You must have online content. It is the ectoplasm ooze that binds consumers to your business faster than when Daniel and Kurt merge to form Haunt.
But throwing out random bullets and webs with your content distribution is bad news. For a real marketing platform you’ve got to have a content strategy.
Strategic placement of your content marketing methods gives your company the Bam! Zap! Zoom! it needs. Before you get all gung-ho about content strategy certifications, begin with an overview of the essentials.
Creating Your Content Strategy
In order to develop this type of strategy first you need to understand it.
According to WriterAccess CEO Byron White, “Content strategy is the process of planning, developing and managing content to meet strategic goals.” It is all-encompassing and it requires careful preparation.
But first let’s take a look at what you don’t want to do at this stage:
- Do not Hulk up your content creation simply in hopes of taking over the internet. More does not mean better, and it can water down the value of your marketing message. Plus, over 211 million pieces of web content are created each minute. You’d have to drink all of the blood of Morbius to handle that task.
- Never create content with the reader in mind.
Sure, you might think that everyone needs to know about your company’s latest, greatest insider venture. But if you A. use industry-speak, B. write with your business investors or competitors in mind, or C. ignore the consumer, you might as well just send out a company memo.
Wait, that’s what you are doing already, but in a content space. Here’s the deal. Your readers want content that provides them. Readers can and should be a bit self-absorbed, it’s how things work in a market economy.
Otherwise it’s a waste of their time and yours.
The Consumer’s Journey
So how do you create content for your consumer audience? As with every superhero from Mandrake the Magician to Gwenpool, there’s a journey involved.
When consumers approach your social media profile, your customer success team, online shopping cart, or ads, they are on that journey.
How this journey ends can be up to you, as long as you have a well-plotted Customer Journey Map.
This map will lay it all out for you in terms of which aspects need to be included. Points like Perceive, Connect and Purchase make all the difference.
If your content strategy overlooks any one of the landmarks along the way this leads to disconnect and disinterest…and possible sideswiping from your villainous competitors.
Worse yet, your content strategy becomes a lost cause. You aren’t able to connect with your consumers, and they get sidetracked from reaching the finish line.
Fortunately there’s a way to learn all about the fine points of the Customer Journey Map.
Content Strategy Workshop at CMC
This year at the Content Marketing Conference 2017 in Boston, Byron is presenting a content strategy masterclass with more fizz, boom, pop than those old school Batman cartoons.
You’ll be able to hone your content marketing strategy with superhero strength. Byron is the author of an upcoming content strategy book and he wants to share with you everything he’s learned along the way.
So join Byron White at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters…oh wait, wrong. Join Byron and the rest of the content crusaders at the Content Marketing Conference 2017.
You’ll develop a web’s worth of connections to other content marketing strategists, while stropping your content strategy sharper than Wolverine’s claws.