Developing a Content Marketing Strategy: Insights from Experts

Creating a successful content marketing strategy can be a daunting task, especially with the ever-evolving digital landscape. However, with insights from Spacebar’s content marketing experts, you can develop an effective approach that delivers results. In this article, we explore key elements of a content marketing strategy and common mistakes to avoid, with valuable tips from our very own leading industry professionals.

Understanding Content Marketing

Content marketing is fundamentally different from traditional marketing methods. While old-school marketing focuses on direct product promotion, content marketing is a more scientific approach. It involves creating and distributing content to a highly interested audience, providing solutions to their problems rather than pushing a product or service.

“Content Marketing is not just about creating a mechanized funnel to drive business in, but also creating opportunities to add knowledgeable insights while encouraging and urging your customers to walk down your revenue path with an eventual purchase or sale.”

Building a Simple Content Marketing Framework

Developing a content marketing strategy requires a clear framework. A popular approach is to use the six honest serving-men from Rudyard Kipling’s 1902 poem “The Elephant’s Child”: What, Why, When, How, Where, and Who.

1. Why: Establishing Your Business Objective

Every content marketing strategy should start with ‘why’. This is your business objective, the reason for doing what you do. Your content marketing can help achieve specific business goals. These could include:

• Branding: Creating or recreating your brand image within your industry or market segment.
• Community Building: Building a community around your product or service, encouraging a free flow of information and feedback.
• Public Relations: Tailoring your content for promotions and PR events.
• Market Research: Using feedback to gauge market responses and utilizing this data to your advantage.
• Customer Service: Providing service-related content to engage and connect with your existing customer base.
• Lead Generation: Creating inquiry-based traffic and generating leads for new sales.

2. Who: Identifying Your Target Audience

The ‘who’ refers to the audience you are targeting or already serving. Your content should offer a solution or serve a need in the lives of your customers. Understanding your customers’ preferences and needs is crucial. This can be achieved by reviewing quantitative demographics and qualitative psychographic.

3. What: Determining the Form of Content

Based on your business objective (the ‘why’) and your target audience (the ‘who’), you can decide what form of content you need. The key is to create content that aligns with your strategy and is appropriate for your brand.

Avoiding Common B2B Content Marketing Mistakes

While developing your strategy, it’s essential to steer clear of common B2B content marketing mistakes. Here are three pitfalls to avoid:

1. Overemphasis on Thought Leadership: While demonstrating expertise is important, simply representing a “smart perspective” doesn’t significantly impact customer decision-making. Content should enlighten customers about new developments in their industry and provide compelling reasons to consider change.
2. Excessive Personalization of Content: Trying to personalize content for each stakeholder can backfire, especially when multiple stakeholders have different priorities. An effective content strategy should focus on a broader vision and offer a collective solution.
3. Content that Doesn’t Track the Purchase Process: Ensure your content helps gauge purchase process levels and timing of engagement. This can be done by including questions that customers are likely to ask at each step and creating marketing content that answers each question along the way.

Developing an SMB Content Marketing Strategy

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) can benefit greatly from a well-planned content marketing strategy. Here are the key elements to consider:

1. Audience Understanding

A strategic approach to content starts with clearly defining your audience in terms of industry, hot buttons, and size. This focus enables you to choose topics, formats, and distribution channels that are most likely to resonate with your target audience.

2. Clear Objectives

Each piece of content should map to a stage of the sales cycle and move the reader to the next stage. This transforms your content into a powerful marketing tool.

3. Content Differentiation

Your content must provide unique value and make sense coming from your company. Demonstrating your company’s expertise and creating original content can reinforce the unique value you provide.

4. Effective Distribution

Think about how your content will be promoted before deciding on formats and topics. For instance, if content will only reside on your site, articles, Q&As, worksheets/checklists, and social graphics work best.

5. Content Management

Develop a content planning document to pull it all together. This document should track the performance of each piece and can be updated on a rolling basis with new content.

Creating a successful content marketing strategy is a complex task requiring a deep understanding of your audience, clear business objectives, and a focus on providing unique value. However, with careful planning and execution, your content marketing efforts can lead to significant business growth. By focusing on your customers’ needs (and learning from experts like us), you can develop a content marketing strategy that drives results!