Home Content Marketing Developing Content Marketing Strategy: 11 Essential Steps

Developing Content Marketing Strategy: 11 Essential Steps

by Editorial Staff

Table of Contents

In today’s digital landscape, where content reigns supreme, establishing a robust content marketing strategy is essential for businesses striving to capture the attention of their target audience and drive meaningful engagement. A well-crafted content strategy serves as the foundation for all marketing efforts, guiding the creation, distribution, and promotion of content that resonates with customers and achieves business objectives.

The content marketing has become an essential communication tool for businesses. A well-developed content marketing strategy helps increase website traffic and connect with audiences. It is also an excellent conversion aid.

However, content marketing is a long-term job that requires rigor, creativity and will. The quality of the content offered, the relevance of the subjects covered and the SEO strategy implemented are the keys to success.

In this content marketing guide, we will explore the essential steps to set up a powerful content marketing strategy that propels your brand forward. From defining your goals and audience to crafting compelling content and measuring success, let’s embark on a journey to unlock the full potential of content marketing.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content Marketing Definition: Content marketing is a content creation strategy that aims to generate leads and increase website traffic. The writer(s) produce quality informative marketing content that meets the demand of their audience. Content marketing is made up of a diversity of marketing content: blog article, guide, tutorial, white paper, podcast, video, emailing, newsletter, social media publication, infographic…

For an online store, readers and consumers are sensitive to relevant advice and information. The use of the blog in E-commerce is an interesting lever from an Ecommerce SEO point of view as well as from a digital content marketing point of view.

What is content marketing?

We can also say that content marketing is a strategy that consists in creating and giving added value to marketing content in order to reach a target and satisfy it over time.

This marketing content strategy places a primary emphasis on content. The latter must be of high quality, informative, attractive, useful, sustainable and adapted to the target audience. It is intrinsically linked to the development of the web and search engines. To achieve its objectives, many levers such as blogs, social networks and SEO are used.

Before even launching your marketing content strategy, you must identify your target; depending on whether they are individuals or professionals. Indeed, a distinction is made between B2C and B2B content marketing. Depending on the context, the type of content marketing process will be different.

  • What is a content strategy?
  • Why do content marketing?
  • How to do my content well?

We explain to you.

Types of Content Marketing

Here are some common types of content marketing:

  • Blog Posts: Articles published on a website’s blog that provide valuable information, insights, or entertainment to the target audience.
  • Infographics: Visual representations of data or information designed to be easily digestible and shareable, often used to convey complex concepts or statistics.
  • Videos: Multimedia content that can range from short clips to longer-form documentaries, used to educate, entertain, or engage audiences.
  • Ebooks and Whitepapers: In-depth guides or reports that delve into a specific topic or issue, typically used as lead magnets to capture email addresses or generate leads.
  • Case Studies: Detailed analyses of real-life examples or success stories that showcase how a product or service has helped solve a problem or achieve a goal for a client or customer.
  • Podcasts: Audio recordings featuring discussions, interviews, or presentations on topics relevant to the target audience, often consumed on-the-go or during commutes.
  • Social Media Posts: Content shared on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, including text, images, videos, polls, and more, designed to engage and interact with followers.
  • Webinars and Online Events: Live or recorded presentations, workshops, or seminars delivered online, providing valuable insights, training, or education to participants.
  • Email Newsletters: Regular updates or communications sent via email to subscribers, containing curated content, promotions, announcements, or educational materials.
  • Interactive Content: Engaging formats such as quizzes, assessments, surveys, calculators, or interactive tools designed to capture attention and encourage user participation.
  • B2B Content Marketing (BtoB): The happy B2B marketing is an exchange between two companies. So this is the type of strategy to adopt if your content marketing is aimed at professionals.
    • For this, the tone of your content should be more professional. You need to use industry jargon to demonstrate your expertise and prove to your audience that you can deliver value to them.
    • To implement this type of strategy, the most used communication channels remain advertising and professional social networks such as LinkedIn.
  • B2C content marketing (BtoC): Unlike B2B content marketing, this is aimed at individuals. This is the strategy to use when you want to market your products or services to individuals.
    • You must therefore adopt a simple and friendly tone, present the essential characteristics of your products / services and the benefits that this brings.
    • To achieve your B2C goal, you have many distribution channels: blogs, social networks, local press, etc.

Read Our Guide on Is B2C Marketing Suitable To Increase Inbound Sales?

Why Develop A Good Content Marketing Strategy?

