The first step in creating a content strategy should be to define your objectives. From there, you can make decisions about what your processes should be like, who your target audience is, what your publication schedule should be, etc. Right from the start, most brands start with blog posts. If you want to venture into different formats, you can perform a content audit to evaluate the best and lowest performing content.
Then, use that information to report what direction you'll take next. It is estimated that more than 42% of Internet users have an ad blocker installed. As such, content marketing has become increasingly popular, and Hubspot reports that 82% of marketers currently have a content marketing strategy (registration required to report). Lauren Reed, director of editorial services at iQ 360, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, defined a content strategy as her company's approach to creating and distributing content for its target audience.
Prystatsky concluded: When it comes to B2B, it's much more important to create a credible image rather than to capture the expectation. Following these steps will help you create a content strategy that provides real value to your audience and builds lasting trust in your brand. Today, the CMSwire community is made up of more than 5 million influential leaders in customer experience and personalized services, most of whom are based in North America and are employed by medium and large organizations. Our sister community, Reworked, brings together the world's leading employee experience and digital workplace professionals.
Before we can develop a strategic content plan, we need to understand the segments of our core audience. This can be done more easily by creating user personas. In addition to sharing your content, you can also reuse it in new formats and create original content specific to each platform. In essence, a good content strategy is the basis of the attraction and satisfaction stages in the journey of a buyer who follows the framework of inbound marketing.
The better you can target your content to the right audience, at the right time, the more effective your marketing will be. To find out how content will help you achieve that goal, start by thinking about the purpose of the content in general. Content marketing involves much more than just writing a fantastic blog or creating a great video. Camden Gaspar, Director of Content Marketing at MarketMuse, highlights the importance of relevance in content marketing.
Now, let's jump right into the five-step process for creating strategic content for each stage of the buyer's journey. If you want to see how your competitors' content works on social media, there are also tools for that. In this post, we'll discuss what content strategy is, why your company needs a content marketing plan, and what steps you need to take to create your strategy. And finally, you'll learn about their publishing schedule and the content formats that work best.
Prystatsky believes that brands should choose a few channels for content distribution, such as a blog and a YouTube channel, which will allow the company to focus on delivering to the right people through the right channels. Most businesses should aim to increase sales, but depending on the product or service you're selling, a content strategy may look different from one company to another. Your content reinforces the solutions you offer and helps you build credibility among your target audience. Successful brands research who their target audience is and what they want, and then publish quality content on multiple platforms designed to entertain, educate and guide potential customers throughout the sales channel.
A successful content strategy will attract your target audience at every stage of the funnel and keep them interested even after a purchase. .