content marketing strategy: what you need to know

20 Gennaio 2016 Eugenio Tommasi

Content marketing strategy is a must have in this digital world.

It is reported that over 80 percent of B2B businesses employ a content marketing strategy. But, the majority of these companies have a content marketing strategy that is only focused on publishing content.

The most effective content have a documented strategy for producing usable and scalable content techniques i.e. content that displays a clear definition of the objectives. Companies should have clear content maps to ensure that their strategy is directed through their generated content and is frequently published.

The strategy runs through the metrics to measure the outcomes, and the approach is taken to stay in front of a large audience.

Index

Deliver Clear Objectives

The best content strategy shows the objective that the content aims to achieve, the content to be published and the tactical approach for content promotion.

Most strategies are focused on either, generate leads or build a brand. These two objectives do not handle the same needs, for example, one is aimed at turning people who understand your product into buyers.

The other creates awareness among individuals who are not aware of your products. It is imperative to develop touchpoints that distinguish the two objectives but also use their strengths for effective results.

Measurement: The Metrics to Use

After settling on the objective for your content, you can turn your attention to the metrics that offer meaningful measure. For brands that promote content on social media platforms, they can track the customer engagement through tags, comments, follows, likes, clicks, e-book downloads among others.

Other important indicators include the amount of traffic to the site and time spent on the site. These indicators create space to use additional measures like surveys that enhance engagement.

For those focused on generating leads, the metrics are different and include, cost per lead, the volume of quality leads and conversions.

Type of Content

There are key differences between the content style suited to building a brand and the style to generate leads.

Thought-leadership content is best suited to build a brand: you must learn how to carry out competitor research and company research to make your brand stand out.

Also, you should carry out customer research to deliver an interesting insight that the customer hasn’t heard before.

Alternatively, to turn a prospect into a lead, it requires critical management and governance because you are asking for information from the audience. You must evidently explain, through documented content, the value the audience will get in return. This can be achieved by blogs, infographics and indexable content that is easy to find.

You should also structure the channel plan to develop content that tells the brand story, for example, content distilled, that means that the content is easy to comprehend. Long content lifecycle is a must for a business to remain in the forefront: this should be ensured by good writing skills that display an understanding of the product.

Proper content marketing strategy creates awareness and engages the audience by having a website that has a responsive design and a feedback section. It also ensures the delivery of buyers.