As we wrap up one year it’s important to also plan for the year ahead.

What’s in store for your marketing team?

Do you have a content strategy in place?

Are all your pieces drafted and ready to deploy?

 

“Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates three times as many leads.”

While it may seem difficult to put together a content marketing plan for the upcoming year - it’s a mistake not to.  According to Neil Patel, “content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates three times as many leads.” I don’t know about you, but we sure like the sound of that! 

Content marketing is an inexpensive method of connecting with current and future clients while positioning yourself as a thought leader.

 

Putting your plan in place

Not sure where to start? Start with taking inventory! Work smarter, not harder!

It’s possible you’ve already got some great material in your arsenal to help you get started. For example, let’s say XYZ company has a new whitepaper on snow shoveling techniques. They can post the paper to their website and even send an email to their clients and prospects linking to the paper.

Or, they could also,

  • Break the paper down into multiple blog posts
  • Develop an infographic to visually present the different techniques
  • Create a video demonstrating the different methods
  • Discuss the different techniques during media interviews
  • Host a webinar with experts sharing insights on the various techniques
  • Share the paper, infographic, and video via email and across their social media channels

Depending on the topic and the scope of work, they could even take it a few steps further branching out into additional materials to discuss various snow removal tools, types of snow, weather patterns, etc. As you develop your plan, be sure to set the scope of the topic and stay within that framework.

XYZ company has now taken a single piece of content, a white paper, and developed additional supporting materials. All these pieces can be shared with your audience to help you connect, build and maintain relationships all while positioning you as a thought leader.

As you plan your content marketing strategy for the upcoming year, it’s important to approach it in an organized and thoughtful manner rather than just haphazardly sending materials as they are created.

Taking time at the front end to develop an engaging well thought out strategy will help you to connect with your current clients and attract new ones.

Stay tuned to our blog to learn more about the top 5 content marketing trends to watch for!

PR & MARKETING IDEAS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX