As the world becomes more and more connected, content consumption is increasing in a rapid pace. People want to consume more to get that instant dopamine hit. Modern day internet is like an addictive slot machine, producing content according to our subconscious choices. As a digital experience agency, we have always helped clients create the right content mix to right their target audience and build meaningful connections with them.
But before delving into that, let’s find out what actually is a content marketing strategy.
Content Marketing Strategy – What is it?
Social Media and the internet to be exact is quantum choice field with information encoded in tiny pieces of content. When a business owner, service provider or brand, comes online to sell their products or share their story, the right content marketing strategy is like a secret sauce.
If the right elements are included, the complexity reduces and the KPIs can be easily achieved in every quarter.
If we zoom out a bit, like clicking the ‘_’ sign on an excel sheet, there are four major points to focus on.
1. Specific Achievable Goals: Content without purpose has no meaning. So whether it is a product post or a testimonial or a reel showcasing the top services a brand offers, a purpose has to be achieved with each content piece.
2. Insights from your Tribe: What is your audience saying? In most cases, the figures have embedded messages. Study the male-female ratio, the acceptance of content, when it’s not boosted and the time they are online. All these subtle things can help you craft a better content marketing strategy.
3. What’s your type? For some brands, reels generate thousands or order. For some brands, the founder’s profile generates organic leads. What clicks for one company may not click for you. So the way out of this problem is testing. Test different types of content and while analyzing the data, you will understand what posts should form the majority of the context mix.
4. Distribution is the King: Good content becomes a toothless tiger, if it is not distributed in the right channels. So before anything plan how you will distribute the content in the right channels. It holds the most amount of significance in 2024.
How much does content marketing cost?
If the Indian market is considered, content marketing can start from Rs 100,000 per month. To get an impressive ROAS, this is the magic figure that has actually worked for brands and given them significant results. But it is more about writing the correct blog or creating that perfect reel that actually counts. There is no set budget for content marketing, but it is safe to say that it fluctuates between Rs 300,000 – Rs 600,000 per month. The key here is to choose the right brand consultants who provide affordable solutions for your business growth.
Is content marketing in high demand?
Data is getting cheaper and it is keeping eyeballs more hooked than ever. Increased digital content consumption has single-handedly boosted the demand for content marketing. Brands are now serious about what they post on digital. Everything is done as per social media content calendars and this makes content marketing the need of the hour. But distribution is another important step in content marketing and it simply can’t be ignored in 2024.
What is SEO’s role in Content marketing?
SEO is not dead yet and as far as the current digital trends are concerned, it won’t be dead in the next 5 years. Organic content is discovered on Google more proactively now and with the recent algorithm updates, human-written content is given more priority. If the content is search-engine friendly, it doesn’t have to pushed so aggressively. This is where SEO becomes vital in content marketing. It is a long-term investment and should be done consistently.
How to develop a Content Marketing Strategy in 5 easy steps?
Developing the right strategy every month is crucial, when it comes to content marketing. By keeping the basics in mind and understanding what actually works, this process can be very simple.
1. What is the purpose?
Don’t create content just for the sake of creating content, every piece of content must serve a certain purpose and it must contribute towards the bigger picture of the brand. If the basics are done well, the larger part of the strategy becomes easier. Understand the pulse of the target audience and give them what they are most likely to consume whole-heartedly.
2. What is the data saying?
Brands, who don’t know their audience well, put their efforts in the wrong direction and miss the point about content marketing. Before going heavy on the content marketing efforts, do a thorough research on the audience. Surveys can help, analyzing previous engagement metrics can help. Any type of research methods can be used, but the goal is to find their interest and niche down on that.
3. KPIs, KPIs, and KPIs, everywhere:
Content marketing must produce a particular result, if it doesn’t, it has no meaning. The goals must be defined earlier and small plans have to be devised in order to achieve that. The performance of the content strategy has to be analyzed so that the errors are not magnified over time. Remember, time only magnifies the, good and the bad, both.
4. Choose a powerful distribution channel
A brand doesn’t have to build a powerful audience on every social media platform, but building niche distribution channels are vital. That’s where business comes from. Use Facebook Group ads to build a loyal community and in turn it can reduce your marketing budget. These are small investments, which make a big difference. WhatApp Broadcast Channels are the latest addiction to distribution channels and they are giving fantastic results to individuals and brands.
5. The all-important Content Calendar
A content calendar is a simple tool, which helps organize our thoughts, bundle our strategies and helps cross-functional teams collaborate better. Prepare it at the start of a month and come back to it every week, to check progress and performance. Delegate tasks to graphic designers, video editors and content writers, as per the content calendar and see how quickly the entire team becomes productive. They can plan their work in advance and a lot of room is left for quick changes.
Best Strategies to look at in 2024
The focus should be on marketing that appeals to humans, not machines. Technology can advance as much it wants, but human emotions rule supreme when buying decisions are made. Build on the product, make the communication strategy simple, yet smart. That should do the trick. A perfect content marketing strategy is a process, not a goal. It is perfected every week, like a winning product.
Founder & CEO at Crown33. 10 Years in Digital. 150+ Brands. Keynote Speaker, Author, Guest Lecturer & Renowned Branding Consultant. Featured on Josh Talks and several other online webinars, On a mission to help people lead their best realities and #OwnTheirPresence