How to develop a content strategy

Hardy Haberland

September 19, 2023
5:30 am

Whether you’re implementing content marketing for the first time or are already a pro at it. It’s never a bad idea to check if your strategy could be even better.

But first, let’s go back to basics and discover what a content marketing strategy is, why you need one, and finally, how to create one.

What is a content marketing strategy?

A content strategy involves the planning, creation, distribution and management of content. A good content marketing strategy will engage your target audience, create value for them and help you achieve your goals.

The content strategy ensures that content is not created haphazardly, but that everything that is published has a specific goal.

The strategy includes, but is not limited to, the following:

The “why” behind the content strategy
Who (target group) is to be addressed with the content
What kind of content is to be created
What problems will be solved with the content
How to address the target audience (channel, format, style, tone, and content)
Content analysis to develop a deeper understanding of the target audience
Content management, so that the content can be continuously improved and produce even better results

Companies often assume that a content strategy is not essential. It may not be in the beginning. But in the long run, a content strategy is essential to more easily build trust with your target audience and reach your business goals faster.

Why a content strategy?

Content marketing provides a predictable and reliable way to generate more website traffic, leads and sales.

If you then use a content marketing strategy, you will achieve significantly better results.

Without a strategy, the wrong content is often produced and resources are wasted.

With a content strategy, you have specific goals, metrics and processes to continuously generate more website views, leads and sales.

It will help you produce results easier and faster. You’ll know exactly what to do.

Other benefits of a content marketing strategy include:

Increased visibility: the more content you share, the more customers you’ll attract.

Increased authority: the more valuable your content is, the more valuable your opinion is to your target audience.

Increased customer loyalty: If existing customers also benefit from your content, you will inevitably increase customer loyalty.

But before you just publish content, you should know exactly how to do it.

Let’s get started!

7 steps for a content marketing strategy

1. Define your goal

The foundation of any good content strategy is your goals. Content marketing is only a means to an end. The end is that through content marketing you will achieve your business goals easier and faster!

If you have clearly defined your business goals, then the creation of content will be much easier.

2. Target audience

Knowing who your target audience is is essential to a good strategy.

If you don’t already know, ask yourself for which target group you are most likely to produce results.

By having a clearly defined target audience, you can create content that appeals to them.

3. Content Research

You don’t want to just blindly create content and hope that your content will work. We recommend using tools like Semrush or Ubersuggest to see what content is currently working in your industry.

4. Content Planning

It’s not just important that you publish content, but that you publish it regularly.

If you want your audience to consume your content regularly, then you need to publish it consistently.

Therefore, plan not only what content you share, but also when.

5. Content Creation

You should create content that meets Google’s quality guidelines.

Google’s quality guidelines are called E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).

Experience: Your content should demonstrate that you have experience. For example, that you have used a certain product or been to a certain place.
Expertise: Your content should demonstrate that you have real expertise.
Authority: Google looks for quality factors that support your authority. For example, that trusted websites give you backlinks.
Trustworthiness: Google looks for quality factors that prove your trustworthiness.

6. Content Management

It’s essential that you continuously monitor your content! You want to analyze what works and what doesn’t. So you can avoid mistakes in the future and get more out of what brings you results!

7. Content Updates

The last step is most often overlooked by marketers and entrepreneurs. It’s a big mistake to just create content and look at the results. Instead, you want to continuously evaluate your results and make data-driven decisions. That way, you can generate more website views, leads, and traffic through your content.

Summary

Your content strategy defines how your business creates value for your target audience. If you have clear goals and an intentional plan, you are most likely to produce results. Without a content strategy, you will most likely produce the wrong content and the results will not be satisfactory.

It can take time to get a content marketing strategy up and running. But when the foundation is in place and your content is continuously generating website views, leads and sales for you, then the work will have paid off.