What is content strategy and why should you have one before getting down to writing anything? There are many varying definitions across the Internet, but to put it in simple terms:

Content strategy is a firm’s action plan for content creation, distribution and ongoing management.

But why do I need a content strategy?

There is always the option of immediately typing all your thoughts down. But before do that, have you considered these points?

• What is the point you’re trying to get across?
• Who are you creating this content for?
• How are you going to structure your content piece?
• What sources or references do you need?
• When are you going to publish your content?
• What channels are you going to use to distribute your content?

Planning for your content is just as important as the writing phase itself. Without a concrete roadmap in mind, your writing will lack focus and direction. It may also take you a long time to write and effectively showcase your ideas.

Not sure how to start? Here are 4 key steps you can take to create a solid content strategy for your business.

Step 1: Define your target audience

Before you even decide what to write, you should think of who to write for. Many successful businesses do a great job creating content for their existing customers. But many get stuck determining the type of content potential customers want to read.

To help you define your potential target market, start with creating a buyer persona. A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer. By identifying this ideal customer that you want to target, you will be able to better brainstorm content ideas for him or her.

To get you started, here are some things to help you build your target customer’s profile as outlined by e-commerce company, Shopify:

• Demographics – Your ideal customer’s age, gender, income level and educational background
• Psychographics – His/her attitudes, beliefs and personality
• Their purchasing habits – Does he/she prefer to shop in a retail store or online?
• Their preferred mode of communication – How do they want to receive information from you? Through text, calls or emails?

Step 2: Brainstorm content ideas

Now that you’ve defined your target audience, it’s time to start thinking about the type of content they’ll want from you. Remember, these ideas should be aligned with the points in their buyer persona.

If you’re not sure what to write, these are some 3 simple things you can do to get the ball rolling:

• Go out and talk to that target customer
• Scour the Internet to find out what your competitors are writing about
• Head over to online forums to see what hot topics are being discussed by them

Step 3: Determine the type of content you want to create

There are many types of content you can create to market and promote your business. You can find a comprehensive list of the type of content you can create here.

One of the more popular options is to create content for posters and brochures. But these are one-off promotional tactics. Unless you have a large budget to continue distributing these pamphlets, your target audience is bound to forget you. As such, more and more businesses are turning to content marketing for a greater, more long-term ROI.

Unlike brochures, blog posts and articles are more versatile. They can be re-purposed and used for other channels such as for your social media accounts. They are also more comprehensive in information and are usually about 500-800 words long. Such content is also easier to share online unlike physical marketing collateral that often ends up in the bin.

But the final decision on the type of content you want to create is up to you. If you’re looking to create short-term awareness, go ahead and focus on creating brochure copy. But if you’re looking for a more long-term marketing solution, producing articles are your best bet.

Step 4: Decide when and how to publish the content

Once you’ve established the type of content to create for your audience, it’s time to start organising it in an editorial calendar.

To start, create a table in a Word or Excel document. Your table should include columns of the following fields:

• Publish date
• Author
• Content type
• Distribution channel (places where you will upload or share your content)
• Title or topic (mainly for articles and blog posts)
• Brief summary of the content
• Keywords
• Call-to-action

You may also consider having another column titled “Progress”. In this column, you can note any significant updates as your content piece gets published and distributed over time. An example of such updates include the number of shares and likes garnered from that content. Any noteworthy comments by your target audience can also be taken into account.

Benefits of having a content strategy

Ultimately, planning ahead before acting on a whim can benefit you and your business in the long term.

Having a content strategy and following up with consistent and engaging content can help you:

• Define and establish your brand identity and how you want your customers to perceive you
• Increase your brand presence in the industry you’re in
• Build trust with those who have read your content
• Engage with existing customers
• Establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry
• Stand out from the competition
• Promote your products and/or services
• Convert readers into paying customers

Growing a business and being successful isn’t going to happen overnight. You’ll need to calculated steps and plan how you want to get there. The same goes for content marketing. It’s going to take a lot of time and hard work, but if you can commit to it, you’ll find the results extremely rewarding.

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