In the field of Digital Marketing, one of the key concepts is content marketing. Un study conducted by Smart Insights In January 2018, on the most significant marketing trends, content marketing places content marketing in a leading position.

Many companies do content marketing, but few have a strategy dedicated to their content efforts. For many, this means that content is created without a clear plan and then it cannot be guaranteed to be carried out efficiently.

These are the 6 Steps to Building a Content Marketing Strategy that can help maximize the potential of your content:

1. Define the objective for your content

The first step is identify the bases of the strategy, for example, defining the purpose or vision with respect to the content. What do you want to achieve?

• Position yourself as an expert in the subject
• Increase customer loyalty
• Generate more leads or increase sales
• Highlight your skills
• Provide a better service
• Expand your business

There is no specific answer to this, it will surely be a mix of several. The question is, what are your main reasons for working on content marketing? Only when you know your specific reasons can you define the objectives necessary to be successful in content marketing.

2. Identify your target audience

You can't stand out in your content marketing efforts without knowing Who is it aimed at. You need to understand the needs of your customers to determine the type of content that will be useful, differentiate them and meet their needs.

Once you've identified your audience and know what they're interested in, you can create content that's relevant to them.

Know your audience

Be aware of your surroundings. By doing this, you can learn a lot about your customers and competitors. Las social networks are a key place to better understand current trends within your industry, what interests your competitors and how customers feel about your brand.

There are several tools of Social Listening that you can use to monitor social activity that is relevant to your business, such as Meltwater, Talkwalker (our favorite), Brandchats, Brandwatch and many others.

Web statistics can give you useful data about interactions with your brand. In Google Analytics, you can not only find demographic or engagement information, but also about how users find your website, what interests them and where the conversions are made.

3. Spread your content

It's not enough to produce useful content and believe that the work is already complete. Content must be actively distributed on the appropriate channels to reach the selected audience. If you know your audience well, you'll know where to find them.

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Your distribution channels can be divided into three categories: Owned, Earned and Paid.

• Owned: These are your personal channels such as websites, e-commerce, blogs, newsletters, magazines, social profiles, etc.
• Earned: These are the channels where the ability to advertise content is acquired. There is immense potential for outreach with this method. For example, through public relations, references and links from blogs, mentions on social media, reviews, etc.
• Paid: These are the channels that require paying for visibility in banners, print, television and radio commercials, online commercials, etc.

One of the reasons content marketing has become a significant phenomenon is because traditional marketing activities are no longer as effective as before. Television commercials don't have the same effect due to streaming, TV programs on demand and ad blockers.

Traditional media are beneficial, but through a combination of the distribution channels mentioned above, your content can have a greater reach.

4. Plan content with all departments

Successful content marketing companies have resources for content writing, but it is also true that all departments are usually involved in creating them. It's a challenge for content writers to be able to conjure up the topics to write about, and they certainly don't have the knowledge to write expert content on everything.

It's crucial to meet with other departments and make a brainstorming on the relevant topics about which you are going to write and ask for your opinion when necessary.

I have a plan

Once you have an overview of the content required for the different sections of the company, you should plan the content and the channels on which it will be distributed. The plan must be comprehensive, identifying the topics, the time of publication, those responsible, the objectives of each content, etc.

The purpose of the plan is to ensure that there is a balance between the content of the different departments and the issues that are being created. The plan helps to have a structure and a constant flow of content. It also allows you to control what types of content generate the most traffic and conversions.

Generate knowledge that can be used to optimize your future marketing efforts.

5. Guarantees the existence of a formal framework

Once your purpose, audience, channels, and plans are in place, it's important to have a Established budget for the necessary resources that will be allocated to content marketing.

It should be clear who will participate in editorial meetings and what is required of them, who is responsible for strategy, planning, production, editorial meetings and monitoring.

It's always important to evaluate how the content has worked and it will also be beneficial for future plans.

6. Record the results

The last step in formulating your strategy is probably the most important. You need to have some KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) concrete and measurable to ensure that your content marketing is supporting the company's strategic objectives.

Key KPIs to take into account:

• Number of items produced
• Traffic figures
• Subscription to the newsletter
• Conversion rates
• Contact forms sent
• Telephone calls
• Reservations
• Followers on social networks
• Video views
• Participants in events

The importance of each objective varies. The goal of how much content is produced, for example, is a microobjective; that is, an objective that can guarantee a conversion such as a sale, an order or a reserved meeting. Having a continuous flow of content that is strategically distributed ensures the continuous visibility of your brand.

An additional tip

Always keep your team up to date, present the strategy at a meeting and set up a screen with KPIs that shows how close you are to achieving your goals. And don't forget to consider your company's success stories.

Do you need help? Contact our Content Marketing team in Barcelona.

How can we help you?

If you need more information, do not hesitate to contact us.