10 steps to…Create a remarkable content strategy

Step 1:Buyer Persona

Buyer personas are fictionalised representations of your ideal customer. This research goes into more detail than traditional target audience or target market research.

Buyer Persona

Use the research to find out basic information and find out your personas pain points and challenges…

Who are they?

What do they do?

What’s their goal?

What’s their challenge?

How can we be the solution?

Ask questions that make you get to know your persona better –and don’t be afraid to ask specific questions…

What’s their life like outside of work?

What communication preference do they use the most?

What’s their favourite social media platform?

Step 2:Online research

Your online research should be split into 3 different strands: these are your competitors, your industry and keyword research…

Online research

Competitors

What are your competitors doing?

What are your competitors NOT doing?

Industry

Are there any hot topics in the industry?

Who are the industry influencers and thought-leaders?

Keyword research

What are the most used keywords and phrases in the industry?

Are these keywords and phrases achievable for you?

Step 3:Choose & create your premium content

Premium content is a piece of content that sits behind a data capture form. This premium content should add-value and get a visitor on your website from a ‘stranger’ to a ‘lead’.

Choose & create your premium content

TOP

MIDDLE

BOTTOM

A typical content marketing strategy includes 3 pieces of premium content.

A “top of the funnel” introductory eBook helping solve persona pain points

A “middle of the funnel” such as a webinar to talk about how your product and service can help your persona

A “bottom of the funnel” offer such as a free trial, demo, review, 30 minute call.

Choose & create your premium content

You need to make sure the premium content throughout the buyer’s journey continues to add value to them, and help you convert them to a customer – no matter what stage they’re at when they come to your website.

Step 4:Align content with your buyer persona

Once creating the premium content, make sure they are all aligned with your buyer persona and their pain points and challenges.

Step 5:Make it downloadable

Now you’ve created your premium content, you need to make it downloadable on your website in order to capture data. This means creating a well optimised landing page which includes…

Make it downloadable

Remove navigation – this encourages web visitors to concentrate on the landing page instead of browsing the rest of our website.

Make it downloadable

Page title – Title needs to be clear, concise and tell visitors exactly what we’re offering without the need for them to read the rest of the page.

Make it downloadable

Content – Introduce the premium content with a representational icon and bullet point reasons why they should download it.

Make it downloadable

Data capture – a form should collect data of persona that gives you the opportunity to contact them in the future offering your services.

Step 6:Promote on your website

Call to actions aligned with the customer journey on your website allows you to better target your persona.

Promote on your website

Step 7:Get blogging!

Refer back to your buyer persona and keyword research to create the best blogs and blog titles that address persona pain points AND is optimised for SEO.

Get blogging!

Think of blog titles and topics that… Answer pain points of buyer persona

Include those achievable keywords and phrases

Don’t be boring… Embed videos/photos/slideshows

Write up interviews with colleagues/industry thought-leaders

Avoid sales pitches

Promote your premium content Call-to-actions at the side and bottom of every blog

Text links actually in the blog

Get blogging!

“8/10 people will read a title, but just 2/10 readers will continue reading the article”- David Ogilvy

Step 8:Promote to your followers

Use the social media channels your persona is using to promote your premium content. Also don’t forget your existing contacts that you can email…

Step 9:Promote externally

The hardest part of promoting your premium content – but the tactic that pays off the most…

Promote externally

Press release/news story Tailor and send to local and regional outlets

Tailor and send to industry-related press

Guest blogging Get a slot on an industry-related website where you can promote

your new premium content AND link back to your website

Industry influencers and thought-leaders Send premium content to them and ask for feedback/help

promoting

Online Advertising Google Adwords

Retargeting Ads

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn advertising

Step 10:Analyse and tweak

Use your performance of the whole content marketing strategy to analyse and tweak little things that could make a big difference. Change call to action colour is just one example.

RECAP…

RECAP…

Buyer Persona and online research is really important

Your premium content should be interesting and align

Make your premium content downloadable

Promote your premium content everywhere!

Analyse and tweak to you heart’s content