Content marketing is here to stay. But, content strategy is still way out of the realm of the everyday. Every business has goals, but how do we use content to drive those goals and ultimately achieve them? Content marketing isn’t an art form, it’s a marketing strategy to lead people to an end goal — conversion. So whether your business uses content marketing as part of their inbound marketing strategy or not, there’s likely some sales funnel you’re trying to move leads through — and alignment is key.
So, how do you do it?
1.
Break down your business goals into what we in the biz call ‘content pillars’. These are a set of themes or topics that your brand can rely on to create consistent and well targeted content.
2.
Craft messages that fit easily into those content pillars – categorisation is key for consistency in content. This will help your content become recognisable, predictable and more effective (especially with the right call to action!
3.
Create visuals that enhance and support your message. Yep, it makes more of a difference than you might think! Plus, with all these social media updates, we’ve got a huge variety of content types to play with: graphic tiles (static or carousel), videos (reels and tiktok here you come!), images or a combination. It’s really whatever works for your unique business.
But, don’t forget:
It’s about providing the best visual representation of your message, rather than achieving a certain aesthetic. If you keep the focus on the message, you’ll find your content falls into place and aligns naturally with your goals. Those goals and messages you have should be dictating your visuals, not the other way around.
Oh, and as a top tip – the best content is the content YOUR brand makes with YOUR message embedded. Don’t fall into the trap of using stock or mass created visuals, get original for maximum impact!
Aligning your content with your business goals is not only simple, but super important. Don’t forget to centre the purpose of your business first and let the visuals flow from there. Content marketing isn’t an exact science, but a little strategy goes long way in putting your best foot forward and capitalising on all that social media has to offer.
