Here’s Why You Need a Content Strategy.

Content. It’s the word you can’t get away from. And for good reason. Content marketing can help tell your brand story, engage new audiences and create lasting impressions. Pretty simple, right?

Actually, coming up with good content isn’t as simple as it looks. There’s a big difference between churning out a bunch of new material and executing thoughtful, purpose-driven content that actually works. Enter the content strategy. A results-focused approach to understanding what role content plays in your overall marketing strategy, and how to use it to move your business forward.

The value of a content strategy:

1. Stop wasting time and resources. Why spend time on things that don’t matter? By creating a content strategy, you can be sure you’re focusing your efforts on areas that matter to your consumers and align with your brand’s priorities.
2. Achieve smart, scalable personalization. When it comes to your content, one size doesn’t fit all. Different consumers want and need different information. By planning out unique types of content based on their interests, values or needs, you can create brand experiences that feel personalized and lead to deeper, more meaningful relationships.
3. Get beyond the obvious. Having a purpose-driven content strategy allows you to go deep in the areas that matter most, leading to more compelling and memorable ideas. It also can help you prioritize where you need to move beyond “light” content and provide consumers with greater details, context and depth of understanding.
4. Make the reactionary less reactionary. There’s always going to be last-minute requests, unexpected challenges or changes in consumer behavior.  By having a solid content strategy in place, you can make sure any quick-turn content still supports and aligns with your overall goals.
5. Put those research findings to work. So, you had this great research study done, now what do you do with it? Some of our favorite projects are working with clients to incorporate findings into their content streams. You can use all that valuable info to identify messaging strategies, content paths, pillars and topics, etc. As well as optimize long-form research outputs across all your digital touchpoints—breaking down lengthy texts or videos into shorter, focused pieces.
6. Create internal consistency. A good content strategy should work across teams and even departments. When you have a focused strategy in place, multiple content contributors can participate without shifting the overall direction.

Building a content strategy is an incredibly effective way to ensure key stakeholders are aligned on priorities, purpose and expected results. Not sure where to start? We’ve got the people to help.