Marketing Content Strategy

Content marketing is an essential strategy to make potential customers aware of your brand. The ‘content’ in content marketing could be a video, blog post, podcast, or social media post. As most potential customers often do preliminary research before purchasing products or services, they’ll likely find your content before making a purchase decision. If your content is helpful, those potential customers are more likely to trust your brand and buy your products or services when they’re ready to purchase.

The problem is that not all content marketing strategies are equally effective. You need to know what problems your potential customers are searching for, what makes a piece of content convert, which content platforms they’re using, and how to work with platform algorithms to get in front of your potential customers.

Here’s a guide you can use to build your own marketing content strategy.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a form of inbound marketing that attracts users to your brand by providing useful or entertaining content—usually in the form of text, video, or audio. It is valuable to companies because it helps them build relationships and trust with their potential and existing customers at scale. As a result, it’s easier to sell your products faster.

Key Benefits of a Successful Content Marketing Strategy

1. Reduce Customer Acquisition Costs: Quality content creation isn’t cheap, but you’ll see a stronger ROI from each piece of content you produce because your audience will grow.
2. Improve Lead Quality: Content marketing allows you to filter the type of customers you attract based on the content you produce.
3. Build a Stable Lead Pipeline: Content marketing produces higher returns over time, especially if you produce evergreen content.
4. Increase Customer Retention and Loyalty: The more familiar potential customers become with your brand’s viewpoints and identity, the easier it is to trust your brand.

Different Forms of Content Marketing

1. Long Form Written Content: Blog posts, white papers, and case studies help you rank in search engines and provide in-depth information to your audience.
2. Social Media Posts: Excellent for generating brand awareness and building relationships quickly.
3. Video Content: Building a relationship with your audience is easier as they can see and hear you.
4. Podcasts: High retention as the audience can passively consume your content.
5. Emails: An essential part of e-commerce performance marketing and an owned platform that allows retargeting without relying on a third party.

How to Execute a Successful Content Strategy

1. Define Your Ideal Target Customer: Identify your ideal buyer persona by asking key questions about their position, company type, pain points, and knowledge level.
2. Map Out Your Marketing Funnel and Choose Content Formats: Create content for each stage of the customer’s research process and choose content formats that your customers enjoy and that you can produce consistently.
3. Generate Content Ideas and Establish a Brand Voice: Develop a unique angle for your content and ensure it aligns with your brand voice.
4. Create a Content Calendar and Workflow: Implement a project management platform and break down content marketing campaigns into tasks with due dates.
5. Test and Measure Results: Track early content marketing metrics and assess which content performed best to inform future content creation.

Channel Distribution by Channel

Effective content marketing requires creating great content and distributing it through the right channels. Here are some strategies for various channels:

Email Marketing

Email marketing is highly effective because it targets people who have already shown interest in your brand. Strategies include:

• Sending newsletters with your latest blog posts, product updates, and special offers.
• Segmenting your email list to send personalized content.
• Using automated email sequences to nurture leads and convert them into customers.

Social Media Platforms

Each social media platform has its unique audience and best practices:

• Facebook: Great for community building and sharing various content types, including videos, blog posts, and events.
• Instagram is best for visual content like images and short videos. Use Instagram Stories and Reels to engage your audience.
• LinkedIn: Ideal for B2B marketing. Share industry insights, company news, and long-form content like articles and white papers.
• Twitter/X: Perfect for real-time updates, news, and engaging with your audience through tweets and threads.
• YouTube: Focus on video content like tutorials, product reviews, and interviews. Optimize video titles, descriptions, and tags for SEO.

Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing involves reaching out to potential customers directly:

• Paid Ads: Use Google Ads, social media ads, and display ads to target specific demographics and interests.
• Cold Emails: Personalize your outreach to address the specific needs and pain points of the recipient.
• Direct Mail: Send physical marketing materials to prospects, especially if you’re targeting a local audience or specific industries.

Real-World Examples

Let's take these concepts to real life.

Health and Wellness App

Example: A health and wellness app focused on mental health

• Content: Create blog posts about mental health tips, video tutorials on using the app’s features, and user success stories.
• Distribution: Use Instagram and Facebook for visual content and send personalized email recommendations based on user behavior.

1. Define Your Ideal Target Customer: Identify users looking for mental health support, typically aged 18-35, who prefer digital solutions.
2. Map Out Your Marketing Funnel and Choose Content Formats: Create top-of-funnel blog posts about mental health awareness, middle-of-funnel video tutorials on app usage, and bottom-of-funnel success stories.
3. Generate Content Ideas and Establish a Brand Voice: Focus on creating content that addresses common mental health challenges and promotes the app as a helpful tool.
4. Create a Content Calendar and Workflow: Use a project management tool to schedule regular content updates and ensure consistency.
5. Test and Measure Results: Track user engagement and app downloads to measure the effectiveness of the content strategy.

CPG Brand

Example: A consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand for organic snacks

• Content: Develop blog posts about healthy eating habits, recipe videos using the snacks, and customer testimonials.
• Distribution: Share content on Instagram and Pinterest for visual appeal and send email newsletters with recipes and product updates.

1. Define Your Ideal Target Customer: Identify health-conscious consumers, typically aged 25-45, who are interested in organic products.
2. Map Out Your Marketing Funnel and Choose Content Formats: Create top-of-funnel blog posts about healthy eating, middle-of-funnel recipe videos, and bottom-of-funnel customer testimonials.
3. Generate Content Ideas and Establish a Brand Voice: Focus on creating content that highlights the benefits of organic snacks and promotes a healthy lifestyle.
4. Create a Content Calendar and Workflow: Use a project management tool to schedule regular content updates and ensure consistency.
5. Test and Measure Results: Track website traffic, social media engagement, and product sales to assess the content strategy's effectiveness.

Digital Growth Agency

Example: A digital growth agency providing marketing services

• Content: Produce in-depth guides on digital marketing strategies, case studies of successful client campaigns, and video tutorials.
• Distribution: Share content on LinkedIn and Twitter for professional engagement, and send email newsletters with industry insights and service updates.

1. Define Your Ideal Target Customer: Identify business owners and marketing managers looking for digital growth solutions, typically working in mid-sized companies.
2. Map Out Your Marketing Funnel and Choose Content Formats: Create top-of-funnel guides on digital marketing, middle-of-funnel case studies, and bottom-of-funnel video tutorials.
3. Generate Content Ideas and Establish a Brand Voice: Focus on creating content that showcases the agency’s expertise and proven success in digital growth.
4. Create a Content Calendar and Workflow: Use a project management tool to schedule regular content updates and ensure consistency.
5. Test and Measure Results: Track website traffic, lead generation, and client acquisition to measure the effectiveness of the content strategy.

Marketing Content Strategy - Get it Out There

Implementing an effective content marketing strategy involves understanding your audience, creating valuable content, and distributing it through the right channels. By defining your ideal target customer, mapping out your marketing funnel, generating unique content ideas, creating a content calendar, and testing and measuring results, you can build a successful content marketing strategy that drives growth and builds trust with your audience.