Content Marketing

Less expensive and more effective than traditional web marketing or advertising on the internet, content marketing is also an effective tool for keeping in touch with customers and generating new leads. Integrated into an inbound marketing strategy, it helps the company achieve its goals and generate more income.

The Internet, Google in particular, generates nearly 90% of the first contacts between a business and a customer. If large companies all have a website, only 50% of VSEs and SMEs have one. Few of those who have invested in a website have a content marketing strategy in place. Yet, according to a study conducted by Contently, 75% of marketers have seen a real benefit since implementing their content strategy.

statistical data on content marketing

You are probably asking yourself why do content marketing?

Remember that the first reason is to be able to generate leads and transform them into customers.

Benefits of Content Marketing Strategy

When you adopt a good marketing content strategy, there are many other benefits to you.

  1. Improve your visibility and SEO: The content marketing is to produce content (media, articles, pages) quality towards your visitors. Do you give better answers in your field? So you will stand out from other existing content. This will make Google and other search engines put you in the first pages or even at position 0 (featured snippets) in their search results (SERP). Thus, you improve your visibility and your SEO.
  2. Gain authority in your field On the web: evergreen content is more durable than with traditional advertising or time-limited campaigns. By offering quality content that generate shares, more often, Google always ranks you higher in search results and you register your presence over time. You will then be found more quickly by your potential customers.
  3. Showcase your know-how: your brand (brand content)In principle, the goal of marketing content is not to highlight the image of the company, but to respond to the concerns of a given target. However, content marketing allows you to enhance the image and online reputation of your brand (brand content) by constantly responding to the concerns of your visitors and prospects. You can include one or two videos featuring your brand in your articles.
  4. Increase your site traffic: Undoubtedly, improving your rankings in search engine results helps increase traffic to your site. Internet users tend to click on the links that appear first on Google.
  5. Convert your leads into customers: quality content also turns your leads into customers. When they arrive on your page, they will undoubtedly be interested in your products or services, if these are well presented and detailed.
  6. Increase your turnover: A good content marketing strategy could have an impact on your bottom line. By attracting more and more Internet users to your site and by converting them, you will certainly increase your sales.
  7. Content marketing and SEO: Can become formidable strategies when combined. Natural SEO is the technical process of increasing the quality of traffic and attracting as many visitors as possible to your website.

Marketing content is all about using valuable and relevant content to drive profitable action from the internet user. Deploying SEO actions without making optimum use of the content marketing layer is a failed recipe. At first, the return on your investment may be insignificant, but it will increase over time.

12 Steps For Creating A Content Marketing Plan

Considering these various advantages, you are probably wondering how to create a content marketing strategy? There are some must see steps to create a content marketing plan you need to go through, as follows:

Step # 1: Create Your Buyers Personas

While Creating marketing content strategy must absolutely take into account the notion of persona. These characters, inspired by your customers, are the starting point for all posts. Writing a blog post or newsletter should be persona oriented. For marketing content to appeal to the target for which it is intended, it must meet the main needs of that target.

To create a buyer persona consider several steps:

  • Carry out market research: to find out what makes your customers tick, the easiest way is to ask them.
  • Create Surveys: Just a few questions to learn more about your typical customer.
  • Analyze customer reviews: Google My Business, Facebook, certified reviews, Trip Advisor… consult each review left by your customers to learn how to better understand their needs.

Create a “Buyer persona” file for each profile and detail as much as possible: last name, first name, job, age, nationality, hobbies, income, etc.

Step # 2: Find Relevant Keywords

To increase traffic through content marketing, keyword analysis is content marketing basics. The idea is to find out what queries people type when they are looking for a product or service similar to yours.

To do this, several online tools provide indicators on the keywords searched by Internet users: Yooda Insight, Google’s Keyword Planner, SEMrush Keyword Research, etc.

To increase your traffic, it is advisable to work on:

  • Short tail queries: these are short keywords, often a single word or a single phrase (content marketing, SEO, web writing, newsletter, etc.). Short-tail keywords generate a lot of traffic, but are also subject to stiff competition. It is therefore more complicated to find yourself on the first page of Google.
  • Long tail queries: these are longer queries or keywords (find an SEO expert, get more visits to my site, how to get subscribers to my newsletter, etc.). The long tail query is typed less often on Google, but it has the advantage of being less competitive. It is therefore easier to properly reference your page on Google.
  • Hot requests: by “hot request” we mean a seasonal request (Christmas menu, Mother’s Day gifts, barbecue, etc.). Google Trend allows you to see when this query is most often typed by Internet users. It is then necessary to create new marketing content a month or so before the peak of this request and often, it is necessary to publish several articles in the days preceding the peak of searches.
  • Cold queries: these are queries that generate the same number of searches throughout the year. Here, it does not matter when the content is published. On the other hand, we don’t forget that Google appreciates fresh content! It is therefore advisable to content marketing blogs on this topic on a regular basis and to update the existing content marketing blogs.

