The three elements to a content marketing strategy

Did you know there is more to a content marketing strategy than the ACTUAL strategy part?

Believe it or not, there is a bit of pre and post-work that needs to be done to make up what the strategy is!

That is what we’re exploring today! We are here to take you through the 3 elements that make up the content marketing strategy to give you a clearer direction on how to get started!

Let’s get into it!

Getting together a strategy for your content marketing

You know, I always thought a strategy for content marketing was always so complex.

Whenever I would see it come up on social media, I would wince. “What does that even look like or mean?”. Even though we had marketing strategies in the team I worked for in corporate, it always felt too much for my little small business.

I saw people talk about content strategy and I felt overwhelmed and confused. I didn’t know where to start. Didn’t know what to do.

But I realised a lot when I worked in corporate. Marketing is an industry where people use jargon to make it feel complex. But guess what? It didn’t have to be.

A strategy is a plan. Something to help stay consistent and to be able to understand what is working.

So, I broke it down into 3 steps:

Pre-work - Research
Work - Strategy
Post work - Process

That was it. I didn’t need to overcomplicate it and I always told myself “it would evolve”. It would grow. I just needed a plan on how my audience would see what I did and how I could convert them into clients.

Guess what? It has evolved. It has grown. I have learnt more and more. But again, guess what? We all need to start. We all need to evaluate and we all need to continue to grow it.

So, where can we start? Let’s break down the parts together!

Part 1: Research

This is the pre-work stage. This is the part of the strategy where you look at:

Content that works already for not only your business but other businesses in your niche as well (this is all about your past measurement)
Who your target audience is and their overall demographic as well as what they look for in content
What do other people in your industry do to get those numbers?
What channels do people use in your field and where your audience is/what channels they use

Part 2: Strategy

This is your working stage. In this part, it’s important to:

Work out the goals of your strategy and why you are doing this in the first place (this is essential in giving you drive and direction)
Plan the channels you want to use. What do you love showing up on and what will inspire you? Find out the perfect channels for you by taking the Content Queen Quiz here
Plan the days you will show up on your chosen platforms
Plan the types of content you will create (are you going to create stories, feed content, video, podcasts? The opportunities are plentiful!)
Map out the ideas of content you will post. This is a great opportunity to brainstorm and even include your own stories that relate to the topic of your content

Part 3: Process

The final part of the strategy is where you focus on the post-work. This is where you:

Plan how you will create your content on your chosen channels
Work out the systems you will use (the tools you use for planning and scheduling, e.g Google Calendar, Trello, Airtable)
What days you will post - find what days you feel most inspired and start there
How you will distribute the content (e.g scheduling or posting on the day)

Final thoughts

Taking the first steps towards creating your content strategy is about just jumping in and taking action. Working towards building a strategy like this isn't a one-and-done situation, it is about iteration and continuing to try new things; remember the test, trial, and measure!

Once you have all of the elements built out, put together your strategy! We have the guidance you need about piecing the puzzle together HERE in ur Content Queen Content Strategy Template. Make sure to download it and check it out so you can get started on your journey towards organisation and killer content!