The last year saw a large number of computer screens turn into shopping malls. However, the chance of consumers straying and making impulse purchases is not very high. Online search is pretty focused on customers.
Spending budgets across households have dipped. Impulse purchase has been curtailed. Businesses need to take cognizance of this behavior.
Online marketing may have grown rapidly this decade. More so, in the last year. It has surpassed outperformed traditional options in many ways. Cost efficiency and audience reach precision are some of them.
The role of content has greatly increased in communication and digital outreach. It can offer businesses a variety of opportunities to enhance business opportunities. Through effective usage of content marketing strategy, a business can elevate its online reputation. It can use content to build communities and increase brand advocacy.
A good content marketing strategy can raise performance metrics. It could increase the percentage of backlinks significantly to over 90%. A 40% increase in search engine indexed pages and traffic is possible.
Content has a role to play in increasing the strike rate of lead generation campaigns. It can also spike ROI significantly. Hence it important it is to note how powerful content marketing strategies work for brands.
But content marketing cannot be restricted to only its creation. Or just distribution. It encompasses much more. An effective strategy must target a defined target profile. It has to keep them engaged. This is the key if one needs content marketing and conversions to be effective.
Content marketing is outsourced by large companies to specialist agencies. However, a lot of smaller businesses prefer to devise and execute a content strategy themselves.
A point to remember is that planning is important. One needs to invest time in stating objectives clearly. Challenges and other issues need to be sorted out. Resources needed for execution need to be allocated. An effective strategy must keep the following points under consideration.
Analyze Existing Content
There is plenty of content available in the online world. With so much being generated, one needs to stand out. The content that one creates must be beneficial to users and the business. Otherwise, there would be a wastage of resources if irrelevant content is generated.
One can begin by evaluating the content resources that are available at hand. A detailed analysis of all content needs to be done. Detailed checks of content can then be a starting point. One must evaluate if the audience would be receptive to any of the existing content. them. One can figure out what kind of content they could be looking for. Agencies that offer content marketing services can be availed by businesses as and when required.
Be Clear About your Objectives
Every business has to ascertain that the objective of the content. The content then created for the audience should help us achieve whatever goals we have set.
We should start by identifying our vision and goals in hierarchical order. We can then arrange the immediate and long-term objectives that need to be accomplished. The eventual aim of our strategy is to bring success to our company and the products and services we offer.
Frameworks for Setting Goals
Many traditional frameworks that are popular can be used for setting goals. But the purpose of the content marketing strategy should be kept nimble enough. This is to adjust to changes in a dynamic environment.
A popular framework used for setting goals is the CLEAR framework. Collaborative, limited, emotional, appreciable, and refinable. This model can work when outcomes set are tough and challenging.
Identify your Target Audience
The potential target audience needs to be defined. With a sharp and well-defined set of profiles, relevant content can be developed. This is paramount to a successful content marketing campaign.
One needs to get a buyer profile identified. This will help in making the strategy more granular. This is because all individuals with the target audience might not be a potential buyers. Thus, when all the potential buyers have been firmed up, content needs to be produced that is relevant for the product or service. A popular tool used is empathy mapping. This enables us to grab a better understanding of our target audience.
It would be obvious to note that the preferences and attitudes of the audience and content marketing are directly related to each other.
Plan an Editorial Strategy
An editorial plan developed in advance helps to allocate resources effectively. To begin with, the prioritizing of tasks is the first step. One can start with the critical ones and then move onto the easier tasks later.
Here is where content marketing agencies can help. They can craft a concise editorial plan and work with new ideas for some effective conversion and results.
Relevant topics for the target profiles need to be listed. This can be integrated into the editorial calendar. The progress of your plan can be reviewed periodically.
Formulate a Content Production Plan
All content that is developed needs to have a purpose to act upon. It needs to be in sync with audience expectations all along. This is what will help in cementing strong relationships between the business and its customers. One can resort to multiple types of content. Formats developed can range from text, audios, videos, or presentations.
Content developed must be SEO-friendly. This will enhance traffic on the website. This will also increase conversion rates from a business perspective.
Content Distribution Planning
Having produced the requisite content, the next task is distribution. A business must create a pervasive channel presence. The audience must be approached from all possible avenues.
Multiple media channels can be exploited at the same time. More opportunities for the audience to engage brings more affinity for the business. The audience also develops a relationship over some time with the business or brand.
The channels that are selected must be the ones the profiles spend time on. Popular places where the target audience can be found can Instagram or Snapchat among others. Of course, the selection will be based on the demographics and interests of the audience. A careful evaluation of which channels to optimize and utilize will be worth the time and effort.
Assess the Performance of Content Developed
An analysis of content performance is critical. This will assist in taking relevant steps for future campaigns. The analysis will also reveal the types of content that target audiences have an affinity for. Some factors aid in a better understanding of content. These include bounce rate and the number of pages for each session. This helps to grapple with the behavior of different individuals engaging with our content.
Comments, likes, and shares are other metrics that can be used. This helps to evaluate the engagement levels of the target audience with the content offered. Backlinks and organic traffic to evaluate SEO outcomes need to be done periodically.
The approach and strategies for content marketing are always changing. The fundamental focus is however still, reliable data. Strategies work best only on effective data.
