If you’re running a business and have decided to use content marketing as one of the ways to grow your business, then you need a good content strategy to make sure you’re doing your content marketing the right way.
You have probably heard/read about the exposure content brings and even the sales people get just from creating and sharing content around their business.
Intentionality is important when it comes to creating content. You don’t create content just because everyone is doing it. There has to be a reason for your distribution of content.
You need to be able to answer why you’re sharing a particular content. What is the aim of your content marketing? What do you intend to achieve with this? You need answers to these questions. You don’t want to be shooting empty blanks in your content marketing efforts. You want your content to reach the right people and do what you purposed it to do.
What then is a content strategy?
A content strategy is a plan in which you use content (audio, visual, and/or written) to achieve your business goals.
HubSpot
I see content strategy as an intentional and clearly planned roadmap that leads a business to its goals, using content as the driving force.
Looking to start using content in your business and you’re not yet convinced you need a documented content strategy, here are five (5) reasons for content strategy:
#1 It keeps you intentional
Having a content strategy for your business helps you become intentional about your business.
This is because you give your business enough thought to want to come up with strategies to reach your goals.
With a content strategy, you set your goals and you have a vision of what you want. You also work towards smashing those goals and living that vision.
As you think about and write down your goals, vision and mission of your business, you set out clear plans and actionable steps on how to achieve them. You know the steps to take and how each step could lead to another step that can get you closer to what you want.
As a result, you don’t post any type of content for the sake of having something in your social media or blog. You do so with a purpose in mind; you’re intentional about that piece of content you published. You know what that content will do for you and how it can help you get the results you desire. You’re not just running with the wind or doing whatever goes. You’re doing exactly what you should be doing to help your business.
#2 It makes you think of your business in a holistic way
When creating a content strategy for your business, you get to think a lot about your business. You ask important questions like; why was this business started? Who does it help? Why does it matter that the business grows? What is the vision and mission of the business? What’s the best way to move it forward? How do I do that? How do I reach the people this business is made for? What is it about this business that matters to the people most likely to be customers?
Asking these questions gives you an idea of what you want for your business and it helps you plan adequately and see your business in a big picture kind of view.
Seeing your business from a holistic standpoint can help you know how best to move forward with the business. It lets you know if you should change some things or add more things. It generally improves your business and lets you know how best to target your audience
#3 It serves as a guide and keeps you on the right track
When you want to have an event, maybe a birthday party or a wedding, you’d plan it right? Why do you plan? To make sure everything is accounted for and taken care of and also to guide implementation. It’s the same thing with having a content strategy for the content marketing efforts of your business.
With a content strategy, you have things set out to do and how exactly they should be done. This can help guide you, keeping you proactive and on the right track. You know the types of content to create and why, you know when to publish certain content, you know what content suits the sales funnel and buyer’s journey for your target audience to convert them to customers.
Just as with any successful event, program or establishment, there was a clear plan used as a guide to achieve that success.
#4 It helps track progress and improve consistency for your business
Having a content strategy lets you know how you’re faring and if you’re doing well. It tracks your progress because you get to see how well you’re doing and how close you are to reaching your goals.
Asides tracking progress, a good content strategy will keep you consistent and consistency is good for business. You know what you should be doing, what time you should be doing it and how you should be doing it. You also prepare for what’s ahead.
With a good content strategy, you have content for the near future, perhaps a month, a quarter or even more. That way, you are consistent with delivering content. You don’t wake up one morning and wonder what to share because you have ideas, you have prepared content and so you’re always ready to deliver consistently.
It’s not a good look when a business is consistently publishing content for a month and the next month, there’s little or nothing. It’s not about frequency or how big your content is, it’s about how consistent you are in showing up. People trust businesses that show up all the time.
Show up.
#5 It gets you closer to your goals and helps identify new opportunities
Finally, with a content strategy, you draw closer to your goals. You know how exactly you’re going to get there and so you track your progress and review.
Also, you get to identify new opportunities your business could take advantage of. This is because you begin to see gaps, get feedback from customers, become better, know what works and doesn’t, and overall, you are better prepared for opportunities, can identify opportunities and can take advantage of them.
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As a business that wants to include content marketing in their marketing strategies, having a documented content strategy will help you accomplish your goals, and you get to see results.
Don’t just throw in content here and there, be strategic about it. Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.