Content Strategy is a (Very Important) Piece of the Social Media Puzzle
If creating content is one of those groan-worthy tasks in your business, you may shudder at the thought of the work needed to create a content strategy. A common misconception of a content strategy is that it will create MORE work... and that’s not necessarily true.
I always like to explain a strategy like GPS. If you are trying to make it from your home to the beach, you can certainly take a guess at all the rights and lefts, routes and turnpikes you should take to get there. You MIGHT get there...eventually. But you’ll spend a LOT more in gas, frustrate the HELL out of yourself, and give your car unnecessary wear and tear.
Instead, you could plug the address into your favorite Map app…. And follow the directions closely. You may even make a wrong turn, jump on the wrong route, or show up a few minutes later than expected. But - the journey IS MUCH EASIER.
Creating a strategy is a way to form a plan that will shape the actions you take towards reaching goals within your business. Social Media, and more specifically, your content, is just one of the avenues you will use to support your business goals, and spending the time on the strategy/roadmap is a GOOD use of your time.
Let’s talk about some of the items involved in a content strategy, and why they are worthy of your time.
AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION
You’re sick of hearing “you need to know your audience” bit - I get that. But here’s the relevance that you need to know when it comes to a content strategy: if you aren’t sure who you’re talking to (and where to find them), then can your content be truly effective? Identifying your audience is so much more than just basic demographics. In addition to knowing your audience’s basic identity (gender, location, age, etc), it’s also absolutely essential that you identify WHERE they hang out when it comes to social media.
If you’re looking for Moms over 50, your content strategy should reflect a heavy focus on Facebook and a plan for creating content that is suited for the platform and that audience. Have multiple audiences? You just need a plan for each.
MACRO & MICRO TOPIC IDENTIFICATION
Figuring out how to break-up the key topics within your business is an essential way to build a content strategy, and yet it’s not often a step that people take. If you brainstorm a bunch of high-level (but still very specific) topics followed by mini-supporting topics, you will easily create enough content to push across all your social media platforms without just resharing the same information over and over again. Get creative - find ways to incorporate topics that support your overall business goals and you’ll be well on your way. Use tools like answerthepublic.com to find out what people are asking about your industry. Hint: Having a solid keyword list as your foundation will help with SEO.
TIMELINE CREATION
If you rarely think of your marketing efforts for events ahead of time, a content strategy is going to be a game changer! Just by listing off a few key dates related to your event (the event itself, when RSVPs are due, sponsor/vendor apps due, recognitions), you can reverse engineer a simple but effective marketing strategy to support your event! I’m not kidding - this process could take you less than an hour, and yet create a shift so big your event’s receptivity, you’ll never go back to ‘winging it.’
A little focused and specific work can truly impact your entire social media presence. In my new course, Quality Content that Matters: Developing a Content Strategy That will Shift your Social Media Marketing, a simple yet powerful Workbook will walk you through the entire process in less than two hours. Stop flailing - start making a difference!
