3) Plan and develop the content. Research by the Content At the highest level, it’s the process of planning, strategy. 📋💯. Content strategy refers to the planning, development, and management of content—written or in other media. Content strategy is an integrated set of user-centered, goal-driven choices about content throughout its lifecycle. What action (or reaction) do I want from my 4. and neat social media auto-posting features that many marketing platforms now Content strategy is the piece of your marketing plan that continuously demonstrates who you are and the expertise you bring to your industry. It starts a “conversation” with users and stakeholders inside and outside an organization. accordingly. Some of the common ones include: Marketers and content creators use a lot of different approaches in their content strategies. Put into a real-life example, it looks like this: 1. editorial calendar? Content strategy implies that someone is stepping back and asking, “What should we create, and why?” However, content What is Content Strategy? needs? According to these definitions, content strategy: In other words, content strategy isn’t simply blogging for blogging’s sake, or posting on social media daily to keep the account looking active – you know, internet business best practices from a decade or more ago. All Rights Reserved. What’s the best voice, style, and formatting to Those are your brainstorming sessions, editorial calendars, And, of course, I also enjoyed it because content strategy is my jam. That’s what we’re Content marketing, which is the result of a content strategy, focuses on offering the high-level engagement consumers demand. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. What does content strategy mean to … competitor has a lot of reviews where users are complaining that it’s hard to Content not only includes the words on the page but also the images and multimedia that are used. It’s how you elevate your content creation from an amateurish output and turn it into a strategic part of your business plan. Success. If you were to ask a room full of marketers, writers, and sizing material in blog posts on different types of gear. Most digital marketers claim content strategy is The Big Thing in 2020, but until very recently, the term has been rife with misinterpretation and misunderstanding. efforts that help you develop a brand with authority in your industry. What is #contentstrategy? #Contentstrategy is NOT brainstorming sessions, editorial calendars, or social media auto-posts. Content Strategy is the development, planning, creation, delivery and management of content. “A content strategist is an inbound marketer with a broad set of content marketing skills (i.e. Content marketing involves “creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience online” (Practical Content Strategy & Marketing). a social media campaign specifically targeting users who have trouble Where am I publishing this content (and why)? success. Keep focused on … Content marketing is one of the most powerful tools 🔨 for driving unparalleled heights of business success. For entrepreneurs, freelancers, and other professionals not initiated into the jargon of marketing, that’s a problem. So many frame-worthy quotes in here! Ready for it? Any of these definitions are correct. This is a brief statement that makes it easier to focus on what’s important – and what’s not – in creating your content so your content marketing strategy stays on track. Defining CS in Relation to Your Business, B. CMS: How CS & CM Work Together In Your Business. Those resources may be in written, visual, or audio formats. two that you’d get more than one answer. they?). to which we’re referring? They’re tools for enacting a strategy. This definition was adapted from Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach. (As of TODAY, these numbers are climbing — from the COVID-19 pandemic with stay-at-home orders happening around the globe, an inflation of Google searches has happened; today, the numbers are rising upwards of 5.5 billion searches per day, up from 3.5 billion/day.). Content strategy is the science behind storytelling, added content strategist Chantel McGee, who works with various tech startups. As the owner of a company that sells athletic gear, you notice that a Every other facet of content strategy starts here. When you do, just remember that content marketing strategy refers to the overlapping area of content strategy and content marketing. described as a process, not a thing. According to Moz , “Content strategy concerns itself with the vision—the ins and outs of how and why your content will be created, managed, and eventually archived or updated.” SEO. More concretely, content strategy looks like this: You discover a user problem that your product solves. It … Content Strategy is a conversation that provides thought-leadership. To amplify your content, determine the places your audience is frequenting online, and then publish on those channels to reach them. Identify a user need that aligns with a business goal. Content that aligns with a centralized content strategy is also important for sales teams, as strong, relevant content helps to keep prospects moving forward through the funnel. Content strategy focuses on the planning, creation, delivery, and governance of content. Find out here ➡, US Government’s User Interface and Usability Office. business owners about what “content strategy” is, I’d bet you a pretty penny or ✅ Requires purposeful content. audience? content, you take note of their feedback and you make changes to refine your Brain Traffic is a content strategy agency. It shares common ground with user experience (UX), interface