Sometimes content marketing gets sidetracked. Sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day. Sometimes we simply create the content we want to create. And sometimes, these factors have a negative impact effect on our content marketing efforts.
In this article, we explore why content marketing strategy is important for keeping your marketing activities on track.
1. Managing workload
If your marketing team is small, you may feel like you don’t have the time to create high-quality content, let alone come up with a strategy to manage it.
However, a content strategy can help you focus on what will make the most impact. By pinning down your objectives and your strategy, you get a better idea of what your team needs to do and how they’re going to do it.
2. Managing budgets
A content marketing strategy can save you vital funds.
How?
Because of the focus mentioned above. Your team (or your suppliers) are only creating content that fits with your strategy and objectives. You’re not spending your marketing budget on creating content on a whim.
3. Managing expectations
Picture this: Someone in another department wants you to write an article related to a breaking news story. Your colleague has seen that competitors are publishing content around it, but you don’t have the time or resources to do the same. Sound familiar?
A content marketing strategy allows you to diplomatically push back on that person. You can refer them back to your documented strategy, which explains what you’re focusing on why.
And this, incidentally, also saves you time and money.
4. Managing outcomes…
…and bigger wins.
As part of your content marketing strategy, you will have measurable objectives to work towards – as well as some suitable metrics for measuring success. These clearly defined targets allow you can tweak and amend your tactics over time, based on what’s working and what’s not.
And of course, because your efforts are concentrated on achieving a specific goal, you’re likely to see better results too.
5. Managing plans
We often hear marketers complain that they’re reactive; they never have time to proactively pursue their ideas.
A content marketing strategy is a remedy for that particular problem.
Creating a strategy for the next 3-5 years is the ultimate exercise in planning ahead.
Achieving business goals often takes time and your strategy needs to reflect that, setting out what you’re going to do in the coming years.
As a result, it allows you to proactively plan campaigns and tactics years in advance so you can get back on top of your game.
Not only that, but it becomes easier to develop ideas, because you have defined your brand position and target customers, so you’ll have a narrower playing field.
Sound good, but not sure how to go about creating a content marketing strategy? An experienced content marketing consultant can help you to define your goals, audience and tactics.