Content marketing is an action that goes far beyond producing digital content. In addition to offering interesting information to the public, you should also think about the best way to distribute that content, in order to increase the audience.
A larger audience is synonymous with more business opportunities, and it is for this reason that you must think very carefully about the process with which you intend to achieve that objective.
There are several steps in the content marketing strategy , ranging from the choice of information channels, through the selection of the content to publish and its frequency. Below we will see what steps this process involves.
A content marketing strategy is the way in which content planning, management, development and distribution are grouped in addition to the analysis of the impact and results of these.
Given that every year companies are forced to produce more content and be very careful with what they publish, these strategies have become urgently needed to keep organizations visible and obtain competitive advantages.
It is not simply about reporting on what the company does or will do , typical of traditional corporate communication. Unlike the traditional method, focused on the business, the content marketing strategy focuses on people, at the same time that it aims to improve the positioning of the brand, build authority in its market and educate it, making it see how the organization can solve and solve users’ problems.
This type of strategy is the way for the company to achieve up to four general objectives:
The steps of the content marketing strategy
The content marketing strategy involves a series of steps that must be followed to ensure that the company disseminates relevant content for the target audience in addition to increasing the number of sales and its relevance in the market.
1. Define the objectives
The first thing to do is define the objectives that are intended to be achieved by developing the content marketing strategy. You cannot begin to change the dynamics of content creation if you do not know the goal you want to achieve.
This step, so simple, is very necessary, since it will allow have an easier time determining in the future which aspects are most relevant to the strategy In addition, it will allow you to define the formats and social networks that will be used when sharing the content.
It is in this step that the following questions should be asked: does the company want to increase the digital community? have more sales? Build customer loyalty? increase site traffic?
2. Define the buyer persona
After having established the objectives, it is necessary to define the “buyer persona” to whom our content will be directed.
But what is the “buyer persona”? Its about stereotype of the consumer who is going to be impacted, a semi-fictional representation of what is meant by an ideal client of our organization. Before creating content, it is extremely necessary to understand who we are going to send the information to and this is why the figure of the “buyer person” is so necessary.
It should not be seen as a synonym for target audience, but rather as a broader concept of that same one. When thinking about this figure, in addition to basic demographic information such as age group, gender or language of majority use, more personal aspects will be taken into account such as preferences, concerns, short and long-term objectives, way of behaving on the Internet. …
It is possible that, if you have been generating content for some time, you want to expand the audience to whom it is directed, or change the current one. To do this, it is crucial to review the audience parameters of the company or organization, conducting market research from time to time, preferably annually.
3. Conduct interviews with clients and prospects
Although we may have a more or less clear idea of who our “buyer persona” is, to better define it, it is advisable to conduct interviews with clients and prospects.
We must put aside assumptions and intuitions about who our ideal client is , since, like all humans, we can make mistakes, and that is not good for us. This process is an authentic investigation, requiring the application of effective research techniques and methodologies.
4. Determine the content management system
Creating content is essential but, if this content is not properly managed, you can have a truly chaotic library of resources that will not be used properly, in addition to being unattractive to the audience to whom they are directed.
The content management system must be determined, organizing the activity in such a way that success is achieved when establishing contact with potential buyers of the product or service that the company offers. Some vital parts of content management are creating, publishing, and evaluating that same content.
5. Determine themes
Determining what topics interest the public is essential to be able to generate new content that is interesting to them and that they share with those they know. It is convenient for every company that its followers on social networks share the content it publishes making it gain more impact among the general public, in addition to attracting the attention of more people interested in what the business offers.
In order to determine topics, the trends and preferences of the general public must be analyzed and, in particular, what the “buyer persona” seems to be interested in. The best way to do this is by analyzing “keywords,” which are terms or sentences that users use when they use search engines on the Internet, such as Google or Bing.
Depending on the audience to which the content is directed, one or other “keywords” must be chosen to guarantee the exposure and visibility of what the brand publishes. It must be taken into account that Using “keywords” will mean having to produce topical content that, perhaps, would never have occurred to the page managers.