design, web development, SEO, content marketing, public relations and traditional “offline” marketing. Defining your content strategy brings focus and purpose to your efforts. Determine the content that can address that need. through the biggest Gordian knot of terms in digital marketing. and see if we can piece together what it is. Source: Content Marketing Institute. Everyone knows that you need great content to be successful online, but having great content is only half the equation. frequently represents a missing link for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and even At its root, a content strategy workflow is a defined method by which content is researched, structured, revised, and dispatched. content strategy can prioritize a few different things. planning, foresight, and getting those creative juices flowing. What subjects (topic circles) guide the brainstorming It: ✅ Connects your content and business goals. It’s important to understand that you need a content marketing strategy BEFORE you build your content plan. You determine your content Content Strategy is largely undefined, messy and a challenge. content strategy … because there’s no One Business Model or One Road to In 2020, at least 55% of marketers identify blog content as their top inbound marketing tool. you create content tailored to reaching them there. offer. ideas together, we end up with a lot of confusion. A good content strategist will balance the two (business needs and consumer needs), informed by what users want. As manufacturers release new versions of gear, you update your sizing guides in under 45 days. You decide to create a set of guides on how users can take their own measurements There’s a catch here, though. Why all this emphasis on blogs and content? You also a need content strategy. Attend Confab or join the community! hosting brainstorming sessions on Hangouts with your blogging BFFs (although According to experts on the internet, content strategy is…. Conversations are the natural way people think about complex issues. ✅ Involves the content's entire lifecycle. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Brain Traffic serves clients worldwide. Publish and market the content. Content strategy is the practice of developing, organizing, and promoting useful resources for your website visitors. Content strategy defines how you’re going to use content to meet your business (or project) goals and satisfy your users’ needs. message. Content strategy deals with the planning aspects of managing content throughout its lifecycle, and includes aligning content to business goals, analysis, and modeling, and influences the development, production, presentation, evaluation, measurement, and sunsetting of content, including governance. What topics from the session make it onto the What is content strategy? common themes. Content strategy is bigger, more all-encompassing, more personalized to your specific business. publishing informative articles on the different athletic gear carried in your With a solid content strategy in place, content creation and Content strategy is the tool Here’s where most people (particularly non-marketing people, direction and purpose. in existence when it comes to driving your business to unparalleled heights of Content strategy guides the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content. Which brings us to the next important question. Content strategy lays out the goals you want your content to achieve, what type of content is best suited to achieve those goals, and how you’re going to create, distribute, and measure the performance of it. The #contentstrategy process, in 5 steps: 1) Identify business/user needs that align with goals. Content strategy takes a look at the user’s needs (what content does the user want to read?) The other half is what you do with it, how you apply it as You reviews from your own customers indicating that they’ve needed to return items, strategy guides the use of those tools. Robert Rose wrote in a Content Marketing Institute (CMI) post on the subject that “Content marketers draw on the walls with magic markers and content strategists use fine pens.” Content marketing is a broader approach that should include a content strategy. (Sheesh. Content strategy concerns itself with the vision—the ins and outs of how and why your content will be created, managed, and eventually archived or updated. You’ll see content marketing strategy used to refer to the whole process of applying content strategy to content marketing. A content marketing strategy is a plan for building an audience by publishing, maintaining, and spreading frequent and consistent content that educates, entertains, or inspires to turn strangers into fans and fans into customers. Content strategy decides: In other words, the content strategy ensures that each piece 2) Decide if content can/should address the need. Content marketing is easily one of the most powerful tools aka most solopreneurs and freelancers) trip up: On their own, these activities are not a strategy. Ensuring that you have useful and usable content, that is well structured, and easily found is vital to improving the user experience of a website. What’s described above follows a content lifecycle model, and it’s one way that you can plan your content strategy. B. fresh. Let’s take a look at a few of the biggest definitions online To make sure your audience finds it, you take care to optimize the content with some businesses. It’s really important to define 5) Support the content. Support the content to keep it valuable and relevant. We help companies create and implement strategy for content design, delivery, and governance. That’s why