Content marketing used to turn heads, but it’s no longer the new kid on the block. Most large companies now have a content programme in place, producing content with some kind of regularity. They may even have a content calendar in place to guide their output. But take a step back for a second. Is this ‘strategic’ planning helping you keep up with the content leaders – or is it holding you back?
In an increasingly crowded field, the best content marketing has become increasingly mature and sophisticated to ensure it stands out. Importantly, it also takes a genuinely strategic approach to target the right people in the right regions at the right time. It’s this sort of content that supports an organisation’s overarching goals.
There are five common mistakes organisations make with content strategy, which can be the difference between a wasted investment and strategically aligned, results-focused content marketing.
1. Misaligned
Content strategy works best when it’s aligned with your broader corporate strategy. Let’s say you’re trying to position yourself as an industry leader, or one that’s making bold strides at your sector’s bleeding edge. Posting sporadic news updates or bland, repetitive content doesn’t align with the identity you’re trying to build or bolster. And if you only ever speak to North American customers but are trying to build your client base in APAC, your content is probably missing the mark.
Instead, a synchronised content strategy will use tailored, considered content to bolster your brand, considering:
• Which areas of your business you want to highlight and grow
• Which regions you’re focused on entering or expanding across
• How you want to position yourself in your sector – the spunky challenger and the sector stalwart shouldn’t say the same things
There are lots of ways to create a complementary content strategy that demonstrates your business’s value. To bolster your credentials as a trusted leader, you could leverage internal research to create confident thought leadership pieces. Offer your take on annual or quarterly trends, predict the impact of nascent tech or legislation, or comment on topical issues. You could also highlight specific areas of expertise, ghost authored for – and using insights from – your most experienced or inspiring people.
2. Unbalanced
Creating content without a coherent strategy leaves you vulnerable to neglecting key areas of your business. It can often be an issue for large, multinational businesses that have many service or product lines and regions of operation. Content can become skewed towards a certain area due to an eager, creative subject matter expert or teams with more capacity, even if it’s not one you’re looking to highlight.
A carefully considered content strategy helps you maintain balance. Seeking an external perspective can reveal just how uneven your content is and may help you identify how the focus needs to shift. It can also show you where external support will be needed, as teams may not have the capacity or skills to execute your strategy.
3. Unfocused
Even interesting content can be strategically useless.
Ok, perhaps that’s a little harsh. A lot of content is well written and informative, but that’s only part of its job. It needs to encourage the reader to take action, with SEO keywords, a clear narrative structure and channel optimisation to boot.
If your ‘so what’ is buried in busy blogs, beyond the attention span of your audience, or fails to reach the right people, your content won’t convert. Your strategy should set out each piece’s purpose, and what readers should do after finishing it.
Remember to be intentional with your briefs, too. Like most people, content is most effective when it’s focused on a clear task, rather than trying to do everything at once.
4. Inefficient
One of the most common reasons content marketing stalls is a lack of resource. Marketing teams often have little time to manage the end-to-end content production process. They highlight a stakeholder for a content piece but have no time to interview them, or to write the content up – or gather feedback, or ultimately get it published…
Other teams, like those delivering client services, contain a wealth of insights. But without an external perspective, and the dedicated time to analyse where content opportunities lie, their perspectives are never brought to life.
A key part of content strategy is knowing who is going to create your content, and securing long-term content resources is key. That could mean retaining a dedicated content partner, or connecting with one who can handle seasonal or sporadic overflow.
5. Ineffective
Your content strategy has come to life and you’ve got into a regular publishing groove. The content’s being received well, too, with positive feedback and action from your peers. There’s just one problem: to secure next year’s budget, your senior leaders are asking for metrics that show the content’s impact on the corporate strategy. And all you’ve got to show are your social media likes.
Before you implement any kind of content programme, or shift course, you need to understand what success looks like, and which metrics will best show your programme’s strategic worth. If your organisation’s goal is to win new clients, you could focus on the click-through rate from content to your contact page. Or, if you’re trying to become a trusted leader, analyse if content is leading to newsletter or event signups.
Once you know what you want to measure, establish a performance baseline. It’s difficult to know if your strategy is effective if you’ve no idea how your content was performing before. Measuring the right metrics also allows you to adapt and evolve your content strategy so it’s always in step with your broader ambitions.
As experts in language and communications, we can help you navigate the pitfalls of content planning and develop powerful strategies to capture attention, win business and drive growth. Let’s talk strategy today.
