Digital marketers now know they have to publish trustworthy, interesting, engaging content, which visitors and potential clients want to read to generate brand awareness, increase traffic and turn ‘maybe’ into ‘yes’ over what you offer.
The benefits of having a well-defined content strategy are no longer secret, but there are those who still struggle with planning their time effectively, and rely on posting as and when in the hope this will attract attention. If you want to develop a strategy which will work, and one which you can stick to, our handy how-to guide for creating your own content strategy follows.
What is Your Goal?
You may have a brief overview of what you want your content to achieve; perhaps it’s to increase the sales of a certain product, or maybe it’s to showcase to the world who you truly are. Whatever goal you have in mind, it’s time to refine it and clearly state what it is. By doing this, you will have an easier time determining the finer points of your campaign plan.
Who are You Targeting?
Are you a family-friendly blog who wants to draw in parents, or are you a coffee provider hoping to attract young, millennial professionals in their first job? Knowing your target audience goes much further than simply deciding the demographic (for example, parents, professionals, teens, retirees). In fact, it goes as far as building an entire persona of who your brand wants to attract, including their socioeconomic background, their marital status, their profession, and perhaps even their location if your services are geographically based. This step may take time to truly pinpoint the exact persona, but it’s worthwhile to ensure your content is uniformed and streamlined especially for those you want to target.
Tone of Voice
Once the target persona is created, you can then decide upon the tone of voice you are going to use throughout all content, and by all content, we mean blog posts, social media updates, copy on your business website, and any further written pieces including infographics and press releases. If your target persona is a young parent in the USA, you can tailor the language and the tone of voice to one they will connect with and identify with instantly. It will help you build long-lasting relationships with customers rather than inspiring them to visit you only once. If you want to nail your tone of voice on every piece of copy you publish, turn to a reliable content marketing agency such as clickintelligence.co.uk to ensure the style and tone you want is achieved every time.
The Content Itself
Is your business more blog-friendly, or do you feel more at home posting witty Twitter updates? The content you choose for your business will be inspired by your target persona and tone of voice. If you are targeting retirees, solely using Twitter and Instagram may not be the most profitable. Furthermore, by choosing to create engaging blog posts, you are encouraging trust in your brand and business as a market leader and someone who knows what they are talking about. Content can also include videos, which are highly engaging but do involve a higher level of investment, both in time and money. It can also include infographics, which visualize information and data more succinctly than a blog post alone. In the modern, fast-paced world, people may not have time to read a full blog post, but an engaging, bright, attractive infographic will surely draw their attention and keep you in their mind.