Don’t put the cart before the horse
Ready-set-write!
I wish I could tell you content marketing is as easy as that, but there are steps that as a digital marketing consultant I recommend you follow before you start writing content such as blog posts to promote your business.
My experience with clients and helping their businesses grow has proved that those who take this systematic and strategic approach, rather than jumping straight into writing get better and more consistent results and eventually achieve successful engagement with their clients.
Create and follow a simple system to help you achieve your goals
Whether you are a business owner, a marketing manager, or a marketing assistant, you may have set yourself a goal to create marketing content on a regular basis, well done on setting that goal! That is the first step, but are you panicking at the end of each week, thinking – “Oh no! I haven’t put up a blog post this week!” and then coming up with a topic, researching and writing all in one day? The good news is, you aren’t alone. I hear this time and time again from my clients. But, hey, that doesn’t solve your problem, does it?
Building a content calendar is easier than it seems
As a digital marketing and content marketing specialist, I want you to know that having a content calendar and building a content calendar is actually easier than it seems. An effective content calendar will save you time and energy and keep you on track during a hectic workweek. I’m here to encourage you to take half a day of uninterrupted time to create one, and show you how because it will make managing the process of content creation a lot easier in the long run.
Why every business needs content marketing
Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach aimed to create, distribute, relevant and consistent information in various formats to attract and retain a clearly defined audience with the ultimate goal to convert potential consumers into paying customers and make a profit.
Writing and sharing fresh content relevant to the topic of your expertise, no matter what your role is within an organisation, is a vital step in achieving business success. Through content that addresses the concerns and interests of your prospects and potential customers, you can position yourself as an authority on the topic, improve your ranking on Google, increase traffic to your website, enhance your branding and ensure that when people need a solution related to your topic of expertise, you are the first person they think of.
Effective content marketing begins with building a content calendar that is based on your overall content strategy.
Build Your Content Calendar in 3 Easy Steps
There are three steps that will help you build your content calendar.
Step 1: Understand your customer and their problems
The first step in creating your content calendar is to understand your customers’ problems. Once you better understand your clients’ problems, their motives and fears, you are in a better position to communicate to them in a way that will resonate with them. Do you understand your customers’ subconscious triggers? Unless and until you do, you cannot master effective ways to influence your customer.
Step 2: Brainstorm topics that address categories of customer problems
Once you understand your customers’ problems, place those issues into broader categories. Connect your customers’ deep-seeded desires to potential rewards that can be achieved through the solutions you can provide as a business. Then come up with engaging blog topics that fit these categories.
Step 3: Schedule your topics in a calendar
Whether it’s a piece of paper or online, pull out an actual calendar and start scheduling content into it. There are different types of content such as photos, videos, case studies, infographics, etc, but for the sake of this post, we will focus on scheduling in blog posts.
If you have committed to blogging every week or every fortnight, set aside a day and time on your calendar to complete this task and record what topic you will write about. Consider whether seasonality affects your business, the timing of new product launches, whether there are any industry trends, or events that might affect the timing of your blog topics.
Once your calendar is ready for approximately 3, better yet 6 to 12 months, you can start researching and writing your articles. Remember of course to monitor the results of your efforts, check what topics have been particularly popular and adjust your content schedule accordingly as you go.
Set aside some time in your schedule next week to start
What are your thoughts on content marketing and scheduling? How long have you been procrastinating on creating a content calendar for your business because it was too daunting, or you simply did not know how? If so, it’s time to do something about it. Use the simple steps outlined above and put a plan and a calendar into place.
