On average, content marketing costs 62% less but generates three times more leads (CMI) than traditional marketing. In some cases, traditional advertising can be one of the most efficient methods in delivering a single message to a broad audience, but content marketing can be the most cost effective way to shape a continuous narrative and tell the story of your brand. The latter can be more targeted and focused than traditional marketing, enabling your brand to reach key audiences. It would be difficult to achieve the same level of targeted messaging and brand awareness through traditional advertising unless you have the resources to maintain the cost of ongoing advertising.

There are a few key questions that you need to answer to ensure that you can deliver targeted and compelling messages with your content marketing strategy.

What is our goal?

At Springboard PR & Marketing, we always advise our clients to envision a clear goal before embarking on a content marketing strategy. Unless you have clear objectives for what you hope to achieve, it can be difficult to create a strategic marketing plan that will deliver results.

If you have a number of goals, you should prioritise, selecting the most important targets before moving on to the next item on the agenda.

Who is our target audience?

In order to reach your goals, you need to clearly define your target audience. Firstly, you need to create the persona. Try to envision your ideal customer. Visualise where they work, what their hobbies are, what they read and do. This will help you to determine their location, budget, industry and their needs. These are all key points that you need to know so you can effectively marry your messaging with your goals and deliver very specific content.

What tactics will achieve these goals?

Content marketing can be a minefield for those who are starting out in the marketing sphere. You can choose from  blogging, social media, email marketing, video content and everything in between. Nobody can hit all these mediums efficiently at the very beginning so be strategic in which you focus on first. Make sure your preferred choice in medium aligns with your goals and your brand values.

For example if you are a high-end jewellery store that wants to increase brand awareness  amongst young professional women, you may choose to start blogging and maximise your Instagram and Twitter presence. However if you are a B2B tech company, that wants to secure new leads and drive traffic to your website, you may need to prioritise your thought leadership strategy and your LinkedIn profile.

Who will deliver the content?

Decide who within the business is going to create the content and ensure that they have the time to dedicate to this task. All content must be delivered consistently so ensure that everyone has a clearly defined role with responsibilities. Working together as a team means you retain focus on the core business strategy and values.

How will I measure the results? 

Metrics are a very important part of the strategy that can help you to evaluate your overall impact. They should be reviewed on a continual basis to identify month-on-month increases and decreases as well as identifying which content is most frequently consumed by your target audience. For example, if you are measuring the impact of your blogs, you should review the number of views on a monthly basis. By doing this, you can evaluate what content captured your readers’ attention.

If you want to find out more on incorporating content marketing into your business strategy; email the Springboard PR & Marketing team today at info@springboardcommunications.ie

Post by Susie Horgan

Susie founded Springboard in 2011, and has developed the business into a leading, director-led communications agency. She has worked for over 20 years in senior marketing and public relations roles.