The Internet is flooded with new content daily, and you don’t want to be just another fish in the online sea. You need to make an impact and create a wave of interest in your professional services brand by implementing a content strategy. Your strategy must include content that reflects and represents your firm’s mission and image. Content must also be authentic and worthwhile.
Cook up content your audience needs and helps you achieve your business goals. To create a recipe for success, begin with these five key ingredients:
- Evaluate current content - A content audit includes your content's quality and performance analysis. A lot of time was spent putting together spreadsheets and tools to support past efforts – now it is time to evaluate what seems to be working. Which pages are most popular? Which type of content or topic has generated the most comments? Which message has resulted in the most social media shares? Once you evaluate the efficacy of your activities, you are armed with the information which will allow you to make the adjustments that will increase engagement among your audiences in the future.
- Map out future content – Targeted, savory content is essential to standing out. Chart content topics to help address your audience's problems, answer common questions and communicate solutions. Make a spreadsheet that combines content ideas based on your personas' trending interests and pain points. Include formats like blog posts, case studies, e-books, infographics, and videos. Ensure you tweak your firm's messaging well on each social media channel or forum.
- Create a timeline - Think of this as an inbound marketing campaign map. Include all content that should be written and created for each goal. Schedule content that will help promote those new blog posts, e-books, etc. Determine dates of upcoming events. Is there a special occasion you’d like to promote? Incorporate these events in your annual timeline or content calendar. Plan for the content activities that need to occur before, during, and after each event—tailor content to address each client persona’s interest level and identify the communication channel to use.
- Author a style guide - A style guide must clearly define your firm’s objectives, address target audiences, allow for a personal touch, and create a framework for promotion. Describe the desired voice your content should project, reflecting your brand image and the style of your prospect(s). Use adjectives and examples to make your ideas clear. Describe the target audiences you need to reach. List topic examples, keywords, and hashtags and provide call-to-action examples. Working through all these elements will be a work in progress; consider the style guide a living document.
- Monitor metrics and conduct testing - This allows you to adjust your roadmap and timeline to include more or less of a content type, channel, or topic, depending on associated conversions, audience activity (like shares), open and click-through rates, and more. When you measure the success of your activities, you possess the information you need to make the changes that will increase engagement.
Content marketing organization, preparation, and measurement will increase your chances of success. You will find that your firm will get a leg up on the competition just by being able to run a series of targeted campaigns effectively.
Tell us how you are doing with your content strategy. Are you looking for specific areas of improvement? Share your thoughts with us! Learn more about implementing a content strategy. Contact Colosi Marketing.
