How to Develop & Execute Your Content Strategy

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Your Content Strategy Formula Your Brand + Customers’ Concerns / Interests + Relevant Topics = Your Content Strategy

Your Content Strategy Formula Your Brand + Customers’ Concerns / Interests + Relevant Topics = Your Content Strategy

Seth Godin’s Definition of a Brand A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.

Your Brand Brand is the single largest asset of any organization Your job is to protect the brand by communicating clearly & consistently what the brand stands for – And what it doesn’t represent

Source: SocialMediaToday

Your Branding A clear set of short, concise messages that communicate the benefits of the brand Establishing an image and communicating it consistently is required for any brand to establish itself and to build awareness This becomes the platform for all communication tactics and marketing efforts

Defining Your Brand Start with the 5 W’s – Who – What – Where – When – Why Don’t forget “how”

Be Memorable What is unique about your brand? How are you different from the competitor? Why are you the best firm for the job?

Stuck? Ask you customers – Why did they hire you – Consider a survey Look at companies / brands you aspire to emulate Review keywords being searched for on Google in your field Know the competition

LET’S TALK ABOUT CONTENT ALREADY

What is Content, Exactly? Content = Information Information (aka content) can take many forms and formats – Text – Photos – Infographics – Testimonials – Audio –

@RainMakingMkt Don’t Confuse Social Media With Content Businesses rush to jump on social media Often don’t stop to think – What they want to say – Who they want to say it to – aka a Content Strategy Key is to remember social media is a vehicle - only – It drives traffic to your content – But your content isn’t Social

@RainMakingMkt What Content Marketing Isn’t A hard sell A push of your product / service / offering Icky

What’s Content Marketing Is: Content marketing is any marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers.

Examples: White papers ebooks Infographics Case studies how-to guides Q&A’s Photos Testimonials Video Audio Content Marketing means creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers

Why Content Marketing Works Demonstrates your expertise Provide a sense of who you are and how you work – before they buy Create trust and loyalty when you’re giving something away for free – People buy from someone they trust Attract targeted prospects aligned with your content

Expectations of Content Marketing 1) Brand awareness -- 79% 2) Customer acquisition -- 74% 3) Lead generation -- 71%

Importance of Content Increasing 91% of now use content marketing 54% of plan to increase or significantly increase content marketing spend over next 12 months On average, 33% of the marketing budget will be spent on B2B content marketing And the amount being spent is growing! – Hello career change!

The Smaller the Company (Budget)… The more important content marketing is Most cost-effective with the highest ROI

TELL ME HOW TO CREATE CONTENT ALREADY…

Your Content Strategy Formula Your Brand + Customers’ Concerns / Interests + Relevant Topics = Your Content Strategy

Think About Your Target Audience(s) Current Customers – Much cheaper / easier to keep them vs. finding new ones New Customers Are these the “same” or “different”?

How Can You Help Them? Share info that will make them sleep better at night Help them do their job better Impress their boss Sound super smart / funny at a cocktail party Your content is for these people!! They are the essence of your content strategy

Frequency To-Do: – Identify how frequently you can share content – Be realistic

Create a Content Calendar It doesn’t have to be fancy Make it something you will use

Content Calendar Plan ahead to reinforce your key messages Block out rolling 13 months of what you know Holidays Seasons Industry events / conferences Your vacation

Drive Content Marketing Strategy from Your Blog

Identify | Create Content

Curate Content for Calendar It Doesn’t All Have to be Original – Content you curate is created by someone else – And you give them credit for their work Don’t plagiarize, steal, etc. – It’s bad content karma Sources: – Industry websites / trade publications / analysts – Your business partners – Guest bloggers –

@RainMakingMkt Create Evergreen Content What is it? It’s always relevant / green Plan: Ready ahead of time Have a list handy – plug in as needed Examples FAQs Case studies Lessons learned Recycle popular content Guest writers How-to guides Q&A Historical industry info Calendar of events

Augment With Timely Content Typically safe: Industry news Emerging trends Data / facts Research reports Be careful with: Current events Politics Religion

Share Content Post to blog Repost / repurpose your own content – Share on LinkedIn / social Start a dialogue – newsletter To Do: – Identify where to share

Additional Tips Read your content to yourself – out loud Ask someone else to read it It’s digital! – You can always fix it later | Hit delete Schedule a deadline for yourself – Withhold things you like until you do it Yes punish yourself If it just isn’t going to happen… – Consider paying someone else to do it – That way it will get

@RainMakingMkt Truth Is Always Stranger Than Fiction

Recap: Your Content Strategy Formula Your Brand + Customers’ Concerns / Interests + Relevant Topics = Your Content Strategy

Rani Monson