Step # 3: Establish A Year Round Editorial Schedule

It may seem heavy and yet it is essential. Creating an editorial schedule for one year ensures that you always have ideas for content marketing blogs creation. It also allows you not to find yourself dealing with blank page syndrome.

Obviously, nothing is set in stone and you can incorporate other publications into this schedule, including news articles or a topic that you really want to cover because the moment is right.

Avoid absolutely: write an article quickly because you feel pressured to publish. It is better to postpone the sending of a newsletter or the publication of a content marketing blogs article than to produce content of which you will not be proud and especially which may disappoint your readers.

To complete your editorial planning, it is advisable to note the article titles and the main keyword targeted. We start by noting the seasonal publications, then we complete the editorial planning, taking care to mix the blog categories well.

Step # 4: Schedule Posts

The idea is to make an agenda of the company’s publications. All content must be included: articles, videos, podcasts, infographics, posts on social networks, etc.

Your file may also include a tab per media to further detail your publishing strategy.

Step # 5: Vary The Types of Posts

Varying the publications allows you to reach more people and therefore, to increase the number of views on your website. Ideally, publications come in multiple formats. That is to say that for a subject, you will create:

  • A blog article,
  • A video,
  • A podcast,
  • An infographic,
  • A post for Linkedin,
  • A Facebook post,
  • A photo for Instagram…

Obviously, this must be adapted to your communication strategy by publishing on the media where your customers and prospects are.

Keep in mind that content marketing is all about attracting prospects and converting them into customers. For this, we must play on 3 main axes of content:

  • Emotional content: information on the life of the company, photos of newcomers, publications on a corporate event… this type of content makes it possible to forge a strong bond with Internet users and to humanize the company.
  • Content that informs: white paper specializing in your field, guide… the content should help the reader and answer his questions.
  • Useful content: this involves writing content that helps your readers: a tutorial, an explanatory video, a comparator or a converter… often, they are sent as a gift in exchange for subscribing to a newsletter.

Put next to each other, these contents form the 3 Cs:

  • Communication,
  • Content and
  • Conversion.

Step # 6: Be Regular In Your Publications

Better to publish one article per week and keep at this rate, than to publish several articles or content in a short time and then not publish anything for several weeks. To get there, get ahead in writing or get help from an SEO web editor to build a database of articles to publish in accordance with your editorial schedule.

Step # 7: Why and How To Start a Business Blog?

Creating a business blog can be a great lever to communicate and create an effective online content marketing strategy and create an editorial line that can reach your target audience by giving them relevant information. The topics covered can be varied and capture the intention of the future buyer at all stages of the information search tunnel.

Step # 8: Integrate Content Marketing With Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing is a process of maintaining a marketing relationship with prospects (leads). Adapting your content marketing strategy to different types of prospects is a winning strategy.

Step # 9: Create Quality Content

To be effective, your content marketing strategy must be based on quality content.

But what is quality content?

Quality content is content that meets the following requirements:

  • Compliance with SEO writing rules,
  • Impeccable spelling,
  • Text structure making it easier to read on small screens: short paragraphs, bulleted list, words in bold, table of contents with anchors (redirect links in the text),
  • Informative: the article should be useful to your reader,
  • Write impactful introductions to capture the reader.

Regarding the style or the angle, it will be necessary to ensure that it remains in adequacy with the image and the values ​​of your company.

Before publishing an content marketing blogs, ask yourself these two questions:

  • Does the article perfectly reflect the image I want to convey of my company?
  • Does the article meet an expectation or a need of my readers?

Read Our Guide on How To write Quality Content Marketing Blogs?

Step # 10: Train Every Employee In The Content Creation Process

Often the production of content is exclusively dedicated to a single person designated as the official editor of the company. However, by asking each employee to invest in content creation, the company gains in diversity.

Here’s how to collectively create content that meets your editorial line:

  • Give your employees free access to your editorial charter
  • Set up a shared workspace (Slack, Trello) where everyone can jot down content ideas
  • Identify talent: copywriters, designers, proofreaders, infographics …
  • Promote the employee by creating an “author” tag and letting him sign his articles
  • Make content creation a ‘routine’ in your business

Step # 11: Plan Your Budget

Now, it’s time to determine your budget. Consider the type of content you’re producing and the channels you’re utilizing for its marketing.