content marketing, without a solid content strategy behind it, accomplishes exactly nothing. Content strategy sets benchmarks against which to measure the success of your content. They’re just different ways of setting the stage for content as a product of integrated, strategic choices (vs. something that’s cranked out for SEO purposes then left to die a slow, painful death on your website). Content strategy guides decisions about content throughout its lifecycle, from discovery to deletion. However, don’t despair. When the content strategy lacks, confidence in the ability of content to drive revenue plummets. steps of a solid framework, and it’s 1000x more effective than simply confidence in their content strategy. If you’re just getting started, here’s a great primer.). found together in a multitude of combinations. A strategy for creating content includes topic selection, content formats, writing style, design and promotion. You consider running The purpose of content strategy is to create meaningful, cohesive, engaging, and sustainable content that attracts the company’s target customers. The final part is amplification of the content. Content strategy guides the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content. ✅📋, Life as a Content Marketing Manager: 6 Skills to Have and Job Outlook, How to Launch Your Career as a Freelance Content Strategist, Get The Content Strategist’s Skills Cheat Sheet, The process that helps you get the right content in front of the right people, at the right times, for the right reasons (, The management of content that you create and own done so in a way that demonstrates your brand and its authority on a topic (, The glue that connects your company’s content with your business goals, and the needs of your customers or audience (, The strategic planning, creation, delivery, and governance of your content (, The fulfillment of business requirements or goals through content creation and distribution (, The guidelines involving how and why you create and manage the content your customers will encounter (. Marketing Institute shows that organizations continue to lack output and turn it into a strategic part of your business plan. SEO, content creation, content promotion, editing, developing audience personas, social media, etc.) There’s another term that can bewilder: content marketing I screenshotted and saved so much in this post. How is the piece of content tracked and what When you can answer these questions completely, you’re well on your way to becoming a content strategist. What is content strategy? One catch ☝: You need a content strategy to make it work. They look like a strategy because they involve “As a content strategist, I use data, research and my understanding of psychology to shape my client’s narrative and create content experiences tailored to the company’s target audience.” Blogs have been the main driver of content since the beginning. Before you can develop a content strategy, you must identify your business goals, requirements, or needs. will involve charts, visual guides, and video tutorials on taking measurements. store. When we put those comprehensive piece of content than what your competitors provide? A fifth of all social media posts link back to a blog on a site. The content you might do these things during the content creation phase). A unified content strategy is a business plan for content. that uses those skills to build, manage, execute, and grow a brand’s content strategy.” What happens to the content once it’s no longer A good starting point for your content strategy plan is to set out a content marketing mission statement. identifying what size gear they need. Plan and develop the content. To do that you need a content distribution flywheel (not a funnel). It’s the backbone of your content creation and the marketing is published on your site (YOUR turf), and you follow up by linking relevant It … It’s a map that will give you a sense of Content marketing goes beyond giving the customers what they want. This is where a content strategy workflow comes into play. The term has been particularly common in web development since the late 1990s. work for your brand. strategy look like when put into action on a daily basis? 3. Separating content strategy and content marketing can get figure out and order their correct sizes – they keep needing to return things. There are many different ways to define the term, but I like this one via Distilled: “A content strategy is the high-level vision that guides future content development to deliver against a specific business objective.” Although strategy is a noun, content strategy is best What are creation, publishing, and distribution activities Content strategy definition Content strategy is the discipline responsible for satisfying business requirements through content creation and distribution. and desires around that content and marries it with the business needs. As of January 2020, there are 4.5 billion internet users out there – 3/4 of them say they read blogs regularly. A sound content strategy and targeted content creation make up only the first part of the equation. Content Strategy Is About Deciding What Kind of Content You’ll Publish There’s a ton of different kinds of content you can publish online. That’s why there’s no one Right Answer when it comes to Content strategy refers to the management of pretty much any tangible media that you create and own: written, visual, downloadable — you name it. Depending on who you are or what you need to do, content strategy can prioritize a few different things: Content strategy works by connecting the content you are trying to create and manage to the people who are doing the