A content strategy is a plan for creating, implementing, and optimizing the content of a website in order to meet business goals. It’s how businesses ensure that their content is being pushed out by search engines and seen by their target audience(s). Developing a content strategy framework is one of the first steps in that process, which is closely tied to SEO.
Formulate an Objective: In developing a content strategy guide, it’s first important to define your site goals. What is your business objective? How will you know when you’ve met your goals?
Consider Brand Messaging: As you begin to lay the groundwork for new content, make sure that your content’s messaging is going to be consistent across the board, especially if it’s being developed by different teams. Content should be cohesive, not contradictory.
Determine Your Audience: Make sure you know who you are creating content for. Whether it’s through surveys sent to customers or Google Analytics, determining the content preferences of your target audience is crucial to creating effective content.
Analyze Current Content: Take inventory of the content currently on your website. Is it serving your business goals? Is there any content that has done particularly well? And where are the gaps in your content?
Generate Some Topic Ideas: Now that you’ve researched your audience and existing content, you can create a list of topic ideas that you want to cover. Think about what might be relevant to your target audience, and go from there!
Think About Format: Now that you have some topics in mind, figure out which format your content will be in – videos, blog, etc. – using your knowledge of audience preferences.
Make a Schedule: Determine when you will publish your content, and stick to that schedule as best you can for consistency’s sake. More eyes will be on your content if people know when they can expect to see it.
Create a Plan: Finally, it’s time to start building out a plan for the content you will be creating. Create an outline detailing the topics you will be covering in your content. Include the teams that will be developing this content, and any due dates and/or publishing dates.
So, you’ve built out your content strategy framework and have begun publishing content on your website. Now, it’s time for the “final” step: optimization! As you publish content, see how your business goals are impacted. For instance, do you see large jumps in users when you post about certain topics? Consider more content centered around those themes.
Thus, the cycle begins anew. Continue to analyze content as it gets published, and use the results to generate new and improved ideas for future content. By following your content strategy framework and keeping tabs on what’s working and what isn’t, you’ll be sure to achieve your business goals in no time.
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