What is content creation and why is it essential in your marketing strategy?
Content creation is about strategizing on topics that will attract your target audience and then planning, creating, and publishing your content on different platforms - blogs, social networks, newsletters, webinars, etc.
Content creation is a very effective method to attract your prospect to one of your sales channels, and increase your visibility and sales, and this with a low budget.
Content creation is a pillar of your marketing strategy that: has a low cost, and requires few resources but takes time, whether it is for the choice of topics, the writing of the latter, or even the positive feedback on your products.
If you want to know more about the different types of content go to our article on content marketing (LINK).
It is therefore vital to set up a content strategy focusing on medium to long-term objectives.
We have grouped below the 7 key steps to create content in an efficient way.
Step 1: Define the campaign objective
Your campaign goal should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
Content marketing can correspond to different touch points with your prospects by:
Establish your brand image
Showcase your expertise on a specific topic
Answer customer questions
Acquire new customers
Increase your online presence
This step will allow you to decide on the most appropriate type of content.
Step 2: Define your target audience
Whether you already have a target audience or not, this step is essential to take into account for your content strategy.
Indeed, without an audience, your content will not be able to fulfill its objectives, because it will not be precise and adapted enough. Furthermore, you can also create sub-categories of your target audience to create content that will be adjusted to each step of your sales process until customer loyalty.
Keep in mind that your content should be relevant to your audience, but also to your brand!
Step 3: Establish monitoring targets (KPIs)
After defining the most important objectives for your content marketing strategy, as well as your target audience, it is important to set up how to measure your progress.
For this, there are many performance indicators or KPIs that will allow you to track your performance.
For example, it is necessary to measure :
The origin of your traffic and the percentage of organic traffic
Click-through rate - the number of people who click on your links
The bounce rate - or the people who leave directly after clicking on the link
Conversion rate: here it will depend on your conversion goal: a sale, a download, customer data, etc.
The return on investment: the amount of money you bring in compared to your budget.
Il existe plusieurs facons de tracker ses indicateurs via différents outils : logiciels CRM, de marketing automation, Google Analytics, etc.
Step 4: Set up an editorial calendar
An editorial calendar is a great way to define the different types of media and the progression of your content objectives. It also allows you to plan your content to avoid a heavy workload.
It is important to prioritize content with the shortest deadlines or with the greatest importance in terms of the previously defined goals.
Try to prioritize realistic goals in terms of content production, putting aside your absolute ideal situation.
Your content schedule will be different depending on your goals and workload.
You can easily set up a tracking calendar using Excel. There are also project planning and management tools if you have a team.
Finally, don't forget that content is not only about a blog or a newsletter, but can also refer to social networks, ebooks, webinars, etc.
Step 5: Determine what you want to say & which keywords to use
This step will also consist of researching which keywords to use to ensure that your content is visible in search results.
There are many tools online to help you find keywords and it is important to take into account: the difficulty of the keyword, its search volume, its cost per click, etc.
You want your content to match the user's needs. If they want to know more about the product you're selling, set an informational keyword ranking rather than a transactional one.
Step 6: Write your content
Once these steps are established you can focus on creating your content. To do this, it's important to go through a research phase to focus on themes and topics that make sense - for your business and your customers.
Start by researching the information you need to write your content. Record links, information, and key figures so you can find and use them easily.
Write the outline of your content, the general structure, and the different chapters. Then get started!
Feel free to write your content and come back later to edit it.
Step 7: Promote your content
Once your content is ready, all you have to do is publish it via your content management system (CMS) by adding the basics for your referencing: URL, title, description of the article, etc.
Conclusion
Creating quality content can be an effective strategy with a small budget, just follow these key steps and persevere!
If you want to outsource this step of your marketing plan due to lack of time, many agencies take care of these steps.
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