Because in marketing, you never do anything without a well-thought-out strategy.
Hands up who’s been so excited to work on a big and bold marketing campaign that you’ve forgotten to produce a strategy?
Don’t worry; we’ve all been there.
If you’re looking to run a successful content marketing strategy, you need to identify three critical questions.
Also referred to as inbound marketing, content marketing is the practice of attracting your target audience through relevant and engaging content that includes but is not limited to blog posts, videos, pictures, podcasts and infographics.
Content marketing is crucial for brand awareness; ABG Essentials found this type of marketing provides conversion rates six times higher than traditional marketing efforts. Successful content marketing captures your target audience’s interest, engages with them and then persuades them towards making a purchase.
To create a compelling content marketing strategy, you need to think like your own customers.
Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Who
Before you create content that resonates, you need to define your target audience clearly.
This step is the inception of good content marketing.
Sure it sounds simple enough, but we’re sure you’ve heard the old saying that if you try to sell to everyone, you end up selling to no-one.
Many businesses have been born out of someone experiencing a problem or complication.
Target audiences are very similar to the founder or visionary of a company; particular consumers have a problem and are looking for a solution.
Defining who your target audience is, ensures you’re creating the right content for the right people and also helps you better understand *how* to create content that connects benefits to their needs. It also clarifies who you would prefer to exclude from targeting.
If you struggle with this, take a step back and create a customer persona to customise your marketing efforts better and significantly impact your prospects. Answer the following questions below.
- Who are they?
- What is their gender?
- What is their personality?
- What is their relationship status?
- What is their family life?
- What is their job?
- Where do they live?
- What are their interests and hobbies?
- What is their income?
- What are their needs and challenges?
- Where do they go for information?
- What is their social media usage?
- What do they value?
Remember, your buyers are people, not demographics.
Step 2: What
Now you know *who* you are talking to, the next part is figuring out *what* stories you want to tell.
Think about your inbox or social media feeds, businesses are inundating us with information all of the time, and most of the time, it’s not very relevant or valuable.
Consumers don’t want to hear about your business’s backstory; they’re kind of selfish in that regard. Good content marketing separates the topic; which is what you do, from the content; which your audience cares about.
Content marketing can help address multiple marketing challenges, and this works most effectively when you can identify points in your sales funnel, where the company is failing to reach most of their goals.
You can liaise with your customer service team to find out your customers’ most common struggles or conduct a free survey to receive real feedback
Step 3: How
At this step, you need to create a content mission statement. A statement like this includes your business’s values, the audience, priorities and principles it will upload.
It can go into more detail, including information on creation, the kinds of stories you intend to tell, content forms, and the platforms it will share.
Some questions at this step that are important to consider include the below.
- How will this content help our audience?
- What action do we want our audience to take after engaging with our content?
Revisit your buyer’s journey and consider what type of media your audience uses the most and where you can reach them most effectively. The below strategy helps capture your audience’s interest and encourages ongoing engagement.
- Top of the funnel
This is known as the awareness stage where consumers are looking for answers, information and insights. The audience here is passively browsing or just becoming aware of a problem they have.
Content includes social media ads, organic social media, influencer partnerships, display ads or search-orientated introductory blogs.
- Middle of the funnel
This is known as the evaluation stage, where consumers are doing heavy research. Where you should answer your audience’s questions or resolve a need.
Successful content at this step includes instructional content such as videos or blogs.
- Bottom of the funnel
This is known as the purchase stage, where your content’s goal is for consumers to make a purchase.
Rember: don’t be afraid to get a little adventurous with your marketing.
So there you go. The three steps you need to follow to create a successful marketing strategy. It’s pretty straightforward when you think about it, you just need to actually think about it!
