Answer to Question #232953 in Economics for Sammy

Question

Management has been considering putting together a content marketing strategy but not sure about the right approach to use. What approach would be most authentic for such a brand?

Answer 1

The composition of the content strategy is carried out in four stages - goal setting, preliminary analysis, preparation of the foundation, and thinking through the content system.

Define your content strategy goals

For content marketing to work, define goals:

increase traffic to the site,

increase brand awareness,

attract new customers,

retain old buyers,

return customers,

increase sales,

generate demand for a new product,

detach from competitors,

raise brand advocates,

improve your reputation and so on.

You cannot spray - your actions will greatly depend on the goal. Therefore, define one main goal and one or two additional ones - then it will be clear what exactly to do. Goals should be specific and measurable.

For example, if you need traffic, determine what people are looking for by analyzing queries using Wordstat. And then create SEO-optimized content on in-demand topics. If you want to increase sales, focus on product content like reviews. And then evaluate how the corresponding indicators change.

Perform preliminary analysis

Analyze your own website, audience, competitors, online content, and your project in terms of content marketing.

1. Site analysis

As part of the site analysis, an audit of content, traffic, content distribution channels and an SEO audit is performed.

To evaluate the content on the site, analyze:

how useful and understandable the content is;

whether it is related to your products or services;

whether it solves the problem of the audience;

are the texts optimized;

what materials bring more traffic;

What are the viewing depth and bounce rate;

is there an audience response to the content - comments, reposts;

Does the content help convert visitors into buyers?

Is there enough content on all pages;

what other topics can be covered.

Fix mistakes and ideas, so that later you can make changes to the texts and, if necessary, to the structure of the site.

Analysis of traffic and distribution channels will help to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the network presence, suitable formats, and focus on the best distribution channels.

2. Analysis of the target audience

To create truly useful content, it's important to understand who you are creating it for.

Find out the information you need about your target audience:

who are these people;

why they need your products, what problems they want to solve;

how old are they, where they live, marital status;

what are their interests;

what are they afraid of, what objections arise;

how similar products are selected.

Sometimes one person initiates a purchase and another makes it. For example, a child initiates, and a parent places an order. It is important to consider the interests and characteristics of both.

How to get information about the target audience:

analyze the existing audience using Google Analytics or Yandex Metrics, internal statistics of social networks;

study the keywords by which you are found;

study forums and groups in social networks on related topics;

analyze feedback - reviews, comments on the website and in social networks, calls to the support service and to an online consultant;

interview clients, conduct in-depth interviews.

Example of a report by gender and age in Yandex Metrica - content strategy

An example of a report by gender and age in Yandex Metrica

This way you can highlight several audience segments and write portraits or avatars of typical representatives for them. And you can also for each segment:

determine what content to create, what information needs to close;

make a list of search queries;

develop a Customer Journey Map.

Example Customer Journey Map Template - Content Strategy

Example Customer Journey Map Template

3. Analysis of the content strategy of competitors

Search and analyze competitors' sites and enter in the table:

what content is being published (themes, format, volume, style);

what sites are they placed on;

what goes well and what does not;

whether user-generated content is being used.

The analysis results will help:

better understand the niche;

predict the actions of competitors and detach from them;

decide what content and how to use it better.

4. Analysis of content on the network

It is worth analyzing not only the content of competitors but also popular materials on the topic. This will give you an idea of ​​which views and share rates are good, and you will find ideas for viral content.

5. Analysis of the project

After studying the target audience, competitors, and content on the topic, analyze your project in the context of content marketing - identify the features and benefits that can be used, formulate a USP, determine the best way to promote.