Let us help you start the year off right, whether you’re creating a new content strategy or reviving an old one.
- Set the Stage
- Make Content
- Produce and Promote
Set the Stage
First things first: know what you want to achieve before you start creating content. We suggest auditing your current assets, researching your competitors, and planning your content strategy.
Considerations include:
- Set goals. Setting clear, measurable, and specific goals can help guide your content strategy. It could be as simple as deciding to double your email list or hit a certain traffic or time-on-page goal.
- Choose your audience. Who is your content aimed at? Who do you want to visit your company’s website? Create buyer personas based on your customer research.
- Make a keyword list. Keywords are terms and phrases consumers use to research your products or services. Keyword ideas can be found in Google Ads or Analytics dashboards, or by using Google Autocomplete.
- Review your content. Examine the content on your company’s website, blog, and other assets. Examine the content for quality, but also the metrics to see what works well (and what doesn’t).
- Create categories. We also suggest creating categories based on your previous content. For example, a plumbing company may have categories for preventative maintenance, DIY tips, energy efficiency, etc. They can help you generate content ideas. They also show you where you’ve been focusing too much or not enough.
Make Content
After laying the foundation, it’s time to get serious about creating content that supports your strategy. Some suggestions:
- Create a content ideation process. You’ll need to keep coming up with new content ideas. Plan regular brainstorming sessions with your team, using your keyword and category lists as a guide. Consume content from competitors and industry experts; you never know when inspiration will strike!
- Make a topic list. Add new topics to a shared spreadsheet. Include a working title, a one- or two-sentence summary, a proposed call to action, and a keyword list. You can also include inspiration/research articles. Indicate any landing pages or other assets you want the content to link to.
- Plan ahead. Create a writing routine around your topic list. You can use your topic list to assign due dates or writers to each topic (if you’re lucky enough to have a writing team).
- Ensure quality. Include a quality check in your process. An editor or proofreader should check all content for grammar and typos, as well as alignment with your goals. Privileging may also be wise.
Produce and Promote
When you create new content, make sure to promote it across all relevant channels.
- Compile newsletter topics. You should have a regular e-newsletter to share new blog posts, videos, etc.
- Social media share. Assign a team member to share content across all of your branded social media accounts.
- Pay for promotion. Paid promotion may work well for content you truly believe in.