What is content strategy, and how to build one?
Content marketing has grown leaps and bounds over the last couple of years. Savvy marketers integrate content with other communication channels to build a deeper relationship with their audience, connect with customers, improve conversions, and generate leads.
However, despite its popularity, formulating a content strategy that prioritises the requirements of your audience and boosts your business is more complicated than what meets the eye. If you are struggling with preparing one, turn to Nhance Digital for comprehensive digital marketing solutions for your business.
At its root, content strategy deals with deciding what type of content will resonate with your target audience and inspire them to buy your products and services or like and share to reach new customers.
Creating and following a content strategy is crucial to get content marketing right. So, here is a deeper dive into what content strategy is, why you need it for your business, and how you can develop one on your own.
What is content strategy?
The content strategy essentially refers to the approach taken by a business to create and distribute content for the target audience. It ensures that the website content is current, unique, and engaging for the customers and prospects, irrespective of when and how they intend to subscribe to your products and services.
Building a successful content marketing strategy requires a comprehensive understanding of the target audience, how the buyers will interact with your content, and set goals based on that. For example, an SEO company in Edinburgh will use several analytical tools to gauge the best time and audiences to market based on previous results and upcoming events.
How to develop a content strategy for your business?
A one size fits all approach does not work when developing a content strategy. Depending on the product or service, the approach and purpose for content development will change. Ultimately, the strategy your organisation needs is going to depend entirely on your business objectives.
That said, here are some general guidelines that will help you define what the content strategy will look like for your business.
Define the purpose
Content that resonates with an audience is developed with a specific purpose. Know your content creation goals before you begin planning, and you will quickly figure out what works best for your business.
Determine the target audience
Content that is effective guides your audience on the path to purchasing your products and services. Spend time and use tools like Google Analytics to understand your audience and determine how they will act.
Research keywords
After defining your target audience, start by researching the short and long-tail keywords relevant to your audience. Develop content around these keywords to increase the organic traffic to your website.
Analyse competitors
Take a step back and observe what your competitors are doing and what they are not doing. Find areas where your competitors lack and fill those gaps to present a better value proposition to your audience.
Determine distribution channels
Good stories do not thrive on their own. Plan content distribution on owned (website, blog) and social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) properties depending on where your audience is the most likely to interact with your brand.
Why do you need a detailed content strategy?
Creating content just for the sake of creating something and putting it out there is a time consuming and costly mistake. Here are some of the benefits of creating a content strategy.
• Developing content with a purpose will allow your business to create more relevant pieces that resonate with your target audience, and you will see a better ROI on your marketing efforts.
• A documented content strategy is crucial for defining who you are and what you do on your terms. Clear messaging about your brand value helps your audience develop trust in your brand, bolstering its credibility.
• Content marketing is the most effective when it is done consistently. A well-defined content strategy tells you when and what to write for which audience, meaning you can deliver exciting content consistently and keeping your audience engaged with your brand.
Nhance Digital will help you develop an editorial calendar to keep track of what is written and ensure that you publish consistently. And remember that it takes time and creativity to grow a successful content marketing strategy, so be patient while waiting for the results.