According to the latest research which was conducted by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) as well as MarketingProfs, a whopping 63% of companies don’t have a content marketing strategy. It’s no wonder, then, that it is most likely that those organisations who DO have such a strategy will be more likely to have the impression that their efforts, with respect to content marketing, are effective.
Without a content marketing strategy, successes or failures are just a matter of luck. This means that you risk all your efforts going to waste if you leave everything to chance. That’s likely the reason why a similar percentage (to be specific, 64%) say that learning how to build a content marketing strategy is something that they most desperately need to learn.
Content marketing is a piece in the puzzle of a broader integrated digital marketing strategy. Performing this type of marketing well requires a strategy of its own which will guide you in shaping your content marketing strategy.
The field of content marketing is about so much more than merely creating, distributing as well as sharing content in order to, for example:
- Engage audiences,
- Generate leads, and
- Improve branding.
It requires a strategic approach and that’s what a content marketing strategy is all about. As we’ve mentioned previously, content marketing fits in a broader integrated marketing strategy. It necessitates a strategy of its own. However, just as all other strategies regarding specific marketing techniques (email marketing or social media marketing, for instance) such a strategy needs to be integrated in a broader strategy.
How to build a content marketing strategy
What is a ‘content marketing strategy’?
Your company’s content marketing strategy is your fundamental “why.” It answers the questions:
- Why you are creating content?
- Who are you helping?
- How will you help them in a way that no one else can?
Organisations typically make use of content marketing in order to grow their audiences and to attain at least one of these lucrative results:
- More income,
- Reduced costs, or
- Customers which are better for your business.