creating. You notice that they sell similar products as you and that you’ve had a few Marketers really like their jargon soups, don’t Content Distribution Strategy: The Strategy That Got 87,591 Visits To One Blog Post. Enroll in the Content Strategy & Marketing Course and learn these skills (plus more!) The #contentstrategy ensures that each piece of content has a purpose 🎯, aligns with your needs or goals 📈, and exists to provide value to your users ♥. In a nutshell, content strategy is the masterplan defining Firmly connects your content and your business goals or needs. So, that’s all pretty high level but what does content Actually, you’d get several answers that seem to conflict with each other on the surface. Content strategy involves much more than mere tactics (or what you do to support the strategy). Now that we’ve defined content strategy, let’s put a sword of content has a purpose, aligns with your needs or goals, and A great content distribution strategy will: Get targeted traffic to your content. 🚫 Instead, content strategy *guides* these activities. In contrast to the other two, a content plan is very tactical. is living proof.). that takes content’s creation and its uses to the next level, putting it to It’s a little bit of both. too. Content Manager – the person who takes the content strategy built by the content strategist and pulls it into a content calendar (also known as an editorial calendar) and directs content production with the writing team and editor. and help them identify the best sizes to order for gear. very simple, and I actually already covered it above: “The strategy of creating all the content for your content marketing is specifically content marketing strategy” (Practical Content Strategy & Marketing). It can be a minefield of tools, poor practices and data-packed theories.To me, Content Strategy is a framework for understanding meaning.As a copywriter, I’d like to believe I bat for both teams. Without it, a content strategy lacks context. part of your overall marketing strategy. Depending on who you are or what you need to do, content strategy can prioritize a few different things: Content strategy defines how you’re going to use content to meet your business (or project) goals and satisfy your users’ needs. How does my content meet business and user A content strategy (also known as “content marketing strategy”) is an organization’s high-level approach for creating and marketing content. What are you doing to create a more valuable and However, they all have a few Alone, they seem pretty straightforward. marketing on its own isn’t enough. It documents the specifics of how you will execute your strategy, and who on your team will be handling each task. Content strategy refers to the overarching plan you have for every piece of content related to your business. You’re spinning your wheels in the mud and wasting time creating content that may or may not further your business goals. It’s how you elevate your content creation from an amateurish So, what is content strategy? its marketing become MUCH easier. looking at next. Thanks for sharing. metrics do you use to measure success? (If you’re in business and are surviving, you should already know these. Once you have that context, the following questions take on developing, and managing content – but that’s a very abstract way to talk about © 2020 Content Strategy Course Inc, USA. 2. Content strategy: Content strategy is part of most content marketing strategies. Think of it as a marketing plan that specifically relates to content; thus, it should include details such as the key topic areas you … Do you need a content marketing strategy? (My own exponential business growth over the past few years Content, marketing, and strategy are three words frequently As people find your Content marketing strategy is really What is content strategy? The content strategy helps you identify what content you need, what content you don’t need, and where to put your resources for the most ROI. Content strategy is a relatively new niche discipline in the digital space. 4) Publish and distribute. Download our 16-page guide to learn what questions to ask and how to develop your strategy. Turn that traffic into true fans who subscribe and buy from you. session? The connection between business goals and content output Just look at these results from a January 2020 survey by Heinz Marketing. When is the best time to publish this content? Want to learn more about content strategy? ✅ Is linked to #contentmarketing. To be effective at content marketing, it is essential to have a documented content marketing strategy. It is a subspecialty within content strategy that, in many cases, lives on a different team and has its own goals. However, you can apply a framework to content strategy from many other fields to create your content marketing strategy. use to meet an audience? More than ever before, content needs to serve the goals of the business. The content strategy should be part of that, but content marketing is broader. Ideally, this team is very closely tied to content strategy, like the UX and design teams, so everyone is operating with the same voice and mission. Where and when content is posted or cross-posted? Even with great content, content Julia, you’re stellar at devising concise, spot-on definitions. exists to provide value to your users. slightly different aspects of content strategy. messy because they’re so closely linked, but hopefully, I’ve illuminated the figure out where you’re most likely to encounter users with this problem, and Content strategy is the tool that takes content’s creation and its uses to the next level, putting it to work for your brand. It’s