CONTENT MARKETING Planning Template - Amazon S3

CONTENT MARKETINGPlanning Template

CONTENT MARKETING PLANNING TEMPLATEWhy You Need a Content Marketing PlanThe adoption rate of inbound marketinghas risen dramatically in recent years.The numbers of marketers who stateBut, is all of this additional investment in content proving tobe successful?they are practicing inbound marketingIt would appear that planning for content marketing has arose from 60% last year to 85% thismajor influence on that answer. In a recent study by CMI,year.To be successful at inbound marketing, companies need toinvest in content because great content helps fuel successfulinbound marketing campaigns. This is reflected in theamount of content being produced by marketers, with 69%of B2C and 70% of B2B marketers producing more contentthis year than they did last year.they found B2B marketers who had a documented strategywere a lot more effective than those who simply had averbal one. Of those who had a documented strategy,60% consider their organisation to be effective at contentmarketing, compared to only 32% who had a verbal strategy.

CONTENT MARKETING PLANNING TEMPLATEHow to Use the TemplatesContent planning will undoubtedly have a major impact on theHow should I use these templates?success of both your inbound marketing campaigns and theTo make it easier for you to implement these steps, each oneeffectiveness of your content marketing overall. That’s why inhas a standard structure explaining how to use it.this guide we’ve created 4 steps and templates that will helpyou put together an effective content marketing plan for eitheryour business or those of your clients.The templates will help you to: The benefit of completing the step Instructions to complete the step An example of what a completed template looks like An empty template for you to fill outSTEP 1: Complete a SWOT analysis on your content marketingefforts and develop a plan to improve them.Who has created this template?STEP 2: Define the right objectives and KPIs for that planHubSpot has teamed up with digital marketing planningSTEP 3: Brainstorm content ideas and map these across your funnelexperts Smart Insights who use a similar approach in theirSTEP 4: Create a timeline for your content plansmember resources for developing and creating digitalstrategies and managing digital transformation.

Step 1. Review current use of content marketingTemplate to useSWOT analysis of current content marketing efforts.Why you should do thisA SWOT analysis of your current content marketingefforts is an essential part of creating your plan. Itallows you to create a plan of action based not onwhat you’re interested in doing or on your gut-feel,but what you need to do given the situation in themarketplace. It provides a strategic view of the mainopportunities and challenges available from contentin your market.The outcome of this analysis should be a high-levelaction plan of the most important tasks that willimpact the success of your contentmarketing.How to use the templateTo use this template we have broken itdown into two really simple steps.1. Complete a Content SWOT analysis.Instructions to complete the SWOT analysis:First, select 3-4 major internal strategic strengths andweaknesses in your current content marketing efforts.In these two boxes you want to identify what’sworking well and what weaknesses you have. Ifyou have yet to begin content marketing for yourcompany, you can still complete this. For example,one of your strengths may be expertise in a topicyour target audience is extremely interested in, and aweakness could be a lack of a dedicated resource tobegin producing that content for you.

Next, you identify both theopportunities and threats that canapply to anyone working within yourmarket.ExampleIn our example, the addition ofpaid social media distribution isan opportunity. It can be used tofurther promote our content plus it’sless competitive (and costly) thanAdwords. On the other end of thespectrum there is a potential threat toour successful whitepaper strategy.Competitors can easily replicate this,as its success is heavily reliant onwell-optimised Adwords campaigns.

CONTENT MARKETING PLANNING TEMPLATE: SWOT ANALYSIS

Now you’ve completed the SWOT analysis of your current content marketing efforts it’s time touse that information to create an actionable plan. This actionable plan should be based upon thestrengths and weaknesses you’ve identified from your current efforts, it should take advantage ofopportunities in the market and also account for potential threats to your current strategy.ExampleBelow, you’ll see a Content Marketing SWOT Action Plan example.ntent Marketing SWOT Action Plan (Example)Leverage technology to improve personalization forreturning leads to further improve our lead tocustomer conversion rate.Make whitepapers more valuable for socialpromotion by developing an influencer program andadding expert commentary to maintain our thoughtleadership.

