Are you content — that is feeling satisfied and happy— with your content?
Actually, I’m wrong to ask about your feelings about your content, but I couldn’t resist that hook!
The better question is: Is your content working for you? That is, is your content:
If it’s not, it’s worth taking a step back and dusting off your content strategy (or creating it to begin with).
Let’s level-set with some definitions for terms that get interchanged all the time: content, content strategy, and content marketing. But they shouldn’t. These are actually three (3) different things.
Content: Content is everything. It’s “the stuff” we read, watch, listen to, etc. Copy, video, audio, graphics for social. That’s all content! And, as we always say, your brand’s content should be born from a core strategy.
Content Strategy: An approach to creating your content that takes into account your organization’s goals and your audience’s needs. It also includes considerations around how you create, how you publish, and how you govern your content. Kristina Halvorson and the team at Brain Traffic have a really amazing deep dive here.
Content Marketing: We won’t even paraphrase this one. We’ll just go to the content marketing mothership — the Content Marketing Institute:
“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and
distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly
defined audience — and ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
The takeaway: Content marketing prioritizes your audience's needs over your own.
BONUS - Content Marketing Strategy: While content marketing on its own is already a strategic thing, the organizations that do content marketing well have a documented content marketing strategy. Again, our friends at CMI and note that your content marketing strategy is essentially your “why.” Why are you helping your audience in a way that (ideally) no one else can?
Why do so many marketers avoid it? Probably because it can be hard to think about slowing down from the many activities and tactics you’re doing (and perhaps believe are really working) to sit down and document a strategy, which largely serves as an internal document. And, unlike some other tactics, content doesn’t always give the quick payoff marketers (and their bosses) are hoping for from their efforts.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. In fact, content can be an extremely valuable part of your overall marketing plan, particularly if one of your goals is to increase awareness of your brand and establish credibility with your audience. Paired with an SEO strategy, content can also help boost your organic search rankings. Content can also be used as part of a lead gen strategy to entice your target audience and collect leads while reinforcing your brand’s status as a trusted authority in the industry.
In other words, when you have a solid strategy behind it, content can kick some serious marketing butt.
Ready to take a closer look at your content and have it work harder for you? Our team is ready to help! hello@cidesigninc.com
As CID's Executive Director of Marketing & Strategy, Heather Vaughn blends strategic thinking with creative problem-solving to drive results that matter. When she's not leading her high-performing team or geeking out on marketing automation, you might find her binge-watching Gilmore Girls or cuddling with her bulldogs.