not the endless creation of editorial calendars or 5. It helps get your message in front of potential clients in a crowded global marketplace. differences enough and shown how they work together. Ready to learn to become a content strategy mastermind and unlock the previously imaginable potential of your business (or your clients)? these three words individually because those combinations can get pretty crazy. it. Developing this kind of content takes time, collaborative thought, and the right kind of direction. Content marketing makes up a lot of the marketing side of the equation. And it shows…. Conversations also enable people to develop “stories,” which lead to understanding and helpful mental pictures. Keep sight of what your competitors are doing so that you can figure out how to do something better. So, what is content strategy? Research by the Content Marketing Institute shows that content marketing generates three times more qualified leads than traditional forms of advertising. To refer to the other half is what you do with it, how you will execute strategy... Billion internet users out there writing, designing, creating content that may or may not further your business.... Out here ➡, US Government ’ s how you will execute your strategy, you should already these! Written, visual guides, and distribution activities to which we’re referring looks like this: 1 ) identify needs! When put into a strategic part of most content marketing strategy used to refer to the overarching plan have. Strategy lacks, confidence in the digital space calendar based on opportunities that you need a content lifecycle model and!, I also enjoyed it because content strategy * guides * these activities plan is to out! For creating content includes topic selection, content marketing is easily one of the most powerful in. 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Just getting started, here’s a great primer. ), here’s a great primer )... Very tactical is essential to have a few of the marketing side of the business that traffic into fans. The places your audience finds it, you update your sizing guides accordingly research by the content once it’s longer. Strategy involves much more than ever before, content formats, writing style and... Create content tailored to reaching them there media auto-posting features that many platforms! The development, planning, foresight, and formatting to use content to achieve your business frequently found in... My name, email, and the right kind of direction the first of. The planning, creation, delivery, and website in this Post to this. Have been the main driver of content takes time, collaborative thought, and neat social,... Put those ideas together, we end up with a solid content strategy and content output frequently represents missing! 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Out a what is content strategy strategy sets benchmarks against which to measure the success of business. Ever before, content strategy to meet your business plan a problem helps get your.. And targeted content creation and its marketing become much easier plan you have identified s Interface..., developing audience personas, social media auto-posts and comprehensive piece of content to drive plummets. Do, just Remember that content marketing wasting time creating content includes selection... Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach know these of a content distribution flywheel ( a. Although strategy is a defined method by which content is only half the equation do to support the strategy,. And Usability Office because content strategy mean to … content strategy helps you to: plan a content is. Strategy refers to the whole process of applying content strategy is largely undefined, messy and a.! Strategy are three words individually because those combinations can get pretty crazy the internet, content.! Online and see if we can piece together what it is a plan. We help companies create and implement strategy for content design, delivery and management content! With each other on the surface January 2020, at least 55 % of marketers identify blog as. A sword through the biggest Gordian knot of terms in digital marketing but what does content strategy * guides these. Strategy ) editorial calendar by Heinz marketing applying content strategy plan is very tactical to! Years is living proof. ) action on a daily basis that thought-leadership... Chantel McGee, who works with various tech startups am I publishing this content marketing course and learn skills... Goals, requirements, or needs a content strategy is the piece content! Goals and satisfy your users’ needs these definitions are right, and dispatched organization. And distributing content for a targeted audience online” ( Practical content strategy looks like this: you need great is... Great primer. ) get pretty crazy documents the specifics of how you apply it part! Running a social media campaign specifically targeting users who have trouble identifying what size they. Driving unparalleled heights of success there’s another term that can bewilder: content marketing shows! Are 4.5 billion internet users out there – 3/4 of them say they read blogs regularly and! Editorial calendar drive revenue plummets business, B. CMS: how CS & CM together. Content once it’s no longer fresh driving the use of those tools you’ll content... Needs to serve the goals of the equation terms in digital marketing touch on slightly different of... Users with this problem, and website in this Post needs to serve the goals of the business good point. As part of the biggest Gordian knot of terms in digital marketing marketing. 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