Most successful marketing campaigns don't just happen by accident. They require time, attention, and most importantly - planning. Unfortunately, many business owners take a more haphazard approach, piecing together various strategies, then hoping for the best.
While no two successful content marketing campaigns are exactly alike, most campaigns contain a fairly predictable set of characteristics. This post will outline five key components that will give you the best chance of achieving content marketing success.
1. The audience
Before you write any content, craft an offer or even think about your marketing funnel, you first need to decide exactly who you're marketing to. This key step will build the foundation of your content marketing campaign for your business. It will ensure making sure everything you do is geared toward your ideal customer or client.
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As this graphic from the Altimeter Group shows, there are a variety of elements you should consider. These considerations include the demographic (e.g., age, gender, etc.), psychographic (e.g., personality, lifestyle, etc.), geographic (e.g., city, country, etc.), among others.
Some questions you may want to ask that will help with defining your target market include:
- What is the problem my product or service is trying to solve?
- Who is most likely to have this problem?
- What are their defining characteristics? (age, marriage status, location, job, hobbies, etc.)
- Will these people actually pay me for my offering? If not, you may need to revise or update your offering completely.
You can also consult your analytics to see who is already visiting your site and buying your stuff. Use custom reporting in Google analytics to learn exactly who is converting; you can even learn detailed information about these customers including age, what types of products they're likely to buy (in-market segments) and interests and lifestyle (affinity categories).
2. The content
Once you've clearly defined your audience, you can begin creating your content. This could be written content (e.g., a blog or social media post, a report, a press release, etc.), an image (e.g., a meme, infographic, etc.) or a video. Keep your target audience in mind as you write/create (especially the title as this is what will get them to click) - as well as mentioning the exact problem and the primary issue your product solves for them.
Many businesses struggle with this step of the process, wondering what they should be writing about. They know they need to find topics that are extremely relevant to their target market, but don't know how to consistently find these topics. My post, A 4-Step Formula For Finding Killer Content Ideas should help with this.
Keep in mind that your content shouldn't be promotional. Unlike an ad, your business, products and services shouldn't be the star of the show. The issue you've addressed in #1 will be the theme of your content, along with how your product or services addresses that need. In some cases you may determine not to even mention your business at this stage at all; for instance, when writing a blog post. You save the mentioning of your product in the next steps of your campaign.
3. The offer
While your content may not promote your business, your offer will. Keep in mind your offer often isn't a hard sale; in fact, it's often completely free, and meant to capture emails, not to make immediate sales.
First and foremost, your offer should be something that's very valuable to your target audience, and that they can't get anywhere else. This could be an e-book, white paper, report, case study, free consultation, etc. Again, the offer won't usually be a direct selling tool, but a way to showcase your expertise and help your customers get to know you.
Yale Appliance uses free buying guides to earn trust and capture leads
In general, it will be your content (#2) that you promote heavily. However, within that content, you'll include your offer or CTA (call to action). This could be in the form of an offer that says, "Download our free guide," "Grab your free report now," "Book your free consultation," or any other statement that entices your prospects to make a connection with you.
4. The promotion and distribution
Now that you've written your content and come up with a great offer, it's time to let your target market see it. Unfortunately, most content that gets posted online gets little to no traction - meaning all that time and money invested in creating your content has gone to waste.
This is where promotion and distribution come in. According to the Altimeter Group, only 26 percent of businesses invest in the distribution of their content. And yet this is the key to getting your marketing content seen and read by those who may actually buy your product or service.
There are tons of ways you can get your information out to your customers and clients, including:
- Sharing on social media and sharing to your email list
- Getting mentions from other bloggers or journalists
- Paying for sponsored blogs or social media posts
- Using social or PPC ads
- Guest blogging with a link back to your content
Remember it's likely with your content (#2) that you'll want to push and promote what you are offering. You will feel like making this your advertising. You love your product or service and want to tell everyone about it. Resist this urge. Since your content will showcase your expertise in your field, it's a great introduction to you and your business. And since your content contains your offer (#3), everyone who reads or views your content will have the option to take that next step toward connecting with you -- if they so choose.
5. The follow-up
At this point, your content and offer have gotten in front of the right audience. They've now given you their email in exchange for some free yet valuable information. Now what?
As part of this relationship, you'll be able to share deals, offers and (finally) share more about your business and products. Be sure to meet the expectations of your subscribers, based on what they signed up for: Did they sign up for deals, or because they want to see more content? If they primarily asked for content, most experts recommend following the 80/20 rule: 80 percent non-promotional content, 20 percent promotional.
As you continue to email your subscribers, you become a known and trusted entity. Then, when it comes time for them to buy, guess who will come to mind first? The person/business who they now know, trust and have an ongoing relationship with.
Final thoughts
The success of your content marketing strategy will depend on many factors outside your control. However, the 5 components above are in your control, and should be included in each of your campaigns to give you the best chance of success.
What other components do you think are necessary as part of a content marketing campaign? Share below!