CONTENT MARKETING PLANNING TEMPLATE: SWOT ACTION PLAN0

Step 2. Define content marketing objectives and KPIsTemplate to use:SMART goal setting and strategy alignment templatesWhy you should do this:Earlier this year, HubSpot along with Smart Insightsreleased a report titled Driving Content MarketingSuccess that highlighted the fact that many businessesdon’t have a strategic approach to content marketing.This results in a lack of clarity around both the goals andKPIs that the plan is trying to achieve. If you’re unsure ofeither of these elements, it’s impossible to know if yourcontent marketing plan is on track or not.This template helps to solve that. They will allow youto plan specific objectives and KPIs structured aroundthe customer lifecycle. This template makes objectivesactionable by defining strategies to help you reach theseobjectives.In the example below we are using a customer lifecyclebased on the Smart Insights RACE Planning model. Thisstands for:REACH: This stage is focused on the top of your funnel. Itsaim is to increase brand awareness and visits to the companywebsites, apps and social network sites.ACT: This stage is focused on increasing the number of visitorswho interact with your content and who then convert into leads.CONVERT: This stage focuses on increasing conversion ratesfrom leads to sales.ENGAGE: This stage is focused on increasing long-termcustomer engagement and loyalty leading to repeat sales andadvocacy.You can modify the template to suit your funnel. Forexample, the Hubspot inbound marketing funnel isbroken out into attract, convert, close and delight. Readmore about the inbound marketing funnel here.How to use the template:Work through each row for the different parts of thecustomer lifecycle – Reach, Act, Convert, Engage. Foreach row, define SMART objectives and detailed KPIsthat will show how effective your strategies are.This template builds on what we completed in step 1.You will see in the example below the action plan wedevised from our SWOT analysis is included in the thirdcolumn. Don’t worry if your initiatives don’t map acrossall stages of the customer lifecycle. It’s ok to focus yourefforts on a particular part of the funnel.

ExampleIn the followingexample you will see aone-page summary ofyour content marketingstrategy linking SMARTobjectives in the leftcolumn to how they’reachieved, as well asdetailed KPIs to reviewif you’re on track.You can use the SMARTtemplate we providedas part of this downloadto create your owngoals for this template.Customer lifecycle stageand aimsSMART objectivesStrategies to achievegoalsKey performanceindicatorsReachIncrease brand awarenessand visits to companywebsites, apps and socialnetwork sites.Increase new monthlyvisits to the website by 25% in 12 monthsWith help of partners,create a resource centerfilled with free longform content on topicsrelevant to our audienceNew organic visits tosite %ActIncrease audience interactions with content on company-owned media platforms togenerate leads.Reduce our averagecost per lead by 5% inthe next 9 months byincreasing the amountof traffic we get fromorganic and reducingtraffic from paidMake whitepapers morevaluable for socialpromotion by developingan influencer programand adding expertcommentary to maintainour thought leadership.Number of leads perwhitepaper createdGenerate 10% moreleads from each whitepaper createdPaid social media distribution for whitepapersIncrease our lead tocustomer conversion ratefrom 2.3% to 4% in 12monthsCreate lower funnelassets (explainervideos) to improve theperformance of our leadnurture programs.ConvertIncrease conversion ratesfrom leads to sales volumesachieved online or offline.Leverage technology toimprove personalizationfor returning leads.Create content ROIreports to betterunderstand the return onour content marketingefforts.EngageIncrease long-term customerengagement and loyaltyleading to repeat sales andadvocacy.Leverage technology toimprove personalizationfor returning leads.Lead to customerconversion rate %

CONTENT MARKETING PLANNING TEMPLATE: CONTENT PLAN TIMELINECustomer lifecycle stageand aimsSMART objectivesStrategies to achieve goalsReachIncrease brand awareness and visitsto company websites, apps andsocial network sites.ActIncrease audience interactions withcontent on company-owned mediaplatforms to generate leads.ConvertIncrease conversion rates from leadsto sales volumes achieved online oroffline.EngageIncrease long-term customerengagement and loyalty leadingto repeat sales and advocacy.0Key performance indicators

Step 3. Content GAP AnalysisTemplate to use:Content Marketing MatrixWhy you should do this:In the first two steps you’ve successfully completed aSWOT analysis, created an action plan of top prioritytasks and mapped this across your customer lifecycle. This step focuses on identifying any possiblegaps in your current content marketing efforts.The content marketing matrix is used to map relevantcontent in two ways to help identify the suitability ofcontent to:1. Support the purchase process. In the examplegiven you can see we are mapping content fromawareness to purchase (left to right). You want toidentify what content you have available to youraudience to attract them to your site and helpthem move across your funnel.2. Achieve audience engagement using differenttypes of psychological engagement fromemotional to rational. In the example given, youcan see we are mapping content from emotionalto rational (top to bottom).How to use the template:The Content marketing matrix originally developed byFirst 10 and Smart Insights can be used for two keytasks:BRAINSTORM NEW CONTENTReview your own content marketing efforts to identifyany weak points. What are potential gaps that yourcurrent plan is not accounting for? Do you lackcontent that will convince an audience of your brandor service, or maybe you haven’t invested any time oreffort into content that will simply entertain.You can then begin to brainstorm content ideas to fillthose gaps.COMPETITOR ANALYSISReview the content marketing efforts of yourcompetitors by using the same process. Identify whatareas your competitors are weak on so you can startto put a plan in place to exploit these weaknesses.

CONTENT MARKETING PLANNING TEMPLATE: CONTENT MATRIX0