Content marketing is the creation and distribution of valuable, relevant content. The goal is to grow, engage, and retain your audience.
A well-executed content marketing strategy is a great way to promote your brand. And, ideally, make your business stand out when it’s time for consumers to make a purchase.
Let’s dive into what a content marketing strategy is and how to build one (with some examples).
What Is a Content Marketing Strategy?
Content marketing strategy is your high-level plan for creating and distributing content to grow your audience and reach various business goals. Some content marketing examples include:
Blog posts
Emails
Newsletters
Social media posts
Podcasts
Ebooks
Videos
The goal is to send the right message to current and potential customers.
A content plan—sometimes referred to as a “content calendar”—is a written plan to help you manage your distribution schedule.
Now that we’ve gotten the content marketing definitions out of the way, let’s talk about why it’s important to have a content marketing plan in the first place
Why Have a Content Marketing Strategy?
A content marketing strategy helps you achieve specific goals, define clear success metrics, and create processes for specific improvement.
This is more effective than haphazardly producing content and hoping it does the job.
In fact, 78% of marketers who felt their content marketing strategy was exceptionally effective in 2021 had documented their strategy.
Other benefits of a content marketing plan include:
More online visibility: The more consistently you post, the more customers you can attract. Provide educational, useful content that addresses users’ pain points.
More leads: Because a good content marketing strategy drives traffic, it can also drive leads
More authority: The more useful content you share over time, the more people in your niche will see you as an authority figure
More customer engagement: Loyal customers are often repeat customers. Engage with those who comment or respond to what you share.
More budget: If you can prove your marketing success, it will likely be easier to ask for a bigger marketing budget in the future
Clearly, it’s a good idea to come up with a plan before creating and sharing content.
Wondering how to develop a content marketing strategy? Let’s discuss five key elements you need to know first.
