Content creation takes time and effort but is only part of the story. For content marketing to work, it needs a strategy behind it.
The November B2B Comms Breakdown LinkedIn event I co-hosted with built environment marketing specialist Ayo Abbas focused on getting a good strategy in place and how to stay ahead in a fast-changing world.
A video replay is available (scroll to the bottom), but here’s a summary of the conversation:
What is a content strategy?
Ayo Abbas: HubSpot’s definition of a content strategy is:
“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.”
I think that’s a pretty good definition. I’d probably use the word distribution rather than publication.
When it comes to content strategy, it’s all about how you distribute and reuse content in more places to keep getting the most out of each piece.
Stacey Meadwell: Hubspot covers the key elements. The starting point has to be the purpose – why are you doing it, and what do you want to get out of it?
What is the end goal, and what does success look like after publishing the content?
If you don’t know the point of it and what you want to deliver, how can you ensure it achieves your goals?
I’d then work back from there to identify the target audience – who do you want engaging with your content?
That leads to the distribution strategy – what channels will you use to get it out there? Repurposing is also on my list, and tracking and measuring performance – that’s an important part of it too.
Ayo Abbas: Maybe Hubspot is including tracking under governance. However, for large firms, governance might refer to protocols for storing and sharing content so people can find it.
It could also cover things like guidelines for freelance writers and other processes.
How to manage your marketing goals and deliverables
Stacey: You need enough ideas and content. For example, if you’re doing a campaign around a project, where are you getting the ideas to fill the number of articles/posts or newsletters you want to put out?
There’s also the approval process – having a system to get content created and approved. How many people will review it?
Be realistic about what you can achieve. Don’t try to do everything. Focus on consistency, even if you start small, like quarterly vs monthly.
Choose channels wisely – don’t be everywhere if you can’t deliver quality content regularly.
Ayo: Don’t assume people saw something because you shared it once. To hit goals, share content multiple times in multiple ways.
When working on websites, you have to keep feeding them with traffic and new content. You can’t just share something once and expect results. Repurpose content into different formats.
Follow SEO copywriters – they outline goals, target audience and keywords upfront. This creates content that delivers on business goals, not just impressions.
Report on whether content reached key clients and has driven business results, not just ‘likes’.
Show the path from content to actual business impact. Mapping out those steps from creation to goals is key.
Reviewing your strategy and how to stay ahead
Stacey: There are a lot of vanity metrics, especially around social media, such as ‘impressions’. But if your goal is to drive new business, is your content actually delivering on that? Can you trace it back?
If your idea is to build your brand and position your team as thought leaders, is the content getting you speaking opportunities and podcast invites?
There are tangibles that come from content, so review your strategy and what’s working.
Where are the results coming from? Do you really need to be on that channel?
It’s hard to let something go if it’s not working, it feels like failure. But monitor what’s working and what is not, and let the ineffective stuff go.
However, with any new content type or channel, publishing once isn’t going to deliver amazing results.
Have a plan and strategy for how long you’ll try something, and make sure you give it enough time.
Podcasts are a good example – most don’t make it past six episodes, but it takes time to build an audience.
Ayo Abbas: Look at the right metrics – not just high numbers.
When I look at my LinkedIn stats, impressions matter, but sometimes my less popular posts, like showcasing my work, drive business conversations more than high impression posts.
On LinkedIn, look at top engaging companies – are they the right ones you want to target?
They show user levels, too – are they senior directors or decision-makers? Use that to see if your content is reaching who you want.
You can tailor content to get more of the right people reading.
Letting go is important. I wrote a blog recently analyzing Twitter one year after Elon took over. I used to get 20-30k impressions regularly just by tweeting and linking to my site.
Now, I’m lucky to get a couple hundred a month.
I looked at engineering firms with big Twitter followings who still post normally but get no impressions. Your strategy has to move on.
Stacey Meadwell: There are so many more content channels and options than there used to be.
It can be overwhelming, and sticking to what’s always worked is an easy option.
But try to explore new platforms, features, and content types as part of your strategy. See if your audience uses them.
Keep up to date on what’s new in content – there may be an effective new platform or feature promoted heavily you should try.
Look at what others do, even outside your industry, to stay inspired.
LinkedIn content is very similar; when someone does something different, it stands out. Explore different channels and content as part of your strategy in case you’re missing something really effective.
Ayo Abbas: If you follow Kevin D Turner, a LinkedIn guru, his blog details new LinkedIn features. In 2023, as of October, there are 150 new features – it’s crazy!
Watch the replay, including audience questions:
More bloggy content…about content you might like:
- Writing for conversation: A different approach to LinkedIn content
- It’s no joke: The power of using clear and simple language in business
- How to leverage value from trade shows and conferences with B2B content
- Audience and content reach: Does size matter?
- Make it an event: Delivering successful round tables
