Content marketing is at the forefront of everything we see and do. Whether it’s a blog post, something on our social media feed or a promotional email, for content to be effective, it must be intentionally strategic—especially because today’s target audiences are increasingly sophisticated, and more selective than ever before. If you’re going to ensure the right content gets to the right group of people, you’ll have to the implement a streamlined approach to your content strategy. To do so successfully, you’ll need to define your objectives, conduct a thorough assessment of your audience, coordinate a detailed schedule, and cultivate company-wide appeal.
This is especially important and relevant to you if you have a large audience to consider. Resources like ThinkWithGoogle can help you better understand audience trends and identify different commonalities that exist among the majority of your followers. Implementing an approach like this that puts your audience at the focus of your strategy ensures you’re creating and coordinating content that’s inclusive of every consumer, regardless of where they’re at in the buying stage. Think this sounds like an avenue that’s suited for you? Here’s where to start.
Go get the goals.
It’s a common misconception that publishing content is always a good idea, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, it can diminish your credibility on Google to post for the heck of it. This is why goal setting is such an imperative step in the process. What’s your overall objective? Maybe it’s it enhance your search rankings, to boost sales, or improve the overall awareness of your brand, but either way, knowing what you’re trying to accomplish will help you identify which tactics will be the most effective. Perhaps its an engaging webinar, a complimentary white paper, an instructional demo/video or even a thought-provoking case study. Regardless of what execution feels like the best fit, make sure your goals are the guiding force of your effort.
Trust the data.
Using software like Google Analytics, you can hone in on your audience by acquiring data that will provide a comprehensive understanding of the demographics, values, desires, and interests of the people who will be consuming your content. Get an inside look at the age, gender, in-market segments, affinity categories, and “other” categories to exclusively tailor content to the people in your corner.
Abide by the calendar.
Coordinating a content calendar is a mundane task, but it sure does pay off. A “must-do” step, this will help you streamline the entirety of your approach. It will also break down all essential responsibilities and amplifies organization by creating accountability for each task at hand. You’ll want to be sure to outline basic things like who is working on each project, what does it entail, and when is the due date. Apps like Trello, Asana, or Basecamp can simplify this step if you’re working within a big company.
Share the hype.
Research shows that sharing your content strategy among your organization has multiple benefits. Even though everyone who may have access isn’t necessarily hands on in creating or managing content, making this information and your plan to accomplish it accessible creates uniformity and gives all employees a sense of what the business is planning to achieve in the long-term. It also augments productivity by decreasing redundancy and eliminating replicated efforts.
The brands, companies and agencies on-track for long-term success have one defining attribute in common: They make decisions with the future in mind. They aren’t getting comfortable with what’s currently trending because they’re focused on how to stay ahead of the curve. Implementing tactics like these will help your business become more adaptable, all while creating content that translates through evolving times.