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If you want to build a house, would you go to an empty lot and start hammering things? Probably not. It would be too risky, like publishing content without an established content strategy.

Your content strategy is your brand’s game plan for getting leads, engagement, sales, insight, conversions, traffic, and other business results. through content.

With a content strategy in place, you can get the business results you want. Plus, it ensures that your content marketing efforts lead you in the right direction.

Still not convinced? Good, 70% of marketers they are investing in content marketing. So if you want to stand out and compete in your industry, you need to create a solid content strategy.

With the importance of content strategy in mind, in this blog, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about this concept. Let’s start!

What is a content strategy?

Content strategy is a strategy that helps you achieve your business goals through content creation and distribution. It answers the fundamental question: “What should we create and why?“

Basically, content strategy is about planning, executing, promoting, and managing the lifecycle of content to achieve your business goals. It’s the roadmap that guides all of your content marketing.

Let’s say your goal is to increase conversions by 10% in the next 6 months. To achieve this goal, you can implement a content strategy that focuses on SERP visibility and drives traffic to your product.

Simply put, a content strategy defines what you are trying to achieve, who you are trying to reach, the type of content you will publish, how your content will support your goals, and the metrics that will define success.

Now that you know what the heck a content strategy is, it’s time to find out how you can create the perfect one. Clever? Let’s roll!

Read more: Reasons why content marketing is effective for B2B companies

4 reasons why you should have a content strategy

Many new business owners think: “I don’t think I need to create a content strategy at this point. I have just started my business. So it’s not really my priority right now. “

However, the thing is, if you produce high-quality content from the start, you can build trust with your new audience and be successful in the long run.

See, a content strategy is a lot like a roadmap. Yes, you can definitely travel without one, but you will probably get lost along the way. ?

So instead of putting yourself in a position where you have to ask for directions OR go back and start over, you can use your content strategy to guide you.

It’s not just fashion companies that need a content strategy; all businesses can benefit from one. Let’s look at some solid reasons why you should start working on a content strategy right now.

1. You give your content a purpose

By creating a content strategy, you can have a clear idea of ​​what you want to achieve after publishing the content. Without an established strategy, you could end up creating content that doesn’t resonate with your business goals.

2. Facilitates content creation

It can be difficult to figure out what to post if you have no idea what its purpose is. But with a proper content strategy and keyword research, you can create content and publish it in a way that fits your long-term business goals.

3. Helps you increase organic traffic

If you want your organic traffic to grow, you need to post high-quality content regularly on Google or other search engines. That’s where having a content strategy helps! With a content strategy, you can discover the keywords your audience is searching for and build content around them.

4. Create connections with your prospects

Good content can solve your potential customers’ questions and problems. So by posting helpful and informative content with your audience’s needs in mind, you can earn their trust and build a relationship with them. This will make them more likely to buy your product or service.

There are literally MANY advantages to having a content strategy, and there is no reason why you shouldn’t create one. Now let’s go to the next section and learn how to create an awesome content strategy.

Read more: 2021 Content Development Guide – A Must Read!

How to build a powerful content strategy in 5 steps?

1. Define your goals

First of all, you need to set clear and precise goals. Honestly speaking, without setting your goals, you can’t develop a powerful content strategy or measure its success. Your goals can be:

• Publish 30 blog posts each month
• Create 4 informative Youtube videos every month.
• Get at least 20 backlinks every month.

Whatever your goals are, just make sure they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely (have a clear deadline). In short, set SMART goals!

2. Research your audience

If you develop a content strategy that targets the wrong group of audiences, you will end up wasting your time, effort, and money. What a nightmare.

So before you brainstorm content, dig into your target audience. Because the more specific your content strategies are, the more likely they are to work.

Think about your audience and what they are looking for. Identify what types of sites they visit, what content they engage the most with, what social media platforms they use, etc.

You can also create buyer personas, which is basically a semi-fictional representation of an ideal customer. These people include pain points, needs, wants, interests, and other information about their audience.

3. Examine your competitors

Now that you are on the nitty-gritty of your organization, as well as your audience, it’s time to take a quick look at your competitors. (Not in a creepy, stalking way, of course!)

Why? Because your competitors are likely selling the same product / service as you, they all may have a similar content strategy. ??‍♀️

So if you want your strategy to outshine the others, you need to know what your competitors are doing. You need to understand the weaknesses of your competitors and turn them into your strengths.

Find out what is working well for them and where they are lacking. Try to find strategies that resonate with your audience but that no one else is using.

4. Brainstorm content

You know what you want to achieve. You know what your short-term and long-term goals are. Now is the time to imagine what kind of content will help you achieve that goal.

There are a lot of options for the content you can create. Choose the ones that touch your heart, attract the reader and motivate them to use your product / service.

Take a look at the best performing content for each keyword and try to create something 10 times better. In short, find new ways to approach topics and strive to create something unique every time.

5. Publish your content and measure your results

Once you’ve put your content in front of the audience, see how your audience is interacting with it. See the Google ranking of your posts, traffic, engagement, conversions, and more.

As soon as you know what works and what doesn’t, start modifying your content accordingly. Keep learning, iterating, and delivering the best content possible, all the time.

Here’s a tip: try posting long-form content because when it comes to Google rankings and organic search traffic, long-form content always wins out.

In fact, according to a study by Semrush, long-form content generates 3 times more traffic, 4 times more shares, and 3.5 times more backlinks.

Ending

From setting goals to measuring metrics, we walk you through all the steps you need to take to create a content strategy.

Make sure your content strategy is purposeful and reflects the style or tone of your business. Not forgetting that it must match the needs of the audience and the business.

When implemented well, the content strategy is one of the most essential components of your marketing strategy. Remember to keep the audience at the center of your strategy, and it will turn out great!

Do you have any questions or suggestions? Tweet us @ elink.io and let us know. We will be delighted to hear from you.

Read more:

What is a content creator? The complete guide

How to automate content (and why you should)

Sharing on social networks: definition, tools and tips

How does content curation help with marketing?