Content is an essential component of your marketing strategy.  From email campaigns to white papers, content can be created through various forms in order to better brand your business and educate your customers or clients.   Creating a content marketing strategy can result in a unique and useful customer experience for your targeted audience.

Approaching content marketing with effectiveness in mind means taking the following steps:

1.)    Data Analysis – Use the data sources that are available to your advantage.  Take this information to create a strategy that will best serve your audience.  Using data like internal search data can lead you to knowledge about current site content.  You may also be able to utilize reporting from email campaigns.  What information is your audience clicking on?  This not only allows you to find what content is catching their eye, but also allows you to segment your audience in order to create relevant content for each segment.

2.)    Competitive Analysis – Identify your online and offline competitors.  Look at what your competitors may be writing about.  By analyzing conversations and comments to see what the audience’s social responses are and how-well received the topic or content is.  Find out what’s still missing and where an opportunity lies for you to help you create desired content that sets you apart from competition and fills the unfulfilled need.

3.)    Create Value in Your Content – Value-added content is content that provide content that benefits your audience.  Your content should remind your audience of your unique brand values and how you offer them something competitors cannot.  Creating value in your content will also create a conversation with your audience.  By creating relevant and dynamic content you create a communication channel with your audience.  Value-added content may lead to return visits to your website, subscriptions to your email campaigns and e-newsletters and hopefully can convert these individuals into qualified leads.

4.)    Promote –Content requires distribution through a variety of channels. Keep your analytics data and keyword strategy in mind in order to optimize the navigation and develop content that is easily shared.  Different types of content may determine what distribution channel(s) you use.   Build a following through social media sources such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.  Email marketing is another useful content distribution channel. Not only do you want to reach potential leads, but you also want to share this information with current customers and clients.  This will solidify their choice of your product or service and create a sense of trust and brand loyalty.  There is also an opportunity for cross-promotion through your content marketing.

Following these four steps will help your develop content that is effective and engaging.