Blog Post
Document Your Content Marketing Strategy for Superior Results
- By Mark Baker
- •
- 28 Jul, 2016
- •
Content marketing in the B2B industry is becoming increasingly more complex—especially as companies start to include multiple departments, tactics, and channels in their overall content marketing strategies.
As content marketing programs continue to expand and become progressively more elaborate, companies face the challenge of streamlining their content schedule and overall content strategy so as to monitor and analyze it with optimal clarity and efficiency. The key to overcoming this challenge is detailed, internally-publicized documentation of the content schedule and outcomes.
Statistics show that 48 percent of all B2B companies have implemented a content marketing strategy but have no system in place to document and monitor it; only 32 percent of businesses say that they maintain documentation, while the remaining percentage has yet to enter the content marketing field.
Wherever your company falls on the spectrum in terms of having policies in place for organizing and documenting your content marketing efforts, you can improve on your current strategy either by putting documentation systems in place or by optimizing your current systems.
Use the following three general methods to improve how you document your content marketing, which ultimately will allow you to better understand how your content strategy is working.
1. ONE DIRECTION: UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF THE CONTENT
Before you can successfully plan and monitor a content marketing schedule that will generate results for your business, you must ensure that every employee who will be involved with the content strategy is fully aware of the purpose behind the content. Whether it’s an individual piece of content, a period series, or the overall content schedule, all content should have a driving purpose; this will enable you to determine if the content was effective as a marketing tool. Furthermore, you will achieve a smarter, more sophisticated creative process if all of your content contributors understand the ultimate goals of the content program.
This synergy can be achieved in multiple ways. Every department that is contributing to content should have a representative present in every content strategy meeting; within this meeting, each participant's creative role should be clearly defined. Without setting clear expectations and goals, you risk sending a muddled and confusing message in your content. Let each contributor be creative, but make sure to give clear direction as well. For example, consider publishing company-wide documents that outline the company's standard content policies, including deadlines.
2. REGULARLY GENERATE NEW IDEAS AND FIND BETTER APPROACHES
In determining the purpose of each element of content (and making sure that all contributors are on board), you will have effectively established a standardized foundation for your content strategy. This will help foster the creativity of your team: when all of the involved departments and contributors are clear regarding content goals, they can be given more freedom to brainstorm new content ideas for how to achieve those goals. Look to your staff for fresh takes on content—you may be surprised by their interesting perspectives and the untapped expertise they have to offer.
Offering fresh, expert information to your buyers will help them make better-educated buying decisions, while also encouraging them to turn to your company again when they are faced with a new problem later. Don’t be afraid to blend industrial information with a unique, entertaining approach to content delivery; buyers will appreciate and remember contemporary content delivered in an exciting new way.
3. PAY ATTENTION TO METRICS BEFORE YOU GO LIVE
Documenting your content strategy enables you and your team to analyze the statistics and SEO metrics of each content component before it is published on your website or on your social media channels. A standard documentation system will allow you to disseminate the analytics of your content across various departments; with multiple pairs of eyes studying the metrics, you'll uncover the best solution for optimizing your content based on your target market. Each department will likely have a nuanced perspective to contribute to the strategy for better overall results.
By keeping track of content marketing purpose, goals, schedules, metrics, and each department’s content resource allocation, you’ll develop a more streamlined content marketing effort in which every team member is contributing fresh ideas and is held accountable for the content.
As content marketing programs continue to expand and become progressively more elaborate, companies face the challenge of streamlining their content schedule and overall content strategy so as to monitor and analyze it with optimal clarity and efficiency. The key to overcoming this challenge is detailed, internally-publicized documentation of the content schedule and outcomes.
Statistics show that 48 percent of all B2B companies have implemented a content marketing strategy but have no system in place to document and monitor it; only 32 percent of businesses say that they maintain documentation, while the remaining percentage has yet to enter the content marketing field.
Wherever your company falls on the spectrum in terms of having policies in place for organizing and documenting your content marketing efforts, you can improve on your current strategy either by putting documentation systems in place or by optimizing your current systems.
Use the following three general methods to improve how you document your content marketing, which ultimately will allow you to better understand how your content strategy is working.
1. ONE DIRECTION: UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF THE CONTENT
Before you can successfully plan and monitor a content marketing schedule that will generate results for your business, you must ensure that every employee who will be involved with the content strategy is fully aware of the purpose behind the content. Whether it’s an individual piece of content, a period series, or the overall content schedule, all content should have a driving purpose; this will enable you to determine if the content was effective as a marketing tool. Furthermore, you will achieve a smarter, more sophisticated creative process if all of your content contributors understand the ultimate goals of the content program.
This synergy can be achieved in multiple ways. Every department that is contributing to content should have a representative present in every content strategy meeting; within this meeting, each participant's creative role should be clearly defined. Without setting clear expectations and goals, you risk sending a muddled and confusing message in your content. Let each contributor be creative, but make sure to give clear direction as well. For example, consider publishing company-wide documents that outline the company's standard content policies, including deadlines.
2. REGULARLY GENERATE NEW IDEAS AND FIND BETTER APPROACHES
In determining the purpose of each element of content (and making sure that all contributors are on board), you will have effectively established a standardized foundation for your content strategy. This will help foster the creativity of your team: when all of the involved departments and contributors are clear regarding content goals, they can be given more freedom to brainstorm new content ideas for how to achieve those goals. Look to your staff for fresh takes on content—you may be surprised by their interesting perspectives and the untapped expertise they have to offer.
Offering fresh, expert information to your buyers will help them make better-educated buying decisions, while also encouraging them to turn to your company again when they are faced with a new problem later. Don’t be afraid to blend industrial information with a unique, entertaining approach to content delivery; buyers will appreciate and remember contemporary content delivered in an exciting new way.
3. PAY ATTENTION TO METRICS BEFORE YOU GO LIVE
Documenting your content strategy enables you and your team to analyze the statistics and SEO metrics of each content component before it is published on your website or on your social media channels. A standard documentation system will allow you to disseminate the analytics of your content across various departments; with multiple pairs of eyes studying the metrics, you'll uncover the best solution for optimizing your content based on your target market. Each department will likely have a nuanced perspective to contribute to the strategy for better overall results.
By keeping track of content marketing purpose, goals, schedules, metrics, and each department’s content resource allocation, you’ll develop a more streamlined content marketing effort in which every team member is contributing fresh ideas and is held accountable for the content.
Mark Baker
Mark Baker is a natural artist. Since starting his first business hand painting graphics onto vehicles in high school, Mark gained experience in the entertainment, sports, and retail industries before founding this company in 1993. Honest and pragmatic, Mark knows that anything can be accomplished with a great communication plan and creative thinking.
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