representative of your target audience. Look at the information you provide from the perspective of the customer, the other people you will be influencing. Think, what is the usefulness of such information, what value it carries, to what actions it prompts?
Create a portrait of your customer, think about how exactly he behaves in social networks. Such a portrait should be created for each segment of your audience.
For your strategy to be as personalized as possible, link it to your company/website brand. How do you do this? Here are a few steps to personalize and connect with the brand:
Your brand is your guiding star. Be sure to use it when creating your content strategy.
Rational content strategy development involves doing some analysis to understand what your audience will be interested in. It is important for the information to be valuable, useful, and carry a certain semantic load for the client.
Whether you have a company or an informational website, be sure to provide as much useful information about yourself as possible. Your audience will want to know exactly what you are, what your secret to success is, how you got started. Here is a sample list of exactly what I recommend about yourself:
This way you become closer to the client, showing your loyalty. The client, in turn, feels your affection for him, feels that he is on the same level with you.
It's worth recognizing that different parts of your audience like different versions of content. So target different "information consumers" by providing content in different formats. When creating a content strategy, plan exactly how you will provide information to your audience:
Different variants of content - for different "parts" of the audience. In this way, you can increase your reach.
Create a calendar that clearly plans out the steps for creating and publishing information. Here's exactly what you need to put on the calendar and how you need to do it.
When developing a content strategy, be sure to remember to make the information as interesting, informative and engaging as possible for potential readers. How do you do that? It is actually very simple:
To make content, you have to invest in it. For example, it can be time and skills, but if you don't have enough time, you will have to invest money - to pay for the work of specialists.
To make content, you have to invest in it. For example, it may be time and skills, but if you don't have enough time, you have to invest money - to pay for the work of professionals.
To make sure your strategy is as effective as possible, spends your budget wisely and attracts maximum users, check out these tips and tricks. Adhere to them, then success will not be long in coming.