What is Content Strategy
A content strategy is the planning, creation, publication, management, and governance of content. A great content strategy will attract and engage a target audience, meeting their needs while driving business goals.
Elements of a Content Strategy Plan
Since a content strategy plan is a roadmap designed to guide the creation, publication, and governance of useful content, here are some key elements you should include when creating yours.
1. Goals and Objectives
What do you want to achieve with your content?
Do you want to increase brand awareness?
Generate leads?
Or maybe, improve customer engagement? Is it all three — or something else?
When you define the goals and objectives you want your content to help you achieve, you’re establishing your North Star.
2. Audience Persona
An audience persona (or buyer persona) is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on data and research.
It helps you understand who you’re creating content for.
To create an accurate audience persona, you’ll need to conduct research through surveys and interviews and analyze your social media engagement to gather insights.
3. Content Audit and Analysis
Once you’ve gotten your audience persona down, review your existing content to determine what’s working and what’s not.
This way, you’ll be able to identify gaps and opportunities for content.
In the Content Audit section of your content strategy plan, explain:The kinds of content and topics that are already working well for you (e.g., blogs that discuss web development, micro-videos that explain coding tips and tricks, etc.)
The kinds of content and topics that are not gaining traction (e.g., white papers about the evolution of programming)The content gaps and opportunities you’ve discovered.
4. Content Types and Channels
Next, decide on the types of content you will create (e.g., blog posts, videos, infographics) and the marketing channels through which you will distribute them (e.g., website, social media, email).
Ensure that you choose these content types and channels based on your audience’s preferences and where they spend their time online.
Consider experimenting with different formats and channels and measuring their effectiveness before choosing your ideal marketing mix.
5. Content Creation Process
This section of your content strategy plan outlines the steps for producing content, from idea generation to publication. This process includes assigning roles and responsibilities to other team members or freelancers.
Pro tip: Develop a content calendar to plan and schedule content in advance. Use collaboration tools to streamline the content creation process and ensure that team members (and/or freelancers) are on the same page.