How To Write a 1-Page Content Marketing Strategy: 6 Easy-to-Follow Steps

Without a written technique, your model’s content material advertising and marketing received’t attain its potential. Think about it.

Without a written technique:

• Your content material advertising and marketing is much less prone to align with organizational objectives.
• You have a onerous time securing management and finances assist.
• You danger inside, exterior, and adjoining content material groups getting into a number of instructions.
• You spend extra time onboarding and re-educating your staff.

Without a written technique, you might be like most content material entrepreneurs, simply not essentially the most profitable ones.

Without a documented strategy, you’re like most #content marketers. Just not the successful ones, says @AnnGynn via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet

A documented technique correlates with success

The Content Marketing Institute asks about documented content material advertising and marketing methods in its annual analysis. Most lately, solely 40% of B2B entrepreneurs and 39% of B2C entrepreneurs stated they’ve one. (And no, the individuals who say they’ve a technique however don’t write it down don’t rely. An unwritten “strategy” is no matter anybody says it’s.)

But the CMI analysis exhibits having a documented content material advertising and marketing technique differentiates the highest performers from common or poor performers. Consider this stat for general advertising and marketing from CoSchedule’s Trend Report: Marketing Strategies 2022: Marketers with a documented strategy are 414% more likely to report success than those that don’t.

So why don’t extra content material leaders write down their methods?

Writing a technique takes time. And many wonder if the time invested will repay. Will anybody on the staff learn the entire thing or bear in mind what’s in it?

That’s why I’m a huge advocate of making a one-page content material advertising and marketing technique. The abbreviated format means you’ll be able to create it shortly and clarify it concisely. People you share it with will probably be extra prone to learn and bear in mind it. (Heck, they may pin it to their bulletin board or make it their screensaver.)

Let’s stroll by means of six steps to create your one-page content material advertising and marketing technique. But first, assessment your corporation’ operational targets and objectives. Your content material advertising and marketing program received’t achieve success if it doesn’t align with what your group needs to attain.

Your #ContentMarketing program won’t be successful if it doesn’t align with what your organization wants to achieve, says @AnnGynn via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet

Step 1: Set the content material advertising and marketing goal

Knowing what your corporation executives need to obtain, think about how content material advertising and marketing will assist. At this level, you’re in search of a common content material advertising and marketing goal, not particular ways or matters.

Example

For this train, I’ll use the fake Chickadee Credit Union because the group creating a one-page content material advertising and marketing technique. The credit score union is a member-based group that gives companies just like banks in its group.

Here’s what their pre-step and the first step seem like:

• Business goal: To improve the idea that Chickadee Credit Union is a good supply for loans (dwelling, private, and auto)
• Business aim: To improve all forms of mortgage purposes by 10% (12 months over 12 months) from CCU members
• Content advertising and marketing goal: To grow to be a go-to content material useful resource for credit score union members occupied with private finance matters

The enterprise goal is restricted (elevate consciousness and belief in Chickadee as a lender), and the aim is measurable (improve mortgage purposes by 10%). With that understanding, the content material advertising and marketing staff recognized an goal that would finally assist CCU obtain that aim (turning into a go-to useful resource on private finance.)

Now, the work begins to outline the trail to attaining that content material advertising and marketing goal.

Step 2: Define the viewers

It’s tempting to element a broad viewers – in spite of everything, you might suppose, the extra individuals who eat your content material, the extra individuals that can assist you obtain the enterprise objectives.

Resist that temptation as a result of it’s ineffective. It’s tough, if not unattainable, to create content material that works nicely for as many viewers segments as attainable. Instead, decide one major viewers and, probably, a secondary viewers. To do that, analysis your potential audiences. Look on the related knowledge – demographics, sociographics, pursuits, wants, and ache factors. Detail how and the place individuals in that group at the moment get data associated to your common matter (as talked about in your content material advertising and marketing goal.)

Then, ask who could be most occupied with your organization’s content material matter. If it is advisable to slender it additional, ask who could be most within the matter and extra prone to take the specified motion to attain the enterprise’ operational aim.

Example

Chickadee Credit Union thought-about a number of audiences occupied with private finance content material. But when the content material advertising and marketing staff requested which of these audiences could be extra prone to apply for a mortgage within the subsequent 5 years, they narrowed it down to 1 – dad and mom with a minimum of one younger baby.

CCU included these attributes of their target market (dad and mom with a minimum of one younger baby) of their technique:

• Member of Chickadee Credit Union
• Overseer of their household’s finances
• Expect their residing and transportation must evolve within the subsequent 5 years
• Challenged by balancing the household’s area and transportation necessities because the household grows
• Crunched for time in all elements of their life

Step 3: Identify content material classes and matters

Knowing and describing your viewers opens the window to content material. What would this group of individuals need to learn, watch, or take heed to that’s associated to your content material advertising and marketing goal?

Brainstorm a checklist of content material concepts – huge concepts, particular story angles, or each. As you assessment the checklist, put a star subsequent to those that will profit your target market essentially the most.

Identify a number of broad themes. List pattern story matters that will fall below these classes to assist individuals higher perceive associated concepts and envision new potentialities.

Example

Chickadee Credit Union opted for 3 classes – dwelling life, automobile journey, and free or low-cost enjoyable. All these themes work nicely for folks of younger youngsters who’re occupied with private finance and sometime would possibly apply for a dwelling, auto, or private mortgage. Then, they added particular story angles below every class:

• Living at dwelling
  • How to create a multipurpose lounge (story matters)
  • The finest furnishings cloth for households
  • Time-saving cleansing ideas
• Traveling by automobile
  • Emergency instruments each automobile ought to have
  • Tailgate picnics when your automobile doesn’t have a tailgate
  • Apps to search out the very best gasoline costs
• Free or low-cost enjoyable
  • Be a vacationer in your individual city
  • Help your youngsters make their very own board video games

Step 4: Detail content material sorts and codecs

Deciding on content material codecs and kinds is carefully tied to step 5 (distribution channels). Ask two questions:

Be reasonable. For instance, your viewers would possibly get pleasure from movies. But if nobody in your staff has video expertise and you haven’t any finances to rent or outsource, don’t select video as one in all your codecs.

Example

Chickadee Credit Union discovered that oldsters worth a number of codecs. It recognized 5 for its content material advertising and marketing technique, together with a mixture of digital content material sorts and print:

• Blog articles
• E-newsletters
• Social media posts
• Print publication
• Video

Step 5: List distribution channels and frequency

Often, your chosen format will lean towards a common supply channel. But be as particular as attainable in detailing the place your content material distribution priorities lie.

For instance, you would possibly distribute an article in your firm’s weblog or a third-party web site. You would possibly distribute a social media submit by means of Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and so on.

At this level, you additionally want to have a look at the accessible sources to create, publish, and promote the content material. What is the minimal quantity of every content material sort this group can produce?

TIP: Don’t be overly formidable. Pick a frequency you’ll be able to realistically meet. You can at all times improve it later.

Example

Chickadee Credit Union’s technique specifies frequency and distribution channels for his or her content material codecs:

• Blog articles: 3 instances weekly; CCU web site
• E-newsletter: 1 time a month; CCU subscriber database
• Tweets: 1 time a day; CCU deal with
• Facebook: 3 times weekly; CCU Facebook web page
• Newsletter: two instances a 12 months; CCU & accomplice bodily areas
• Video: two instances a 12 months; CCU YouTube channel

With the format, platform, and frequency decided, CCU detailed the classes (from step three) for every format and deliberate to:

• Rotate the three classes for every weblog submit in addition to social media posts
• Include all three classes within the e-newsletter and print publication
• Make the travel-by-car class the theme for movies

Step 6: Connect to the enterprise objective

Now, you’re prepared to return to the start. It’s time so as to add the objectives to your content material advertising and marketing goal (the first step).

Consider:

Example

If you recall, CCU needed to extend mortgage purposes by 10% 12 months over 12 months. To assist contribute to that aim, the content material advertising and marketing staff needed to grow to be the go-to useful resource for private finance. Here are their measurable content material advertising and marketing objectives:

• To improve consciousness of CCU because the go-to useful resource for family-focused private finance matters
  • Increase visits to weblog pages on website by 10% every month
• To develop the database of members who need content material from CCU
  • Increase member e-newsletter sign-up quantity by 20% every quarter
• To convert member subscribers into mortgage candidates
  • Grow the variety of member subscribers who additionally apply for a mortgage (private, dwelling, or auto) by 5% over a 12 months

Notice how their measurable content material advertising and marketing objectives finally result in the enterprise operational aim.

Now, CCU has its one-page content material advertising and marketing technique:

One thing more: Plan to revisit the content material advertising and marketing technique

Once you full step six, your content material advertising and marketing technique is documented and able to use. But I like to recommend an honorary seventh step. Too typically, content material entrepreneurs get so targeted on execution that they overlook to assessment their documented technique usually to verify the objectives and selections stay legitimate.

Revisit the technique when:

• Goal timeframes have concluded
• Triggers or occasions occur inside your group (i.e., a discount in content material advertising and marketing sources, the addition of latest expertise or platform)
• Triggers or occasions occur exterior your group (i.e., a pandemic, a shift in shopper habits)
• Operational strategic planning is modified or up to date (i.e., a new enterprise aim, a new imaginative and prescient plan)

Don’t forget to review your #ContentMarketing strategy regularly to make sure goals and decisions remain valid, says @AnnGynn via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet

Start writing

OK, now you understand documenting a content material advertising and marketing technique isn’t overly tough. You most likely have a lot of the solutions already. So put aside time to tug all of it collectively in a single doc, then share it with all of the stakeholders concerned.

And subsequent 12 months, you’ll end up on the proper facet of the survey. You’ll have a documented content material advertising and marketing technique that helps you obtain your content material and organizational objectives.

Give it a attempt to let me know the way it works for you.

Cover picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute