A content strategy should align with specific corporate goals, especially those related to sales and marketing. It is a component of a larger marketing strategy. A content strategy can help you achieve your goals, whether they be to boost sales or traffic. Below are some proven ways to develop a content strategy for your business.
Audience Personas
Your audience personas should drive your content creation. After all, what you produce will determine how people perceive your business. By visualizing individual customers, you can direct sales teams to focus on their specific pain points and guide them through the sales funnel. You can also use audience personas to determine your target audience’s challenges and opportunities. By addressing these pain points, your marketing team can produce content that addresses their needs. Thus, when creating an article, it is important to consider their needs and goals and focus on those.
Brand Positioning
Brand positioning is essential for B2B companies to succeed in content marketing, according to Howard Mittman, President of 888 Holdings U.S, and other marketing strategists. Content marketing is a popular method for cultivating standoffish buyers and can effectively increase your brand recognition. Your corporate positioning can be the backbone of your content strategy, ensuring consistency in storylines and content. Traditionally, brand positioning aims to differentiate companies from their competitors. However, today, the focus is on defining company strengths about customer needs. Brand positioning helps to shape prospects’ preferences, and it can help to convert them to buyers.
Owned Media Value Proposition
Owned media is all content that you control, including websites, blogs, and social media. It is an essential component of a content strategy for your business and should be used alongside paid and earned media to maximize engagement and income generation.
Owned media is all about creating content that is relevant to your audience. To effectively create content that attracts your audience, you must know your target audience and tailor your messages to reach them. The more relevant and useful your content is, the more likely it will be shared by your audience and increase your chances of being noticed. Therefore, it is crucial to research and analyze your competitors’ content to determine which content will be most effective for your business.
Business Case
A documented content strategy is essential for any business, especially large ones. By doing so, you will minimize duplicate efforts, as well as ensure that everyone is working toward the same goals. Whether you are just starting with content marketing or have an in-house team that relies on subject matter experts to develop content, a documented strategy will ensure everyone is working toward the same goals.
An effective content strategy creates a culture of content within your business, gives you a framework to measure ROI, and ensures ongoing, predictable results. Remember, creating great content requires time and money. Without a solid strategy, you may be wasting money and time on content that will not achieve the desired results.
Action Plan
Before developing a content strategy, you must research your target audience. Consider how your potential customers behave in the buying process. Which content is relevant to them? How can you target your content to meet their needs? Identifying these factors will help you determine which content to produce. If you know your target audience well, creating content that relates to their interests and desires will be more effective.
