Sharing content: it’s not just about keeping it interesting anymore. Sure, your content always needs to be kept short and interesting so you do not lose the attention of your audience. In an age where your audience has developed a habit to skip or ignore certain content as a result of being bombarded with ads everywhere they look; Now, more than ever, the content you develop has to be relevant and measurable in order to grab your target audience’s attention and assess their content preferences. Through measuring metrics, such as engagement per post, you can develop an idea of what type of content or format do people like the most and hence plan your content accordingly.
Thinking long-term vs. short-term!
The thought of turning audiences into customers is certainly intriguing and while it’s every brand’s end goal it should never be its main focus. If you focus on your audience and what they like naturally they will become new leads, now that is long-term thinking. If you, however, think short-term and design content based on existing customers’ preferences, you would be limiting the prospects of your content reaching and grabbing the attention of anyone else other than that specific group of people and hence narrowing down your pool of potential customers.
Having the right mix is key to the success of a content marketing plan
For a content marketing plan to succeed it needs to have the perfect mix, from strategy and format to type of content and choice of platform. Here’s where the periodic table comes in, it gives your team an overview of the key elements of content marketing and how you can leverage them to your best interest.
Planning is key to success
Pinpointing a strategy is the first and most crucial steps as it helps you envision the direction your content will go for as well as the results expected from it. It helps map out the path for you, so your content is always aligned with your business goals and never goes off strategy.
Format makes all the difference
Next thing, you need to think about is format. It is shape or size with which you choose to communicate with your audience. You can stick to just one, or you can juggle back and forth between formats depending on the type of content you are selling and the preferences of your target audience. You do not want to produce an article, even if it’s interesting, for an audience that would rather watch a short self-explanatory video; this way you lose their attention.
Content Type: choose what works best for your business
Now that you’ve decided on the format, you need to determine the type of content you will use to communicate new brand or business information to your target audience or collect data and feedback from existing customers. From “How to” based videos to quizzes and surveys, it all depends on what you want your content to achieve. The periodic table gathers all frequently used types of content that work well for businesses and just like the case is with the format, you can use multiple types of content and not just stick to one. This will also give your audience’s preferences in terms of a content type.
Platforms can be a double-edged sword
Platforms serve as content distribution channels. It is the means by which you reach your target audience. Your choice of platform will either help you shine or make you cease to exist. If you choose a channel that does not appeal to your target audience and therefore fails to reaches them; this can be the slow death of your brand. This will probably be due to your brand not getting the exposure or demand for products and services it needs to maintain and grow business operations.
Metrics and performance measures
Before you share any content with your target audience you have to decide on the metrics you are going to measure for this specific piece of content so you can have an assessment of how well they serve your business goals, and go back and make the necessary adjustments whenever necessary to meet them.
Goals
All the content your produce should work towards achieving your business goals, whether your goal is to raise brand awareness or generate sales, setting goals to your content helps you stay focused on the content plan and makes achieving them much more possible.
Sharing Triggers and setting moods
For your content to be shareable or if there is any chance it might go viral, it does not only have to give a powerful message but it also needs to resonate with the viewer and move them. It has to entice some sort of feeling and set a mood for the audience that makes them relate to your content on a personal level and feel like they want to share that experience or feeling with the world.
Key takeaways
A good marketing content plan should always:
Be strategic and aligned with business goals Appeal to target audience preferences Fit business style and needs Leverage the right platforms Be measurable Support business and brand goals.