Next, ask yourself the following questions to establish your budget:

  • Are there any software or technological investments required for content creation? (e.g., graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop, subscriptions to platforms like Canva, or equipment for high-quality multimedia production?)
  • Will you need to enlist the services of content marketers or designers? (e.g., writers, artists, editors, or designers?)
  • Do you anticipate expenses for advertising space?
  • Are there specific tools or resources necessary to enhance or measure the effectiveness of your content?

Take note of how your answers influence your budget, whether it entails adjustments upwards or downwards from your initial estimations.

Step # 12: Measure the ROI of Your Online Content Marketing Strategy

Finally, measuring the results of your marketing content strategy is a key step.

First of all set yourself KPIs. This may be :

  • The number of views
  • The amount of sharing
  • The organic backlinking of the article
  • The number of subscribers on a list of subscribers
  • Performance on social networks
Measure the ROI of your content marketing strategy

KPIs are quantifiable data points you can use to measure your actual performance against your goal: Following table shows smart goals and their related KPI’s

SMART GOALRELATED KPI
Brand awarenessSite traffic, social media followers, subscription sign-ups, mentions (by customers and partners)
RevenueDaily sales, site traffic
ConversionsConversion rate, shopping cart abandonment rate, associated shipping rate trends, competitive price trends
Brand loyaltyReturning customers, promoters, product reviews, referrals
Customer engagementLikes, shares, follows, mentions, backlinks
Rapport and trustReturning customers, promoters, followers, mentions
Strategic partnersNew partnerships, mentions, backlinks

For your content marketing blog strategy, use Google Analytics which will provide you with data on:

  • The number of pages viewed: to find out which articles are the most popular with readers
  • The bounce rate: if it’s high, it’s because the content doesn’t interest your readers or they didn’t find what they were looking for
  • The time spent on the page: the longer it is, the more it shows the reader’s interest in the article (be careful, however, that Google Analytics cannot verify if the reader is present in front of his screen or if he is absent ).

It’s important to optimize landing pages for conversions with reassurance to reassure prospects and consumers.

For your social networks, use Hootsuite which allows users to follow the activity of their social networks in real time.

Content Marketing Examples

Here are some live examples and case studies of successful content marketing campaigns:

  1. Red Bull: Red Bull is renowned for its content marketing prowess, particularly with its “Red Bull Stratos” campaign. In 2012, Red Bull sponsored Felix Baumgartner’s record-breaking skydive from the stratosphere. The event was live-streamed on YouTube, attracting millions of viewers worldwide. Red Bull capitalized on this captivating event to create engaging video content, which generated massive social media buzz, increased brand awareness, and reinforced Red Bull’s association with extreme sports and adrenaline-fueled experiences.
  2. Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign: Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign is a prime example of impactful content marketing that resonates with audiences. Through thought-provoking videos, print ads, and social media content, Dove challenged beauty standards and promoted body positivity. One notable campaign involved the creation of the “Dove Real Beauty Sketches,” where women described themselves to a forensic sketch artist, highlighting the disparity between self-perception and external perceptions of beauty. The campaign garnered widespread attention, sparked conversations about self-esteem and beauty ideals, and positioned Dove as a champion of inclusivity and authenticity.
  3. Blendtec’s “Will It Blend?” Series: Blendtec, a manufacturer of high-powered blenders, achieved viral success with its “Will It Blend?” video series. In these videos, Blendtec’s founder, Tom Dickson, blended various objects, including iPhones, golf balls, and even a Rubik’s Cube, to demonstrate the power and durability of Blendtec blenders. The entertaining and unconventional approach captured viewers’ attention, generated millions of views on YouTube, and significantly boosted brand visibility and product sales for Blendtec.
  4. Airbnb’s Airbnb Magazine: Airbnb, the popular accommodation marketplace, launched “Airbnb Magazine” as part of its content marketing strategy. The magazine features visually stunning photography, travel stories, and destination guides curated by Airbnb hosts and travelers. By leveraging the aspirational allure of travel and storytelling, Airbnb Magazine reinforces the brand’s ethos of belonging and adventure, while also providing valuable travel inspiration and information to its audience.
  5. Patagonia’s Environmental Initiatives: Outdoor apparel brand Patagonia has gained widespread acclaim for its content marketing efforts centered around environmental activism and sustainability. Through its blog, social media channels, and campaigns like “Worn Wear” and “Don’t Buy This Jacket,” Patagonia educates consumers about environmental issues, promotes conscious consumption, and reinforces its commitment to ethical business practices. By aligning its brand with social and environmental causes, Patagonia has cultivated a loyal customer base and positioned itself as a leader in corporate responsibility.

