Developing a content marketing plan is the challenge for all sizes of business - from major brands and e-commerce sites to small independent retail stores and service businesses.
A coordinated and planned content marketing plan includes campaigns, and sub-projects - all geared towards the general and specific goals that reflect the brand or business.
2 - Having a specific plan of publishing for each media including specific descriptions, as well as popular topics that can be integrated into an indirect brand awareness campaign.
A coordinated and planned content marketing plan includes campaigns, and sub-projects - all geared towards the general and specific goals that reflect the brand or business.
Six General Goals for a Content Marketing Plan
1- Having compelling and engaging copy within social media, blogs, email campaigns, video and websites that include text descriptions and stories.2 - Having a specific plan of publishing for each media including specific descriptions, as well as popular topics that can be integrated into an indirect brand awareness campaign.
3 - Include extensive research into current consumer buying behaviors related to web copy, best standards in web copy writing, feedback and insights into response from current and prior postings and publishing.
4 - Include open ended, ongoing discussion for new creative ideas for content, that can be fun as well as serious, and hit the bulls eye with the target audience.
5 - Explore and deploy the best tools for measuring engagement and response to published content, domain and page authority, links or shares of the published content, and other metrics. Learn how inbound marketing is related and integrated with content marketing, and be able to measure the effectiveness of both.
6 - Establish a budget to develop and implement the plan. Based on the time involved, and job descriptions of a content marketing coordinator and staff, the Content Marketing Plan needs to be tailored and sized to meet the budget of a small business or a major brand. Budgets include staff compensation as well as paid advertising if included in the content marketing plan.
The development of a Content Marketing Plan is a major component of an overall marketing plan, and would focus mainly on the Internet rather than direct mail, brochures, networking, or other non-Internet related areas. The Internet is so dominant now compared to other areas that the Content Marketing Plan would usually take up the majority of a standard marketing plan.
Six Steps Involved in Developing a Content Marketing Plan
1- Decide who will develop the plan. If you are a business owner, you may want to hire outside help to develop a plan and implement it.
2- Decide on the general goals of the plan or "mission statements".
3 - Using these goals, develop a specific plan of action for each goal.
4 - Within the plan of action, set up a timeline for each goal that will be coordinated, and measured with a series of smaller goals within the larger one.
5- Implement the plan. Use a schedule for best times to post in social media, blogs, and web pages.
5- Implement the plan. Use a schedule for best times to post in social media, blogs, and web pages.
6- Review and readjust the Content Marketing Plan, goals, strategies and methods as needed for maximum results. Use the strategies that work. Research what other competitors are doing that is working and why. Learn from major brands as to what is working for them with their target audience.
The Planning Process
The planning of Content Marketing can be complex and involved. It will demand time and attention to be relevant and develop compelling, quality content that your target audience will want to share and engage in. The purchasing of products and services will be the result of this reader engagement, and social sharing, as much as it will be the description of the product. We are all bombarded with content in our news feeds, emails, and our browsing online. Creating distinctive content is not enough anymore. The developing of a plan for the content to be published at the right time and place is just as important.Strategy, Research, and Change
Strategy, research, and change are the key components that should drive a content marketing plan. Like in a game of chess, every move you make affects the rest. Learning the content marketing game, how it is played, how Google recognizes and gives better page ranking for quality content, and being aware of the changes in this game are essential to have a competitive content marketing plan.
Author
David Brown is a content marketing consultant and has a background in internet marketing, web site development and web copy writing since 1999. Owner of Logion Web Design.
Request a consultation: email: david.brown@logion.net - 541.953.3360
David Brown is a content marketing consultant and has a background in internet marketing, web site development and web copy writing since 1999. Owner of Logion Web Design.
Request a consultation: email: david.brown@logion.net - 541.953.3360
