You have heard the term strategy all over the internet, especially in content marketing. Content marketers and copywriters are always talking about their strategies or approaches, leading them to close thousand-dollar clients and, in turn, help those clients sell products worth millions. But hardly any of them explain it in much detail for you to get something out of it. This will change with this post. So, grab a cappuccino or a tea, and we’ll dive in.
A mandatory introduction to develop my authority, which is the backbone of a winning marketing strategy.
Recently, I had the opportunity to help a client achieve a remarkable milestone—selling products worth 10 lacs (1 million) PKR solely through Facebook and Instagram organic marketing. In this blog post, I'll share insights from that successful project and provide a step-by-step guide on how to craft a winning content marketing strategy.
What is a Content Marketing Strategy?
A content marketing strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines how to create, publish, and manage content to attract, engage, and retain a clearly defined audience. Since it is a plan, you need to be extremely clear on the goals of a particular marketing strategy. One of the main goals achieved with a content strategy is to drive profitable customer actions, such as purchases, sign-ups, or brand advocacy.
A well-crafted strategy ensures that your content aligns with your business goals, resonates with your target audience, and stands out in the crowded digital landscape.
Steps to crafting a content marketing strategy
Understanding the audience
It is common knowledge that content should be created for a specific audience. Different people give it different names, but this is the stage at which you write down the customer avatar. In my case, the audience was problem-aware individuals from the upper-middle-class earning bracket, who spend monthly around PKR 3,500 (on average) on skin and body care products.
So, for any content marketing plan, after pinpointing the goals, which may vary from:
Increasing brand awareness
Generating leads
Driving sales
Building customer loyalty
Enhancing website traffic
You will sit and carefully gauge the type of people your content will target. Develop detailed buyer personas, including demographics, interests, pain points, and buying behaviour.
Find the gap
Whether the business is new or well-established, customer behaviour stayed the same. Since I wasn’t dealing with a new company, I didn’t have to worry about raising brand awareness. Therefore, every post I wrote was focused on generating sales and differentiating the products from over-the-counter alternatives. I did this with a blend of storytelling and highlighting product benefits. I also used the quality conversation of imported over local items for certain problem-centric products like wrinkles and widening skin pores.
Before you can start writing, you need to make sure that you have done enough research into the available items to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Choose your content types and channels
Select the types of content (blogs, videos, infographics, etc.) and channels (social media, email, website) that best suit your audience and goals. In my case, the brand was well-established on Facebook and Instagram. Their products only needed the right copy and graphics to highlight hidden features, to set the products apart from locally available items.
Develop a content calendar
Many of you might think that the purpose of a content calendar is to post when you are low on creative juices. But it is that roadmap which helps content marketers visualise their efforts. And it is especially relevant when promoting a product line instead of a product. In my case, it ensured that:
I am not repeating products more than required
Not every other post carries the same sales pitch
I have a basic map for the viewer to be introduced to every product online
The calendar will look very different for every content marketing strategy even when the goals are the same. So I'm afraid, there is no plug-and-play calendar in the content strategy and calendar domains.
Post and engage regularly
The work isn’t done till you start seeing results. Therefore, submission and approval of a content calendar is only the tip of the iceberg. If no one posts the content and interacts with the potential customers, your efforts will be wasted. But one thing which needs to be highlighted to content writers is that, unless you agree to be a social media manager for their accounts, posting and engaging is not your responsibility. My scope of work included:
Identifying gaps in their current marketing efforts
Write new posts including those identified gaps
Prepare a well-intentioned calendar to be followed diligently
Guide on the relevant engagement and customer queries for those high-end products
Train their team on the use of AI to align their marketing goals on all platforms and for every item
If your project isn’t a one-off then you should approach all the abovementioned points from a social media manager’s point of view. You might not need to go through extensive calendar development and approval if you are the only employee on the team.
Adjust and analyse
Marketing only works till it stops working. It is the job of the content marketing expert to monitor and adjust their efforts based on data received in the form of platform and post analytics, product inquiries or sales. And if you feel like your job is a constant battle with the changing market, you are right. It is not as easy as many social media posts make it seem.
What we covered on content marketing strategy
Crafting an effective content marketing strategy requires a clear understanding of your goals, audience, and the competitive landscape. By following the steps outlined above and learning from successful case studies, you can develop a strategy that not only engages your audience but also drives tangible results for your clients. The key to success lies in creating valuable, relevant content that resonates with your audience and aligns with your business objectives.
Comments