As rigid as Google is, we are all forced to rethink our latest online marketing practices.
Overwhelming the web with all sort of information was once a way to grab users’ attention. However, nowadays we need to think before we start speaking. If we don’t deliver useful information we’ll face the consequences imposed by search engines.
As Google continues to emphasise the algorithm – forcing us to come up with great content and social interaction – there has never been a better moment to get your content marketing game in shape and start creating a winning strategy for your company.
Our online reputation, reach and visibility are all at stake. Great content will make sure you’ll stay on the right path.
Steps to Plan Your Content Marketing Strategy
As with many things, any great strategy starts with a plan. The same holds for content marketing. Without a well thought roadmap of all the content you want to create, you’ll get lost and won’t be able to hit the right note, at least in the long term.
The main challenge is to decide what sort of content you should be creating. A second challenge would be how to structure your content marketing plan in order to provide the right content for the right set of visitors. The key in both challenges is understanding.
1. Understanding your brand:
It’s crucial that you put down your company values on paper before starting off with your content ideas. This might seem like a senseless step and that’s why a lot of companies tend to skip this.
Nonetheless, it’s very important to exactly know what your company stands for. That means the right words, but also the right tone of voice. Thinking of this matter will get you a long way since you want to make sure you provide your visitor consistency.
2. Understanding your audience:
Also you need to know who your audience is once you’re fully aware of the values you want to express.
Don’t overlook this as it’s key to the entire process. You’ll be likely to target different groups and it is therefore important to be aware of the needs of each subgroup.
You’ll probably want to create three, four, or maybe even five groups. That also means you’ll need to adapt your content to each group.
3. Brainstorming:
Ideas are the backbone of any long term content strategy. Coming up with ideas might seem sort of exhausting, but there are always ways to give the entire process a bit more structure.
Start off by letting your imagination run wild. To ensure this doesn’t get too blurry try to do the brainstorming in a small team. Grab a cup of coffee at a bar or enjoy the the weather while discussing whatever idea pops into your head.
Do make sure it’s realistic and actionable and don’t forget to get it down on paper. That’s the whole idea of brainstorming: to work it out on paper.
4. Start creating:
Once you have found some content ideas tailored to the characteristics and interests of your target group(s) it is vital to find the right flow. Therefore every content plan, whether for television, online media or the radio, follows a schedule.
Make sure you use a planner capturing the basic elements of a normal calendar with months and weeks. Use this calendar to capture key moments.
For instance, if you’re running a gym you’ll need to put some extra content effort on the peak moments in January and the months towards the summer. Doing this will make sure your content comes as a useful solution.
5. Publish your content at the right time:
Of course, all the previous steps above involve timing as well. Publishing a newsletter highlighting upcoming events in your hometown will do very well on a Friday, just before the weekend starts.
Sending the exact same newsletter on a early Monday morning would probably be less successful. If you really want to make sure you hit the right nail you’ll need to experiment with different time schedules and find out which moments and frequencies result in your desired outcomes.