Your Content Marketing Strategy Template And Checklist
yourCONTENTMARKETINGstrategyTEMPLATEANDCHECKLIST
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistIf we had to pick one keytheme that has emerged fromthis year’s B2B research, itwould be this: If you want tobe more effective at contentmarketing, documentyour strategy.- Joe Pulizzi and Ann Handley, Content Marketing Institute: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgetsand Trends Report.90%80% 70%Audience-driven content is a central focus forboth B2C and B2B inbound marketers. Thistype of content is aimed at providing valuable,useful information to potential and currentcustomers in order to drive qualified leads,build brand authority and trust, and solidifycustomer loyalty.60% Prospects are more informed beforethe point of purchase than in any otherpoint in history -- Forrester reports thatpotential buyers are now 70% to 90%of the way through the sales processwhen they finally connect to a salesperson.What’s more: potential customers rewardbusinesses who provide them with honestand helpful content.40% So that’s great, we know businessesneed to publish quality content. Buthow do we actually go about creatingeffective content that resonates withpotential customers and turns curioussite visitors into leads, and ultimatelyinto customers?20% The answer: it all starts with adocumented content strategy.2verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistWhat is a content strategy?A documented content strategy doesn’t have to bea 50-page document or a 75-slide PowerPoint presentation. You can make your content strategy asrobust or simple as your time and budget allows. Allyou need to create is an informed, realistic, and actionable plan that outlines how content will help youachieve your larger business goals. This documentwill help align your people, processes, and prioritiesaround common goals and accelerate any effortsyou make.Start with a contentstrategy templateContent strategies do not have to be madefrom scratch. For most businesses, if youcan answer these questions for the following8 checkpoints in at least one full sentencethen congratulations, you will have documented your first content strategy!Business Goals: Why are youcreating content?Content Goals: What do you wantthe content to do?Audience: Who will your contentspeak to?Competitor Research: What are yourcompetitors doing online and where canyou find a competitive advantage?Format: What are the content formatsyou can realistically create?Distribution: Where will the content liveand how will it be shared? How often willyou publish content?Implementation: What is your budgetfor content? Who will produce, publish,and promote your content?Measurement: How will you measuresuccess? Set 1 realistic milestone foryour content for the first 90 days. Repeatafter each defined measurement cycle.Your content strategy should be: Informed: Well-researched, educated on industry, audience, competitors, and business challenges/opportunitiesRealistic: Practical, content recommendationsand insights are relative to your businessActionable: Step-by-step plan that can easily rollinto execution and be scaled up/down by budgetData-driven: Your content plan is centered onevidence and is measurableWhy create a content strategy?An effective content strategy gives you a dedicatedaction plan with a prioritized roadmap to help youmaximize the return on your content investment. A2015 study by the Content Marketing Institute foundthat successful inbound marketers shared a common practice: 52% of those surveyed whose contentwas (self-reported) most effective said they had adocumented content strategy and they followed it.Let’s go over these 8 core checkpoints ingreater detail. At the end of this templateyou will be able to draft your own contentstrategy and move on to producinggreat content!Percentage of B2B Marketers Who Have a Content Marketing Strategy4% 16%32%48%UnsureNoYes, and it is documentedYes, but it is not documentedSource: Content Marketing Institute3verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistCheckpoint #1: Why are you creating content?Business Goals: Why are you doingcontent marketing?Examples: Increase qualified lead generation, become a thought leader, expandto new markets or audiencesYour business goals drive your overallcontent strategy. All content shoulddirectly support or complement yourlarger business goals. Most companiescreate content to drive additional leadsto increase revenue.Other common goals include establishing a business as a thought leaderor primary authoritative voice withinan industry, or expanding your brandto reach to a new market or audience.Always make sure you have a clearbusiness purpose for why you arespecifically using content in yourmarketing efforts.Your businessgoals drive youroverall contentstrategy. Allcontent shoulddirectly supportor complementyour largerbusiness goals.Why are you creating content?Write or type notes here.4verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistCheckpoint #2: What are your goals for your content?Content Goals: What do you want the content do?Business Goals(e.g. Drive Leads)Content Goals(e.g. Educate; Engage)Examples: Educate readers, create a communitydialogue, or showcase brand values and expertiseContent goals take your business goals andnarrow them down into the specific context ofwhat the content needs to do in order for youto achieve your business goals. If your goal is tobecome an authoritative