How to Create a Content Strategy for Any Brand
Having a compelling presence on social media is a must for competitive brands nowadays. People turn to socials when they are considering a purchase — it’s the first place they look to research a product, brand, or service. If they’re not looking on socials, then they are looking on Google, so it is also critical to have a strong website with valuable content and relevant information. Businesses without a strong online presence run the (high) risk of being knocked as a potential source of sale.
Despite the overwhelming importance of having a strong online presence, many businesses fail to give much thought or attention to this area. Giving a little TLC to your digital brand can work wonders for your business. Even without a proper marketing strategy, having a content plan can go a long way. By developing a basic content strategy, any business can stand a fighting chance in today’s attention economy. Here’s a formula for how to create a content strategy for any brand:
Conduct a Content Audit
First thing’s first: take a look at your current online presence with a very critical eye. Take notes about what areas need improvement and what seems to be working well. Set goals around what your ideal digital footprint looks like and outline a roadmap for how to get there. Conducting a content audit can be tricky if you don’t have the full picture, so you can always come back to this step along the way as you begin to conduct more research.
Select Distribution Channels
Creating a content strategy without a clear picture of what distribution channels you aim to utilize is pointless. Content must be optimized for the specific platform on which it will appear. People on LinkedIn aren’t looking for the same sort of content as people on Instagram. Don’t forget that your website is also a valuable distribution channel, and posting blogs can dramatically increase your SEO.
Research Competitor Content
Once you have a plan for which platforms to lean on, then you can begin researching competitor content across said platforms. What sort of things are they posting, and what seems to be working versus not? Look for examples of both what to do and what not to do. Find your ideal ‘role-model’ brands and take note of why their content strategy seems to perform so well. Try to mimic their tactics while making your own unique improvements.
Research Target Audience
Your research is two-fold. After you’ve conducted a deep-dive into your competitor content, now it’s time to look at your target audience. Who are you hoping to attract to your page? What are their interests and behaviors? Your target audience should have come into consideration when you selected your distribution channels, because each audience persona can be found on different platforms (i.e. audience type A is best reached on Instagram while audience type B is more active on LinkedIn).
Create a Brand Guide
Once you’ve done your research you can begin creating your brand guide. This is a very important step because cohesion is critical. You should have a designated font type, color code, design components, and so on. Having a clearly defined brand is what will help people to remember your content and instantly recognize your posts as part of your brand, rather than something random on their feed.
Define Content Pillars
The next step is all about defining the kind of content you plan to post. Outline a series of topics that are in line with your brand and with your target audience. For example, your topics might be within categories like ‘informative’, ‘promotional’, or ‘topical’.
Something informative might be explaining relevant concepts and educating your audience about your specific field of expertise.
Promotional might include testimonials, product links, and CTAs.
Topical content would be centered around holidays, current events and so on.
Once you’ve defined a handful of content pillars, you should try to stick with them so that your content is easy to generate and consistent across the board. Keep it fresh but familiar.
Track and Analyze Data
Data analytics is an integral part of any content strategy. Whether you’re posting content on social media or posting blogs on your website, you must be tracking the surrounding metrics. Posting content without looking at the data is like driving a car without a map. You need to see where you’ve been in order to understand how you’re doing. If you’ve made wrong turns, you want to avoid making them again. Whatagraph is a great tool for tracking your data, just be sure you’re looking at the right metrics. First establish a baseline and then compare your performance to it over time.
Pivot As Needed
There’s no point in tracking your data if you’re not utilizing that information. Leveraging data analytics can make or break your content strategy. When your numbers are down compared to your baseline, work to understand what happened. Getting to the bottom of low numbers can help you course-correct. We live in a fast-paced world where people’s wants and needs are constantly changing, so your content strategy has to be agile and able to adapt.
