Want to refresh your content strategy or create something completely new?
It’s time to draw up your annual content plan.
That will help you create videos, podcasts, blogs, and social media posts that attract the right sort of customers to your business.
Here’s our 5-step plan to crack on with your content…
Decide on your ideal clients
To do this, you’ll need detailed avatars or client personas that look at who your ideal customers are, where they are, what floats their boats, and what problems they have. An avatar gives you an excellent idea of how you solve their problems and how you can communicate that.
Check out our blog on this to see how you do it.
Audit what you already do
Take a look at what sort of content you’re creating and how you’re sharing it.
Check out your Google Analytics, social media platform analytics, and how you’re sharing this content to your email list.
Be honest about what’s working and connecting with your customers and what isn’t.
Then, you’ll be able to create more of the successful content and won’t waste your time repeating content which doesn’t land with potential clients.
Decide on your goals
Do you want to grow your email list or generate leads, create a buzz around a new product or service, or build your brand?
You may want to have a combination of all three in your strategy, but you need to decide what’s the most important goal and what sort of timescale you need to achieve it.
Once you’ve set those goals and a realistic timescale, you can move on to step 4…
Decide on the best content for your business
What’s worked well in the past for you?
Have things changed radically in the past 12 months?
How are trends expected to change in the next year or so?
All of these questions are important before you decide on the format of your content.
Video has been a growing trend over the past few years, and it looks likely to continue to be one of the best methods for engaging potential clients.
However, take a look at the formats which are working and those which are not.
On Facebook, video shared in stories is working really well, but video shared on news feeds can do less well, for example.
Do you need to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry?
Have you considered podcasting? This is a growth area with huge interest from the business world for the right kind of podcasts.
Alongside format, consider the meat on the bones – the content itself.
What kind of messaging would you like to share? What will be effective?
Refer back to your avatars and create content which connects strongly with your potential clients.
Get inspired by holidays, the change of seasons, major sporting events like Euro 2020, and awareness days. You can find details of all these online.
Decide how you will share it
Writing content and putting it up on your website is part of the process.
Sharing your content in the right way and in the right places is the key to getting it seen.
Start with these questions:
- Where do your ideal clients go on social media? Will you find them on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or TikTok?
- When are they likely to be on social media? Young parents will check their accounts early in the morning when their youngsters wake up. Professionals who work long hours might go to their accounts late at night.
- What sort of post are they liking, loving, sharing, and commenting on right now? Do they love galleries of images, short videos, or longer read articles?
- How often every week should you share your content? It depends on your industry, of course, but general minimum guidelines say you should share content on LinkedIn four times a week, every two or three days on Facebook, and every day on Twitter. Ask a social media expert for their professional advice.
Once you’ve made all those decisions, you’re ready to go!
Need help with your content and social media? Call us on 01443 571375 or get in touch here.
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