According to Marketing Sherpa’s 2012 Lead Generation Benchmark Report, quality, targeted content is no longer on optional component of online marketing campaigns. Large, small or anything in between, businesses must create and distribute useful, engaging content in order to succeed.
Content can get your clients’ prospects through the sales funnel faster (and for a far smaller chunk of the marketing budget) than many traditional marketing methods. But, are your clients focusing on creating content that that will give them the greatest bang for that hard-earned dollar?
When planning out a content marketing campaign designed to bring leads through your clients’ sales funnels, consider asking the following key questions:
1. What’s the purpose?
The content that is created needs to align with company goals. It sounds obvious, but you might be surprised by how much marketing content out there doesn’t address what the company is trying to achieve.
Before creating—and certainly before publishing—ask the questions: does this blog post/white paper/article/website content answer my clients’ customers’ questions? Will it bring them closer to a purchasing decision? Is it useful?
2. Do we know the market?
Just who are your client’s customers? Have you created buyer personas based on the product/service? Kept your ear to the ground in social media and other avenues for information? Not knowing who you’re speaking to is a sure-fire way to miss the mark with your content.
3. Who are we, anyway?
So your clients have a pretty good idea of who comprises their target market. But, have they given enough thought to who they are? This is what brand marketing is all about, right? Examine the brand, its desired image and voice. Align the content with the brand and you have a consistent message across all channels.
A little bit of attention to the factors that make your clients’ content not just effective but exceptional will go a long way toward making every content marketing campaign a success. Start with the basics and go from there. Good things will happen. To learn more, check out our white paper, "What is a Digital Content Strategy? And Why You Need One."
