Content marketing is all the rage at the moment, and for a good reason. High-quality content forms the backbone of many marketing strategies and, in the days of Google slaps and a shifting SEO landscape, content marketing is a smart method for creating a stable audience base for your website. High-quality content never goes out of fashion.
Before launching a content marketing campaign, it is a good idea to build a content strategy. This can help to keep your content marketing activities focused. This article will show you how to build a solid content strategy to guide your content marketing efforts.
Content Gap Analysis
The first step to take is to perform a content gap analysis. This process will help you evaluate the content that you already possess as well as figuring out what content you need. This process can be done in three basic steps:
Inventory the content that you already have.
- Develop audience personas to help you target your content.
- Determine the wants and needs of your audience.
Brainstorm Content
Once you know what content you need, the next step is to brainstorm content to fill the gaps that you have. To brainstorm content you have to answer a couple of core questions:
What is the goal of the content: Do you want to increase brand awareness? Generate more sales?
The answer to these questions should help you determine the exact kind of content that you need.
Next, you should ask how your goal will be achieved. Content isn’t restricted to just articles, there are many forms that it can take including puzzles, games, infographics, quizzes and videos. You should also ask yourself how you want the content to connect with your audience. Do you want to appeal to their emotions? Do you want to offer useful information such as instruction or product reviews.
Find Inspiration
Look for other websites that offer great content for inspiration. Don’t plagiarize, emulate instead. An even better idea is to innovate. Find fresh new ways to present great content. Human beings are wired to search for new things, novelty. You can set yourself apart with fun, new and creative methods for presenting content. For example, many marketers predict that games are poised to become a new means of content marketing. Is there some way your content could be presented in an app or a game?
Lastly, always test your results. Figure out what is connecting with your audience and give your visitors more of that. The best marketing and product design is done with your audience. Engage in conversation with your visitors. Ask lots of questions and listen to what your audience says to you. If you do that, your content marketing strategy is sure to succeed.
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