How To Create a Content Marketing Strategy From Scratch

High-quality individual pieces of content marketing don’t just happen in a vacuum – you need goals, a content calendar, competitor, audience and SEO research, and more! In other words, you need a content strategy. So, how do you put one together?

Read on for the essential elements of how to create a successful content marketing strategy.

1. Set a mission, goals, and KPIs

You wouldn’t cross the Atlantic Ocean without navigation equipment. In the same way, you wouldn’t wade into the deep waters of the branded content without knowing where you were headed. An effective content strategy includes a clearly defined idea of where you’re going.

Instead of throwing ideas at a wall like partially cooked spaghetti to see what sticks, try being intentional about what you’re producing and why. As Robert Rose at the Content Marketing Institute points out, “In a perfect world, creative content workers would spend less time assembling content and more time thinking of innovative and remarkable content to create.”

First of all, what’s your mission? Is it to attract new customers to your brand, to increase brand loyalty, or to close the deal on a specific product? This is the time to get philosophical. Ask the big questions, like “What are we doing here?” and “Why are we doing this?” If the answer is “I don’t know” or “It’s just what we’ve done in the past,” then this is your opportunity to reevaluate.

From there, outline your specific goals, making sure they’re measurable and achievable. For example, “Increase website conversions by 10% before the end of the fiscal year” is a better goal than “Get more conversions.”

KPIs (key performance indicators) are quantifiable content metrics that show how close you are to achieving your goals. For example, a makeup company might have a goal of increasing awareness of a new sustainable makeup line. If your KPI is blog content views, you could create an article about why environmentally-friendly ingredients are also beneficial for your skin.

2. Study your audience

It’s time to dig deep and learn about your customers. Who are they? Think about demographics such as age, gender, location, job title, salary, etc., and behavior patterns. What are they likely to engage with? What are they likely to buy? What problems do they have, and how can you help solve them with your abundantly helpful content marketing?

You can dig through your research and data to create buyer personas. Then, when you create content, you’ll have an idea in your head of who it’s for. If you’re starting from scratch with your customer research, Google Analytics and your own audience surveys can become your best buds.

3. Perform SEO analysis

Even though the world of SEO is changing, it’s still so important to your overall content strategy. Before you go around making changes to your existing SEO strategy (or start to build one), take a look at how your current content is performing with the help of Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These two free tools, along with a host of useful paid ones (such as ahrefs, Semrush and SEOquake, to name a few), can help you measure, track and gather valuable information about what drives people to your site and what they do once they arrive.

An SEO analysis can help you answer important questions such as, but not limited to:

• How many of your customers come in from a search for something related to your product vs. a search for your specific company?
• Where should you focus your marketing efforts?
• Where are your marketing dollars not being used efficiently?
• What’s working for the competition?
• What do your customers want to read about?

With that information in hand, keyword research can help inform you about where to focus your efforts as you create SEO-driven content moving forward.

4. Conduct a content gap analysis

Now that you have goals and data, you’re almost ready to begin producing new content. But before you start, don’t skip a key step: a content gap analysis. While creating new branded content is important, in order to stand out, you should assess the competition. First, list your top competitors, then look at what topics they’re covering and how they approach them. Do a deep dive into what your competitors are producing and track it all in an Excel spreadsheet, or use a tool such as Sprout Social to gather your data.

For example, a quick Google search may reveal that many banks may offer stories on ETF investing strategies. However, deeper analysis might reveal that either the stories are outdated, lacking in detail, provide no practical takeaways, are hard to understand or are poorly written. Therein lies your opportunity to improve on what’s out there, rise in the SEO rankings, and promote your bank’s brand simultaneously.

Finally, use your research and analytical skills to look at your own content to see where you can improve and repurpose what you’ve already created.

5. Map the buyer’s journey with a content marketing funnel

Very rarely do you get a customer coming to your brand with a credit card in hand, ready to buy whatever you’re offering. More typically, they go through stages of getting familiar with your brand, thinking through their options, and eventually becoming loyal customers. This is called the buyer’s journey and is outlined (very generally) in the image of the content marketing funnel below.

Most of your readers will come in at the brand awareness phase, and by the time they trickle down to the end, only your best leads remain. But, as our blog on turning prospects into customers with a robust content pipeline mentions, “The idea of a buyer’s journey as a straightforward path from discovery to purchase is increasingly being debunked. Modern consumers meander, zig-zagging in and out of stages, influenced by a multitude of touchpoints along the way.”

This isn’t a linear journey, and there’s no set time frame for customers to move from the top to the bottom of the funnel. So, at each stage, you have to map out the customer’s pain points and needs and create content to match.

6. Develop a content distribution strategy

A content distribution channel is the way or platform you use to deliver content to your audience. Content distribution channels can be divided into owned channels (website/blog, email newsletters, social media, etc.), earned channels (media coverage, guest blogging, sharing on social, etc.), paid channels (social media ads, sponsored content, etc.), and shared channels (user-generated content, partnerships, etc.).

You can use each content distribution channel’s unique strengths and reach strategically to maximize your reach and engagement with your target audience. For example, to reach lawyers or healthcare professionals, you might focus on promoting content on LinkedIn.

You could also examine where your competitors are distributing their content, as you outlined in your content gap analysis. This can provide insights into what works for your industry.

By carefully evaluating these factors, you can select the most appropriate channels to distribute your content effectively and reach your marketing goals.

7. Create a content calendar

With all the pieces above in place, it’s time to organize your wonderfully on-mission, SEO-focused, targeted ideas into a content calendar. Hinge some content on the significant calendar dates and seasons relevant to your business, and get started on some evergreen to have on the back-burner, just in case you need to post something when other content is delayed. Then, you can start filling in the gaps with new content that directly addresses your reader’s needs. And, don’t forget about content repurposing. If you have underperforming older content, can you find new ways to reuse or refresh what’s already been written? Before you know it, you’ll have a solid plan to move forward.

Just be careful not to fall into the trap of trying to produce as much as possible. Quality over quantity is the key here.

Ask the Content Strategist: FAQs About How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy

How often should I update my content marketing strategy?

Once you’ve learned how to create a content marketing strategy, it’s important to review it regularly. Consider reviewing your content strategy at least quarterly, and make updates as necessary. Regular updates ensure that your strategy remains aligned with your business goals, market trends, and audience needs.

What should I do if my content measurement indicated the content we’ve created is not performing as expected?

If your content is not performing as expected, analyze the content metrics to identify issues. Consider whether the content is relevant to your audience, if it’s optimized for SEO, and if it’s being promoted effectively. Adjust your strategy by improving the content quality, updating keywords, working on content repurposing, and experimenting with different content distribution channels.

How can content repurposing maximize the value of what we’ve already created?

Repurpose existing content by updating outdated information, turning blog posts into infographics or videos, compiling related articles into an eBook, or breaking down comprehensive guides into smaller, digestible pieces. This maximizes the value of your content by reaching different audience segments in various formats.

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