Content is the king, and we do not have a single doubt about this. Moreover, most successful marketers believe so too.
Neil Patel reports that at least 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content a day. And the reason for that is simple. The same source states that “Year-over-year growth in unique site traffic is 7.8x higher for content marketing leaders compared to followers (19.7% vs 2.5%).”
So, if you want to create effective and powerful marketing strategies, developing a content plan is an absolute must. It is especially true for small businesses striving to overcome impressive competition on the market.
The only problem with content plan development is that not all marketers realize what the best way to write it is. And if you are one of those people, we’ve got great news for you: we know exactly what you have to do to deliver a content marketing plan for a small business.
So, worry no more, take a piece of paper and a pen (if you prefer old-school methods to the new digital-age ones) and follow our lead. We will walk you through this process step by step.
Steps to effective content marketing plan development
1. Determine your purpose.
You have to know what you want to achieve from the start. You might want to create more engaging content, to increase conversion and retention rates, to strengthen your brand’s image, or generate more warm leads. Know the needs of your business from the very beginning in order to develop the content marketing plan that will help you achieve our goals.
2. Know your audience.
Another thing to bear in mind when developing a content marketing plan is the audience you target. There are tons of different “buyer personas” who might be interested in completely different things.
There is no point in creating content just for the sake of its creation. The ultimate goal of content creation is to solve the problems the target audience faces and engaging with them via high-quality creatives.
And to solve their problems, you have to know what they struggle with and how what you write can be of assistance to them.
3. Define the main content type.
One can create infographics, webinars, guides, case studies, surveys, and simple how-to’s articles.
Your options are so great in number that you simply cannot cover it all at once. So, choose those types of content that are of the biggest importance to your target audience. For instance, younger generations prefer videos to long reads while the generation X would rather read a long article before purchasing a product. So, after the target audience analysis, you need to specify what content will work better in your niche and for people you are targeting.
4. Understand your unique selling point.
What makes you different from the rest of your competitors? Why do you think you can stand out from the crowd? Why should people purchase your product?
Answer these questions and address them every time you offer your products or services to the end client.
The end user must know exactly what your uniqueness is in. This will be the main trigger for them to buy something from you.
5. Discover the current trends.
What news are viral these days? What topics do people search for the most at the time being? Understand their need and be an answer to it.
To develop an image of a trusted source, you have to keep up with the latest trends. So, analyze this question before you dive into content creation.
6. Find your own tone.
People always want to see the real person behind every brand. So, develop your own unique tone that will be visible throughout any content type you work on.
For instance, you might talk to your audience in a fun humorous way or address their issues from a position of an expert. Identify what tone will suit your small business. And remember to add your own unique voice and style to it too.
If you are not sure that you have the guts to write professionally for your small business, then use the services of companies like EliteEssayWriters who have years of experience under their belt and know what high-quality content is and how to create one.
7. Come up with topics.
Now is the time to write content that will be interesting to your target audience. Don’t be afraid to improvise at first and brainstorm to see what topics you can come up with on your own.
Alternatively, analyze your competitors and see what topics they post to attract the most traffic and follow their lead. Do not copy their ideas completely but rather use them as a start for developing your own unique content plan.
8. Identify the channels of distribution.
Forums, social media, or a company’s video channel are only a few of the possible ways to distribute your content. Understand where your audience spends the most time and post your content there.
9. Set the budget.
No marketing is possible without ads. So, you need to set your budget in order to know what limits you have to stay within when choosing distribution channels and advertising your content through them.
10. Optimize your content for the search engines.
SEO is not dead. On the contrary, it is up and running. So, you have to take it into account. Make sure that your site will be ranked among the top ones by using proper keywords, both short and long-tail, writing correct meta titles and descriptions.
This is how one is supposed to write a content marketing plan. Remember that you should analyze the results after some time and apply adjustments. Business world changes all the time, and you have to keep up with it.
You might need to change the main content focus, add other buying personas you are targeting with your content, or choose different distribution channels to achieve better results.
Content marketing can be your key to growing conversion rates and an increased list of paying customers. You only have to do it right from the start and fix along the way.
And finally, do not hesitate to use professional services to consult you as you go, too. You might not know everything but there are professionals whose expertise can do wonders for the quality of your content marketing plan. Why not taking advantage of such a chance?
Richard Nolan is a professional educator and team building coach, sharing his experience in spheres of writing, blogging, entrepreneurship, and psychology. Richard writes for numerous blogs and gives useful tips for bloggers and students.
