Content Strategy Explained in 180 Seconds

Hi there!?? Thanks for stopping by. We share expert, practical advice on content marketing and web design. If you're new to our community and would like to get better results from the web, click the "subscribe" button above.

Impossible? Maybe. But let’s try to explain the basics of content strategy in 3 short minutes.

If you just had 180 seconds to visit, thanks for dropping by! Otherwise, let’s unpack that overly concise description of content strategy basics.

What is Content Strategy?

A strategy is a plan to reach a specific goal. So content strategy is a plan to use content to reach a specific goal.

Content strategy is a plan to create, promote, and measure marketing content (written articles, recorded videos, etc.) in order to create meaningful interactions, that meet the needs of both an audience and a business.

Please note: The term “content strategy” and “content marketing strategy” are often used interchangeably. But they are not the same. Content strategy actually goes beyond marketing. Hilary Marsh explains?below.

A company’s content strategy is the plan for attracting visitors and inspiring them to act. It’s the plan for generating demand using content.

This kind of planning is done once in the beginning of the content program, referred to weekly or monthly and revised yearly. It includes the following:

• Audience
• Mission?…for us and our audience
• Topics
• Keywords
• Influencers
• Social and email promotion
• Measurement and ongoing optimization

Let’s take a closer look at each:

Audience

This is a good time to explain the difference between the two types of digital marketing:

• Advertising distracts your audience, by pushing messages at them, interrupting them while they’re trying to do something else. (banners, pop-ups, PPC, paid social, view pre roll, etc.)
• Content marketing attracts your audience, by giving them something helpful and useful. Something they actually want.

So the key is to know what they want. The better we know their hopes and dreams, their fears and concerns, the easier it is to create something they’ll want, share and remember

Doug Kessler,

Velocity Partners

“The more you know about your audience, the more chance you have at making content that resonates. Use that insight to look them right in the eye and say ‘this is for you.“

If we do it well enough (memorable, high-quality content) for long enough (it often takes years) we can earn their attention, their trust and eventually their business.

The process of researching and documenting the needs of an audience is often called “persona development.” Formal or not, we need to put ourselves in their shoes. Kevin Cain has?a nice set of questions?that will help:

Targeting business buyers? (B2B)

• Where do they work and what are their titles?
• What do they need?
• What’s going to motivate them to make a purchase?
• What are their pain points and what concerns do they have that could potentially prevent them from buying?
• Are they the ultimate decision-maker?
• Are they an economic buyer or a technical buyer?
• Who influences them in terms of their buying decisions?

Targeting consumers directly? (B2C)

• How old are they and where do they live?
• What do they need?
• What are their personal tastes and preferences?
• What are their pain points and what concerns do they have that could potentially prevent them from buying?
• Are they the ultimate decision-maker?
• What is their lifestyle like and how does that impact their buying decisions?
• Who influences them in terms of their buying decisions?

The detailed content strategist will create buyer personas for different members of the audience and different stages of awareness and interest. This is sometimes called content mapping.

For the rest of the article, click here>.