As the owner of your brand messaging, you have a lot of fantastic things to say about your products, services, and everything else that makes your brand amazing! However, without a strategy, the great content you’re creating cannot reach an audience that will feel connected to what you offer, and what your company is about.
Content strategy is all about getting your messages to the right person, at the right time – in the right way. It encompasses your overall approach to creating, publishing, and promoting content.
Before you peruse the mega-important, bolded takeaways (even the best of us are skimmers), you must consider who your target audience is (demographics) and where they are (what do they read, what sites they visit, what social channels they use, etc.). Content strategy means speaking to those audiences where they are in ways that resonate with their passions, interests, needs, desires, and pain points.
Think beyond your product or service and focus on what’s in it for them. How do you change their lives? What can you do to improve their lives, and bring them peace? How can your brand help solve the problems keeping them up at night?
Now that we are thinking of our content in a broader way, carry this mantra of strategic writing into every facet of the biz:
Building brand awareness: Consistently publish valuable and relevant content that resonates with your target audience – not just what you do, but what you can enable them to do, and how you do it differently or better.
Establishing thought leadership: Provide valuable insights and expert advice on real-life issues to your target audience. Show that you are listening and aware of the pain points in the industry, and are actively working on ideas and solutions.
Driving traffic and conversions: Drive traffic to your website and increase conversions by optimizing your content for search engines and providing clear calls-to-action. Pro-tip: The trick is to simultaneously write for humans and machines, as they are both absorbing your content!
Building relationships: Address needs and concerns while interacting with your audience. If your strategy is a one-sided conversation, meaningful dialogue and growth for all parties aren’t happening. Every relationship is built on care, respect, and exchange.
Enhancing customer engagement: Provide a consistent and valuable experience across all touchpoints. A major disconnect in your branding between channels shows that you are disorganized or unsure of who you are. If you don’t know yourself, how can you begin to know the customer?
Building trust: Be transparent and reliable – even when you encounter an unforeseen problem, own up to the problem and provide information on its resolution and the effect it may have on consumers. It’s okay to be human!
Improving customer retention: Provide ongoing value to customers to keep them engaged with your brand. If you fizzle out on customers, they will fizzle out on you. Similar to building relationships, maintaining a relationship takes effort as well. Don’t let the loyal feel underserved or underappreciated.
Providing insights: Share your continued learning with your target audience. Show customers how you are adapting and evolving your products, services, and messaging as they themselves are evolving. Utilize different mediums to showcase the information as well. Content vessels such as reports, case studies, ebooks, or data points on social media and in email messaging can ensure you’re providing the information in a variety of digestible formats that cater to different members of your audience’s individual content tastes.
Enhance the customer journey: Provide a consistent and valuable experience throughout the entire buying process. Every step is equally important, and to treat one step as superior to another shows a bias. Give your best to every potential customer – even a prospect for whom your brand isn’t the ideal fit may be in a position to suggest your solution to someone else if the experience was positive and memorable.
Not sure if your content strategy is as cohesive as it could be or perhaps your messaging could use a comprehensive review? Don’t worry! From strategy conception to creative execution, the Marvel Marketers’ Content Services team has you covered. Contact us about our Marvel Marketers’ Content Audit and Strategic Content Writing Services.
