Content strategy
How, when, what, where, why?
We're often asked, "What is content strategy?"
Content strategy is the planning, development and management of content written or in other media used to meet business or organisational objectives.
It involves decisions about what content to create, how to create it, and how to manage it throughout its life cycle to achieve desired business outcomes.
The importance of having a content strategy
Having a well-thought-out content strategy is important for any business that wants to use content to reach its goals. Whether you're looking to build brand awareness, develop an online presence or increase sales, your content strategy will be key to achieving success.
A content strategy is a plan for how you will create, deliver, and manage your content. It should take into account your business goals, your target audience, and the different types of content you will create.
Without the correct content strategy in place, you might find yourself creating content that doesn't align with your goals, or that is not effective in reaching your target audience. This can result in wasted time and resources and can even damage your reputation.
What is content strategy
It includes a number of elements, such as what kinds of content you will create, how often you will produce it, and who will be responsible for creating it.
Your content strategy gives you the edge over your competitors, as it enables you to focus on your audience and produce content that appeals to them. You can tap into their needs and wants, and produce content that meets those requirements.
Good content strategy has several key components:
1. Clear goals and objectives - to ensure that your content is aligned with your business goals. There's no point in producing content for the sake of it, if it's not going to help you achieve your objectives.
2. An understanding of your audience - so that you can produce content that appeals to them. A customer-focused approach to content will help you to produce material that is relevant and engaging.
3. A content plan - outlining what kinds of content you will create, how often you will produce it, and who will be responsible for creating it. Bonus points if you can map out a content calendar to help you stay on track.
4. A system for managing your content - so that you can ensure that all your content is high-quality and consistent. This might include a content management system (CMS) or editorial workflow.
5. Regular review and adjustment - to keep your content strategy relevant and effective. Platforms like Instagram can change their algorithms quickly and new social platforms can emerge overnight meaning creating a content strategy is not a one-time exercise. It is a continuous process that should be revisited on a regular basis to ensure it remains relevant and up to date.
We helped Rest with their content strategy
How content strategies are delivered
There are two main ways that content strategy can be delivered:
1. As part of a wider marketing or branding project - often when a company is launching a new product or rebranding.
2. As a standalone service - to help companies who are looking to improve their content but don't have the internal resources to do so.
When content strategy is delivered as part of a wider project, it usually forms just one part of the overall strategy. For example, if a company is rebranding, their content strategy will be focused on how they can use content to support the new brand.
If content strategy is delivered as a standalone service, it will be the main focus of the project. The deliverables from the project will be tailored to the needs of the client, but will typically include a content audit, audience research, and a content plan.
Choosing the right option for you will depend on your specific needs and goals. If you are looking for a comprehensive approach to marketing or branding, then opting for an integrated project is likely to be the best option.
If you are looking for help with your content but don't need a full-scale rebrand, then a standalone content strategy project will be more suitable.
What you need to include in your content strategy
Many businesses have no idea what they should include in their content strategy. This is where we come in. We can help them to understand their goals, and then we develop a plan to achieve those goals.
For starters, you need to set some goals for your content strategy. What do you want to achieve? How will you measure success? Once you have set some goals, you need to consider your audience. Who are they? What do they want from your content?
After that, you need to decide on some content themes. These are the topics that your content will cover, like “fashion" or "travel". Once you have your themes, you need to create a content calendar. This will help you to plan and schedule your content in advance.
Last but not least, you need to put together a team of content creators. This might include in-house staff, freelancers, or even a combination of both.
Setting goals for every piece of content:
There needs to be a driving purpose behind every piece of content you create.
Whether it's to generate leads, build brand awareness, or increase traffic to your website, each piece of content should have a specific goal.
To make sure your content is working towards your overall goals, you need to set a goal for each piece of content you create. For example, if you're creating a blog post, your goal is to have engaging copy, and visuals that will draw peoples attention.
Dave Clark’s principles with developing a content strategy
We're a digital and design company, so it should come as no surprise that we think visually. We believe that the best way to develop a content strategy is to start with a mind map.
A mind map is a visual representation of your ideas and thoughts. It's a great way to brainstorm and organize your opinions on a topic.
From here, we have a few principles that we think are essential for developing a content strategy.
1. Keep it simple - When it comes to content strategy, less is more. You don't need a complicated plan with tons of bells and whistles. Keep it simple and focus on the essentials.
2. Be flexible - The reality is that things change. Your content strategy needs to be flexible enough to accommodate changes in your goals, audience, or even the platform you're using.
3. Be consistent - One of the most important aspects of content strategy is consistency. You need to be consistent with your voice, tone, and style. This will help you build a strong relationship with your audience.