Developing both – marketing and content strategies can be hard.

You need to re-evaluate your strategy through a fresh pair of eyes frequently. Couple of things I have learned:

1) Put Your Audience First

What do they want and need? Where do they hang out?

Consider personas, which describe the different customers you’re trying to reach. Personas should include the demographic elements such as age, income, and job title. Take into consideration personal fears and aspirations.

2) Talk to Your Prospects and Clients

This one is essential as you identify your audience and develop personas. The only way to nail down how to help your audience is to get to know them.

Your ideas need to be in sync with your audience’s reality. What are the biggest frustrations weighing them down?

3) Develop Content Themes

Creating a long-term strategy can seem difficult. If you’ve done your homework, this will be easy.

The more you chat with your customers, the more you’ll discover the same themes. You’ll recognize their pain points, problem areas, and resource gaps.

4) Establish Production Process

Have a framework. You may have many ideas, but they’re worth nothing if you don’t execute. The consistency of producing content that educates is also important.

Start small, then build on it.

5) Create a Plan for Every Piece

Choose a subject, headline, target audience, angle, pain points and a solution.

6) Focus on Providing Value

Your audience will only find your content relevant if they believe it provides value.

7) Showcase Your Expertise

Demonstrating this through examples and stories is the best way to serve both your audience and your goals. Look for unique stories and approach content as brand publishing.

Enjoy your content marketing journey!