These Content Marketing Examples showcase the diversity and effectiveness of content marketing strategies in capturing audience attention, fostering engagement, and driving brand awareness and loyalty.

What Blogs Formats To Use as Content Marketing Resources?

Marketing and Content has huge benefits that can benefit any business. However, you must choose the type of content according to your target. There are several content marketing resources to use for blog content marketing.

img 61aa48d8e3c36 Content Marketing Strategy
  • Guides: these are articles of over 2,500 words.
    They are very successful with Google and are more credible among Internet users.
  • Tips and blog posts: These are also popular with search engines and help build customer loyalty.
  • Frequently Asked Questions: they allow you to answer various questions in specific ways.
    They are more referenced by Google with voice search.
  • The newsletter: very advantageous, their success depends on their quality, but also on the time of sending.
  • Posting on social networks: they are more engaging and call subscribers to action.
    However, care must be taken to use the right social network.
  • Achievements (video, computer graphics, etc.): videos are more effective and above all in demand.
    Computer graphics are more attractive and efficient when done well.

There are many other formats such as: podcast, webinar, slides, etc.

Content Marketers

The keys to success in content marketing are the quality of the content and the organization. However, it is also important to properly analyze your competitors to produce better than them. This represents a lot of work and requires knowledge in the matter. Thus, having recourse to content marketers is essential.

To set up your content marketing, you can hire a Content Marketer. They generally offers all the services related to the web (SEOs, community manager, SEO writing…). If you want such a specialized and qualified content marketer, you can also hire a content marketing agency.

By entrusting your content marketing strategy to Content Marketers, you can be sure of having entrusted your project to people who have mastered all the steps necessary for its success. The content manager is also the conductor of your content marketing. His mastery of distribution channels makes him an expert for the success of your project.

The content marketing is a strong tendency which won wide acclaim from businesses, but also consumers. Generating leads, increasing traffic, improving the site’s organic SEO, improving the brand image, etc. are among the elements favorably impacted by a good content marketing strategy.

FAQs: Content Marketing Strategy

What is a content marketing strategy, and why is it important?

A content marketing strategy is a plan that outlines how a business will create, distribute, and promote content to attract and engage its target audience. It’s important because it helps businesses align their content efforts with their marketing goals, maximize resources, and achieve measurable results.

What are the key components of a content marketing strategy?

Key components typically include defining goals and objectives, identifying target audience personas, conducting content research and planning, creating high-quality content, determining distribution channels, implementing promotion tactics, measuring performance, and iterating based on insights.

How do you define goals and objectives for a content marketing strategy?

Goals and objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Examples include increasing website traffic, generating leads, boosting brand awareness, driving conversions, or nurturing customer relationships.

How do you identify and understand your target audience for content marketing?

Understanding your target audience involves researching demographics, psychographics, behaviors, challenges, preferences, and pain points. This information helps tailor content to resonate with your audience and address their needs effectively.

What types of content should be included in a content marketing strategy?

Content types vary depending on audience preferences, industry, and goals but may include blog posts, videos, infographics, case studies, ebooks, whitepapers, podcasts, social media posts, webinars, and more.

How do you determine the best distribution channels for content marketing?

Distribution channels should align with audience preferences and behavior. Common channels include websites, social media platforms, email newsletters, content syndication networks, guest posting, influencer partnerships, and paid advertising.

How can content marketing strategy performance be measured?

Performance can be measured using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments), conversion rates, email open and click-through rates, lead quality, social media reach, and return on investment (ROI).

What are some common challenges in implementing a content marketing strategy?

Common challenges include creating high-quality content consistently, staying updated with industry trends, competing for audience attention, managing resources effectively, maintaining brand consistency, and accurately measuring performance.

How often should a content marketing strategy be reviewed and updated?

Content marketing strategies should be reviewed regularly, ideally quarterly or annually, to assess performance, adapt to changes in the market or audience preferences, incorporate new insights, and refine tactics for ongoing improvement.

What are some best content marketing practices for developing a successful content strategy?

Best content marketing practices include setting clear goals, conducting audience research, creating valuable and relevant content, optimizing for search engines, promoting content across multiple channels, measuring performance, and iterating based on insights to continuously improve strategy effectiveness.

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