How to Create a Content Marketing Plan That Works For You

A content marketing plan is the roadmap you use to launch, execute and measure your content marketing strategy. In this post, we’ll show you how to create an effective content marketing strategy, so you can build your content marketing from scratch or revamp what you’ve got.

Let’s face it—the content we produce isn’t perfect. We struggle with topics, and we create content that sounds good, but doesn’t work. Why? Because we don’t know our audience. So, what’s a content marketer to do? How can you create a content marketing plan that actually works? To help, I’ve pulled together these 4 steps to take in order to create a plan that helps you grow your business.

So, in this post, I go into detail on exactly how to build a content marketing strategy and implement it, including creating a content calendar, identifying and defining your target audience, deciding what content you will create, and choosing which social platforms to use.

Creating a content calendar

Every great blog has a calendar of posts that it plans to create, and this calendar should be planned out before writing the first post. The calendar helps the writer focus on the time between when they’re ready to write a new piece and when the post is published.

When you’re writing your content, you have to know what you’re going to write about, and you should plan on publishing your posts at certain times. Your blog posts don’t just happen by themselves.

If you’re trying to produce a consistent flow of content, then you need to set yourself a goal for every week or month. For example, you might decide to aim to publish one article a week.

Then, you should use a tool like Google Calendar to plan when you’ll write your posts, so you’re not scrambling to find the time to write.

When you’re creating a content calendar, think about the time of day that suits you the best.

What time of day do you tend to be the most productive?

What time of day do you write your blog posts?

How often do you write your posts?

Do you prefer to write in the morning, evening or on the go?

It’s important to set a schedule that works best for you and your content marketing goals, so you can get your content out to the world, and build a community of people who love and trust you.

Once you’ve created a content calendar, you’re ready to write your first post.

Identifying and defining your target audience

Creating a content marketing plan that works for you means knowing who your target audience is. 

You’re not going to write for everyone. You need to know what they like and what they want. So, before you start creating content, make sure you’ve identified and defined your target audience.

Let’s start with who your target audience is. If you’re starting from scratch, you should identify your ideal customers—those people who will buy the product or service you’re offering.

So, think about what they do, what they care about and what they like. What is it that you do or sell that would interest them?

Now, you need to think about the people who are in your target market. What do they look like? Who are they? You need to answer this question so you can write the content that resonates with your audience.

Deciding what content you will create

Once you’ve defined your target audience, it’s time to think about what kind of content you’ll create. As a general rule, if it’s not useful, then don’t publish it.

There are a few different types of content that we should all be writing. You should focus on creating content that is: Educational, Informative, Entertaining, and Compelling.

How can you tell if a piece of content is educational, informative or entertaining?

What is the content telling the reader?

Does it explain something they already know or tell them something new?

Does it help them to learn more about the topic or provide them with information?

Does it make them feel something?

Do they learn, laugh or even cry?

Without a doubt, these are the things you want to aim for when you’re writing your blog posts. The best content makes readers feel something. It motivates them to share the content and encourages them to act on it. If you can do that, then your content will be shared and you’ll have a community of people who trust and love you.

The best way to build this type of relationship is to write engaging content that speaks to your target audience. You need to show your audience how much you care about them, and you need to communicate that through your blog posts.

This type of relationship is what builds your brand. It helps you connect with your readers, and you get the chance to influence them as a trusted expert.

Choosing which social platforms to use

Once you’ve decided what kind of content you will create, it’s time to think about where you will publish it.  You want to publish your content on as many social channels as possible. This gives your content the best chance of being seen by your target audience. But, before you jump in and start publishing everywhere, think about your objectives. Which social platforms do you really want to use? 

How can you ensure that you’re using the most effective platform for each type of content?

There are a lot of different types of social media platforms. There are a few we should all be using: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Blogs. 

Here are the main reasons why we recommend starting with a blog.

Blogs give you a space to write engaging content. This makes it easier to get people to read and interact with your content. Plus, blogs can be integrated with other social platforms so you can promote it across all your channels.

You can get more traffic to your site from search engines. If you write unique and high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience, then search engines will love your blog and will rank it higher in search results. This means that you’ll get more organic traffic to your site.

Conclusion

In conclusion, There are a number of important steps that every content marketing strategy should include. The key is to know your audience and what they want and how they want it. Then create content that aligns with that. To ensure that this content is not only effective, but also sustainable over time, you need to plan ahead. Planning for long-term success means developing a content calendar and content roadmap. Without this step, you may be wasting your time and money creating great content for the sake of it, but without a clear path to success.