Content marketing strategy (and its role in your bigger marketing strategy)

Your content marketing strategy plays a key part in your overall marketing strategy. This is where content marketing fits in at each stage of your marketing funnel, and how you can incorporate content marketing into your own marketing strategy.

 

 

Not sure what content marketing is? You need to read this post.

Content marketing strategy (and its role in your overall marketing strategy)

One of the big misconceptions around content marketing is that if you're putting content out there, you're doing content marketing. Part of the Content Marketing Institute definition of content marketing is that it's aligned with your marketing strategy and it's done with the goal of driving profitable customer action.

So, by randomly “spraying and praying” with your Instagram or Facebook content, you're not actually doing content marketing. You need to have a content marketing strategy in place.

To understand where content marketing fits in with your marketing strategy, you need to understand the buyer journey.

Quick recap of the buyer journey

People don't buy from you the first time they come into contact with you. Sure, there are some exceptions but, generally, you need to build trust with them first.

Content is a great way to start building that trust. You can use it to position yourself as an expert, you can use it to add value to your audience's lives and you can use it to build a connection with your audience.

All of these things help to build trust, which ultimately helps you sell more of whatever it is that you sell.

Here are some key things to think about when putting together a quick content marketing strategy…

Where does content fit in with cold audiences? (Your top-of-funnel content)

Firstly, what the heck is a cold audience? It's those people who have never come into contact with your business before – they have no clue who you are.

You can use content as a way of warming people up and helping them to get to know your brand. Maybe you could record a video tutorial on how to do something that your ideal customer would like to do. Or, it could be a blog post on the biggest mistakes they're making with the topic that you're an expert on.

As a little side note: Don't be afraid of being an expert. So many people freak out and think “but there are so many people out there who know more than I do – I'm no expert.” But, by bringing your own unique perspective and experience, you're an expert in your own right, so own it!

Once you've written the blog post or you've recorded your video tutorial or podcast or whatever the content is, you need to get it in front of people's eyes.This is where your overall marketing strategy comes into play. My personal favourite ways to do this are through Facebook Ads or Pinterest Promoted Pins. Yes, organic social media works to an extent with promoting your content, but if you're looking for quicker growth, you need to put a little money into paid ads. It doesn't have to be a lot.

What about content for your warm audience? (Mid funnel content)

Once somebody has come into contact with your business online and they're starting to become familiar with who you are and what you do, this person is considered part of your warm audience. Different businesses will define warm traffic differently, depending on the funnel length.

So, a big part of your content marketing strategy should be how you can nurture this person into a paying customer or client. How does content help here? Well, like I said before it builds trust. Are you noticing a common theme here?

Just because you've managed to convince someone to subscribe to your email list or follow you on Instagram doesn't mean you can stop delivering them value. You need to regularly and consistently be emailing your list. Don't know what to send your email list? This can be as simple as sending them new blog posts every time you publish one or letting them know when you release new products in the segment they're interested in.

Also, make sure you're consistently posting on whichever social media platforms they're following you on.

What about content for your hot audiences? (Bottom of funnel content)

Your hot audiences are people that are super interested in your brand and they're keen to buy from you – you just need to get them across the line.

The simplest tactic here is to simply add calls-to-action to your content. It can be as easy as saying “to learn more about this topic click here” or “click to find out more about my online course” – or whatever it is that you're selling.

Make sure you have an email sequence in place to catch those people who abandon cart or abandon checkout too! Or, if you sell services, try retargeting them with the Facebook Pixel. These are all things to think about when putting together an overall marketing strategy.

Lastly, what content should you show your customers or clients?

Once someone has purchased from you, please don't forget about them altogether. These people are your biggest asset; they play a huge part in your marketing strategy. These people are the ones who can recommend you to their friends or tell their friends to stay away.

If you use content marketing strategically, you can turn these people into brand advocates.

Content that you can deliver to these people might include a tutorial on how to use what they've just purchased or on how to get the most out of a coaching session with you, for example.

This seems like a lot of content… I don't have time to create all this content!

I don't want to overwhelm you and make you feel like you have to go out and create ALL of the content. You really don't have to. Start by thinking about your content marketing strategy, and then begin to create a few pieces of blog or video content that you can deliver via email to people who purchase from you or sign up to work with you.

Then, focus on consistently creating content for the other three stages of the funnel. This could be one blog post a month, or five videos a week, or whatever schedule works for you. Plan ahead so that you can still consistently publish content, even when business gets busy (as it undoubtably will!)

Lastly, just because everyone else is writing blogs, doesn't mean you have to. If you prefer to record a video or a podcast, by all means, do so. Play to your strengths and do what you enjoy.

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