Getting started with a content marketing strategy can seem a little daunting. Some folks believe content marketing is pretty much what they’ve always done as marketing communications pros: developing communications deployed across channels with measurable goals tied to sales objectives. Well, sort of. Read our definition of content marketing (really, Joe Pulizzi’s definition, in Part 1 of this blog series) to see how it has turned traditional marcom on its head.
Start with a content audit.
As a first step to developing a content marketing strategy and plan, do an audit of the assets you already have. Content lives in four distinct arenas: paid media, earned media, owned media or social media. They all have unique characteristics and can all intersect with your prospects and customers in different ways. When you catalog your content, you might be surprised at what’s already in the bank.
Paid media:
- Advertising
- Native content (advertorials)
- Sponsored posts or stories
- Sponsored webinars
- Sponsored speaking engagements
Earned media:
- Stories and editorial mentions about the company in print, online or broadcast
- News items about the company
- Press releases and announcements
- Bylined articles
- Mat releases/evergreen feature stories
Owned media:
- Website (including the content that resides on it)
- Social media platforms
- White papers
- Images, videos and infographics
- Collateral and sales materials
- Presentations as power points or PDFs
- Speeches
- Trade shows and events
- Surveys and research
Social media:
- Social media platforms and the content that lives on them
- LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram
- Company blogs
- Contests and social marketing content
Assign content roles and build up your strategy.
In addition to identifying assets, determine who in the organization “owns” them and how you will create a central repository or content calendar that you can leverage to support sales and marketing goals. Once you’ve determined what you have, decide on what new sources of content you need.
New sources of content can come from within the organization and from outside sources. Finding third-party content that is legally available and relevant to your audience can be a daunting task. Here’s where content curation tools can be a big help.
For enterprise-level tools, check out Curata, Kapost, Echo, Waywire or Trap it. Even free tools can be a big help. Look at Pinterest for Business, Juxtapost, Content Gems, Feedly, Flipboard, Storify, Bundlr, iFlow and Newsie. Using internal and external resources, a robust content pipeline is assured.