Content development is part of a marketing plan, which is outlined in its own content marketing strategy. Having a strategy allows for flawless execution and more accurate measurements of success. Content marketing is the execution of the strategy.

Content is a critical asset worthy of strategic planning and meaningful investment which drives audience behavior through engagement.

What is the difference between content marketing and a content strategy?

Content strategy is a discipline that involves managing the business assets – the content, its development and publication. The strategy identifies what needs to be done in a coordinated, cohesive and consistent system. A strategy is a solution to move you from where you are now, to where you want to be.

The content marketing plan is how you will achieve the goal(s). Content marketing is the creation and distribution – content strategy is the research into the strategic asset (the content) that helps to form the content marketing plan.

Developing a content strategy can be a highly detailed process for serious marketers. But for small business needs, a content marketing plan and content calendar can be formed with a small amount of research.

A small business content marketing strategy covers the basics of a larger, research-based content strategy, on a smaller scale. Here, you will outline business and customer needs and detail a content plan that reflects user needs and organization goals to define the content purpose. Here are some common components of a content marketing strategy:

1. Purpose: Identify how the content will meet user needs and organization goals. Why is your business creating content?
2. Goals: Discuss business goals and how content can and cannot help achieve those goals.
3. Personas: Describe the audience, their needs, and outline the content and channels that will reach them in each step of the buyer journey.
4. Topics: Summarize the overall strategy, describe the themes and messages and outline the channels that will be used. How will the content tell your brand story?
5. Process: Detail the content distribution strategy (including email marketing) and fill in the calendar.

Content Development Process:

Using analytics, social tools and content management systems, we look at what content has been most successful in the recent past – the topic, channel, time of day and any other unique aspects of the successful piece and choose one or two similar topics to focus on.

We research articles and related content by others and plan how we can do it better.

Our content service accommodates the appropriate length and frequency of articles that your business needs to succeed, typically two 500-word articles per month.

We also recommend combining content marketing with social media marketing for complementary content and increased social engagement.

For longer content development projects, a calendar with content outlines aids in the content planning and execution process.

1. Plan how to use resources to develop content
2. Outline project goals
3.  Consolidate plans on a calendar
4. Schedule publication ahead of time automatically using social and CMS tools
5. Authorize plans and proofs prior to beginning work and publishing

Other Content Development

Part of website design is understanding the user and the content. When we develop websites, we offer content development to launch a complete website in addition to providing the framework and design. We provide optimized website content that converts.

Speaking of converting, when you have a pay per click marketing campaign, we can also design lead generating landing pages for your website.

Questions about our process? Contact us to discuss your content needs.