How to Create a Winning Content Strategy

Content creation is key to a successful online presence.  Rather than going into it blind, it is wise to have a strategy in place so each bit of material is meaningful and worthwhile.

Know Your Niche We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again… over, and over, and over again.  Understanding who you are writing for is going to make all the difference in how you approach the task.  A great content strategy will always involve a clear description of the ‘most typical customer’.  This doesn’t just mean spouting off information about the age, sex and ethnicity of the person.  You should have a clear picture of who that person is.  What does he or she likes to do for fun?  Where he or she likes to eat?  What type of apparel he or she chooses to wear?  What mode of transportation does he or she most often use? Is he or she married or single?  Does he or she have children?  These questions being answered will paint a clear picture of what material is most likely to appeal to that niche audience.

Know Your Goals Why are you creating this content?  Are you trying to become an expert in your field or are you trying to translate page visits into sales?   Where will the business be in five years or ten?   Will you be marketing the same products and services or do you intend to expand?  How will those changes impact your niche market?  Will you be handling all of the content creation or outsourcing some of it?  There are a lot of questions to answer at this phase, but having a clearly defined objective in mind (and on paper) will help you stay on task as you build up content.

Learn and Be Malleable While creating the plan and having a clear target market is a great place to start, you will likely find – assuming you are properly tracking and measuring your efforts and the associated success – that your point of view will shift as time goes on.  You might discover that there is another niche market that is more willing to invest in your product or service than the one that you were originally marketing to.  You could also learn that, with changes in the economy and technology, that the rate and direction of your company growth is different than expected.  Be prepared to change you method of attack base on that new wisdom.