thought leader, yourcontent typically needs to be comprehensive,insightful, and educational. (Specific formats,like how to decide between blog articles orStrategy Initiatives(e.g. Create aResource Center)white papers, are discussed later in the strategyprocess). In this checkpoint, you want to focuson defining the elements each piece of contentshould contain to effectively support your business needs.If time and budget are on your side, you cantake this checkpoint one step further by identifying concise and specific strategic initiativesthat outline how you are going to achieve yourcontent goals.What do you want the content to do?Write or type notes here.5verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistCheckpoint #3: Who is the intended audience of your content?Audience: Who will your content speak to?Example: Company ABC is a plastic surgery practice. Their target audience is between 30 and 50years old; is very comfortable with the internet andtechnology; wants to find the right medical practitioner for an elective procedure; needs empatheticcustomer service and is concerned about results,pain and cost.The most successful content marketing campaigns align production and distribution tothe needs, goals, and concerns of aspecific audience.Creating content for a generic audience is a nowin situation. You’ll invest valuable resourcesto produce content that attempts to speak toeveryone and usually ends up bland, with yourreaders hitting the snooze button.Instead, always speak directly to your coretarget market. Developing buyer personas canbe a comprehensive process, but for now we’llWho will your content speak to?simplify your persona profile to include only thebasic information you’ll need to get going withcontent production: Your target audience’s general demographics: age, gender, and digital comfort levelThe problem your audience is trying to solveYour audience’s expectations from yourindustry, product, or serviceYour audience’s primary hesitationto convertThe most successfulcontent marketingcampaigns alignproduction and distribution to the needs,goals, and concernsof a specific audience.Write or type notes here.6verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistCheckpoint #4: How are your competitorsusing content to achieve their goals?Competitor Research: What are yourcompetitors doing online and wherecan you find an advantage?Example: My top competitors currently produce authoritative articles on their blog 3-4x aweek. Video tutorials are popular among readers, earning several thousand views but lack awritten transcript and relevant calls-to-action.Here you’ll want to identify how yourcompetitors use content to achieve similargoals, even if they are aspirational. A reviewof the sites and content offers can help youdetermine where you fit within the industry.Take note of how crowded the space is (forcontent) and how far behind or ahead youare — this can help you allocate additionalbudget if you discover you’re significantlybehind your competition. Also take note ofany formats that seem to stand out such asvideo, free guides, or custom visuals andhow your competitors distributetheir content.3-4xa weekThe number of timesmy top competitorscurrently produceauthoritative articleson their blog.What are your competitors doing online and where can you find an advantage?Write or type notes here.7verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistCheckpoint #5: What types of content can you realistically create?Format: What are the content formatsyou are able to produce?Example: With my budget and in-house resources Ican create 10 blog articles a month, allowing me topost twice per week to my blog.This checkpoint is critical because it directlyinforms implementation. You want to makesure you can actually create content with youravailable resources and do so on a consistentbasis. Video content can be highly engaging butis often expensive and time-intensive to create.Infographics typically require several hours ofdesign time and need additional promotionalspend.Prioritize quality and frequency — even if thatmeans creating fantastic web copy and blogarticles — over aspirational formats until youhave a solid library of content in place. Onceyou have a good content foundation, feel free toexplore more creative and unique content types.You want tomake sure youcan actuallycreate contentwith your available resourcesand do so ona consistentbasis.What are the content formats you can actually create?Write or type notes here.8verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistCheckpoint #6: Where will your content live and how will it be shared?Distribution: Where will you publish,promote, and distribute your content?Example: Free guides will live under ourResources section on our website, we willpromote our blog and free guides throughLinkedIn and Facebook, and we will write amonthly column for Huffington Post SmallBusiness Voices.The important thing about promotion anddistribution is to go where your audience is andwhere you can realistically achieve traction. Thisends up being a combination of your availabletime, budget, and current level of credibility.For most businesses, this checkpoint isstraightforward: the company website andsocial media channels are the standardpromotion platforms. However, feel free toadd in other channels like email marketing,blog syndication, or external publishersrelevant to your industry.Also, don’t forget about distribution. Whereaspromotion is about driving your audienceto your content, the goal of distribution is todrive your content to your audience. Yourcontent can live off your site on distributionchannels like YouTube, Pinterest, or re will the content live and how will it be shared?Write or type notes here.9verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistCheckpoint #7: Who will produce and publish your content?Implementation: What is your budget forcontent? Who will produce, and publish,and promote your content?Example: We will hire an editorial manager who will beresponsible for hiring 2 freelancer writers familiar with ourindustry, managing employees’ written contributions, andpublishing content to our site following a set schedule.Find out how much quality content you can producewithin your budget and have at least one person inyour company dedicated to content marketing success.Depending on your resources, this person may beresponsible for overseeing your editorial efforts — likefinding and managing freelance writers — or evenwriting the content in-house.Both options are fine, but decide who is ultimatelyresponsible for sourcing and publishing your contentto ensure you stay on schedule and on strategy. If youhave the budget, consider working with a reputablecontent marketing agency or consultant to amplify andstreamline your efforts.What is your budget for content? Who will produce, publish, and promote your content?Write or type notes here.10verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistCheckpoint #8: How will you measure success for your content?Measurement: Set 1 realistic milestonefor your content for the first 90 days.Example: By November 2016, we will generate100 new contacts with email addresses and 5quality leads.Effectively measuring your content is one ofthe most important parts to any strategy. Setmetrics and KPIs that align with your strategicinitiatives, content goals, and business goalsduring the strategy process to help makesure you analyze your results within the rightcontext. A spike in organic traffic is great butif your goal was to drive 15% more leads, thenyou’ll want to check to see if your increase inorganic visibility translates into qualifiedvisitors to site.Effectively measuring yourcontent is one the mostimportant parts toany strategy.Measurement will evolve as you begin toproduce and analyze content in a consistentcycle. For now, put in place one SMART goalfor your content efforts and check in on yourprogress at least every 30 days.How will you measure success?Write or type notes here.11verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistDon’t wait anotherday to finish yourcontent strategyIt may seem overwhelming tostart your content strategy but ifyou take it one step at a time andwrite just one sentence for eachcheckpoint above, you can have arealistic and actionable strategy tokick off your content production.A documented content strategyis the first step toward creatingeffective content but try not to letyour desire for perfection keepyou from getting that contentproduction wheel going. Youcan always revisit your strategylater with new information orreflections on your recent contentexperiences. No matter howfantastic a strategy is on paper,execution will always be the mostimportant part of any contentmarketing plan – so focus on usingyour strategy as a stepping stonetoward pushing content live. Thehardest part is just getting startedand above all else, remember,done is better than perfect.12The hardestpart is justgetting startedand aboveall else,remember,done isbetter thanperfect.verticalmeasures.com
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and ChecklistWant to learn more aboutcontent marketing strategy?We consistently publish useful contenton our blog to help you accelerate yourcontent strategy, so make sure to signup for updates there. Also, we’ve pulledtogether all our content resources andtraining materials into one place whereyou’ll find workbooks, templates, andother guides to help you be successful.About Vertical MeasuresVertical Measures is a full-service Internetmarketing agency dedicated to helpingclients drive profitable growth throughcontent marketing. Based on the principlesoutlined in Vertical Measures’ proven 8Step Process, VM produces integrateddigital strategies, content pieces, andtargeted SEO & PPC campaigns fororganizations large and small. As anindustry leader, VM publishes in outletslike Content Marketing Institute andMarketing Land, teaches educationalcontent marketing workshops andseminars around the globe, and craftspersonalized coaching programs and ondemand training for organizations in needof a content kickstart.yourCONTENTMARKETINGstrategyv e r t icalme as ur e s.c om13TEMPLATEANDCHECKLIST
Your Content Marketing Strategy Template and Checklist What is a content strategy? A documented content strategy doesn't have to be a 50-page document or a 75-slide PowerPoint pre-sentation. You can make your content strategy as robust or simple as your time and budget allows. All you need to create is an informed, realistic, and ac-
Agrees that leadership team gives ample time to produce content marketing results 84% 59% 38% Always/frequently delivers content consistently 75% 59% 33% Rates alignment of metrics and content marketing goals as excellent/very good 54% 19% 2% This Year’s B2B Content Marketing Top Performers At-A-Glance 2018 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute .
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