To know what the brand is talking about, it must have social media monitoring tools, to be able to know which “keywords” are “trending topics”. Also, monitoring what the page’s followers do You can know whether or not published content has had the desired impact
There are several tools that allow us to take this step. To say a few. Hootsuite, Buffer, IFTTT…
7. Monitor the competition
You have to be aware of the trends within the area in which you want to have an impact, and know what companies similar to ours are doing. This is essential if you want to continue appearing in search engines when the public searches for certain information related to the topics our content covers.
Knowing what the competition is doing is essential, not only because it helps us set guidelines, take some references and modify content making it more original This can help you avoid making the same mistakes as your competitors.
Some things that can be measured about the competition are the volume of competitors, how they communicate with each other, site traffic, how often they post new content…
8. Determine the content format
There is a lot of content that a company can create on its official website These contents, depending on what is being discussed, may be more appropriate to present in one or another format, such as, among the main ones, blog posts, e-books, infographics, videos and podcasts.
blog posts
Blog posts are often common on all types of websites, and They are usually published with some regularity to attract new visitors The articles must provide valuable content for the “buyer persona”. Typically, these blogs are between 1,000 and 2,000 words, although they can be made shorter or longer depending on the audience you want to reach.
Blogs, developed with SEO techniques, have many benefits for the company, especially if we take into account that the blog or website is the face of the organization, so we must ensure that it is always updated. The website may display, in an organized manner, the products and services, in addition to offering a clear way to contact the author of the entry or those in charge of the content in general.
If blogs are created by correctly positioning the “keywords” and properly applying SEO writing techniques, the blog will appear in the first entries in search engines more easily.
E-books
E-books are very important tools in marketing , especially if they can be downloaded for free after having the potential customer fill out an online form with their contact information. They tend to be much longer and more detailed than blogs, but with less publication frequency.
Readers of the website content may have read some blog posts and want to know more. This is why the company should have this avenue covered, in order to satisfy the need to acquire a deeper knowledge of its audience.
Are a closer and more visual way of presenting information than the two previous options These are great content formats to use if you want to share a large amount of data clearly and easily, without the reader feeling oversaturated by seeing a bunch of scattered words on a topic they do not master.
Videos
It is usually preferred to watch a video rather than read a blog, for this reason, within the steps of the content marketing strategy, the preparation of this multimedia material should not be left aside. Besides, They are easy to share
However, they have a disadvantage, which is that they involve a greater investment in terms of time and resources than content in written format. Even so, and also related to infographics, taking into account that in recent years visual marketing has been gaining more and more importance, it is a resource worth investing.
Podcasts
Podcasts are a resource that has become very fashionable in recent years, especially if we take into account that They allow you to reach an audience that does not have time or interest in reading written content frequently This resource can be ideal if you have interesting people to interview.
9. Publish and manage content
The marketing plan must go beyond simply choosing the type of content to create: it must be organized.
This can be done in several ways, but the essential thing is to have prepared an editorial calendar that allows establishing the correct path to publish a library of content that is balanced, diverse and adjusted to what has been seen when analyzing and delimiting the “buyer persona”, making it relevant to the theme of the website but, at the same time, offering something new.
In this calendar, in addition to publishing content related to the theme to which the company is dedicated and what interests the “buyer person”, important celebrations and holidays should not be left aside, such as Christmas, national and international commemorations. and anniversaries.
Although it is advisable to have your editorial calendar well organized, you should not be extremely rigid when sharing content. Today is very volatile , causing news to appear which are opportunities that should not be missed. Creating content related to a current topic is essential to generating significant traffic peaks.
Conclusion
As we can see, there are many steps in the content marketing strategy. It is a somewhat long path, but necessary if you want to give the company visibility in the field in which it is dedicated. Notably These types of strategies focus on achieving sustainable results therefore, complying with each of the phases outlined here is extremely recommended.
However, one should not be rigid. During the journey you may encounter potholes and other inconveniences in which you will have to redefine the initially set objectives, change the format of some content and, also, see to what extent the “buyer persona” is really the one we have defined.
