To succeed in their online marketing efforts, all businesses need to produce a substantial amount of content on a regular basis. But if you don’t have a plan for your content, the effect that it will have may be somewhat limited. Content production is a at its most potent when it forms part of a single cohesive strategy that is created and designed with your business and online marketing goals firmly in mind.
Set your goals
What do you want to achieve with you content marketing? If you can come up with some set concrete goals right from the very start then you can then ensure that every aspect of your marketing strategy works towards this. Here are some examples of some effective goals for your content marketing:
- Achieve x number of conversions
- Reach the #1 spot on Google for x keyword
- Build trust
- Expand your brand influence
- Encourage brand loyalty
- Be seen as an authority in your sector
There’s an interesting and inspirational post on content marketing goals by Sonia Simone over on copyblogger, in which she states, “To make content work, you need to understand your marketing and business goals. Then you can create content that serves those goals, instead of just giving your audience something to pass the time.”
Decide how you will achieve your goals
Once you know what your goals are, you need to make a plan about how you will reach them. If, for example, you want to achieve a certain number of conversions, what types of content should you be creating and really focusing on? What can you publish which will encourage people to a)look at your products and services in greater detail, and b) actually go out on a limb and part with their money, or at the very least commence a free trial or similar?
Gather your resources
- Chances are, the content you need to create is too much for one person to take on, particularly if you’ve got a business to run in the meantime. You might also not have the writing skills or expertise to get the job done effectively. If that’s the case you have two options – you can hire someone full-time to handle all your content creation and social media needs, or you can outsource your requirements to a freelance web copywriter or a professional copywriting agency. This latter option has four key benefits:
- You and your in-house staff are free to focus on other pressing matters
- The content will be of a high-quality and error-free
- You can potentially create large amounts of content in a short space of time
- If you need to cut back on your content marketing budget you can do so easily
Knock ‘em dead
Well, not literally of course. But a killer content marketing strategy with some truly stellar content can go a long way towards helping you dominate your particular corner of the web. All of the content that you create should exude brilliance and engage with your customers and prospective customers completely. Don’t let content marketing be something you just do because you ‘should’, make it something that you actively set you out to excel in.