content-strategy

The 3-step content strategy that will transform your effectiveness online

You probably know that one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience online is through producing powerful, relevant content.

But do you know how you can strategically use your content to have maximum impact possible for your business marketing?

There are three vital steps.

1. Decide your content pillars

If you talk about too many different topics it is hard to grow a reputation in the mind of your audience. Rather, you should choose one to four related topics and always write about these same things.

I call these your “Content Pillars” because they become the foundation your reputation is built on.

You can write from different perspectives but each time someone reads your name on a byline or sees you speaking, your basic message should be consistent with everything else they’ve ever seen of yours. In this way every touch point you have with them builds on every previous one, and you make a more and more memorable impression each time.

2. Produce flagship content

You may have many small interactions with some people, through anything from advertising to conversations. But these small touches are hard to direct and control, and often they don’t give you enough time or space to show your true value or separate you from the crowd.

This is where “flagship” content is powerful.

Flagship pieces of content stand out from the rest as being better in some way. Maybe they are more detailed, more specific, more practical, beautiful or longer. Each piece needs to connect in a way that solves a problem so that your readers know they want it.

These flagship pieces of content become the items you can share amongst your regular, lower-level content. If your readers want to move closer to you and learn more, the flagship content lets them do that.

Strategically, most flagship content is only accessible if a reader enters their email address and opts in for further communication, so this a vital step in moving people through your funnel and opening regular communication.

3. Use Social reach

Social media, email and other regular communication is at the broad end of the funnel. Strategically, we put this at the end because the content here is built around your content pillars and flagship content pieces. But social media also has a strategy of its own.

Gathering a community of followers and being able to engage, inform and entertain them is powerful strategy – if you can pull it off. But in today’s crowded social marketplace it’s not easy, and be mindful that the ultimate goal of any online community building is, in the end, still to lead people through to the next step.

Leverage your social media influence by sticking to your content pillar topics and leading people through to the next step by inviting them to access your flagship pieces. Post regularly, but don’t openly promote your services in more than about 5% of posts so that you can strike a good balance between being helpful and making an offer.

Then test and measure your results, experimenting as you go so that you can constantly improve.Remember, with all these rules of thumb – they are a starting point from which you can build a customised approach that will bring you the greatest success.

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *