Content marketing feels novel amidst proliferating formats and channels. However, it has been practiced since salesmen stood on soapboxes to convey the habits of the healthy and sell a tonic to the spectators.  To make headway in the complex modern landscape, strategic discipline in development and distribution is required.

Content takes shape in many forms.  Most content marketing is topical and therefore has a short shelf life that is best suited for digital formats.  However, long-form content (such as white papers) are more studied and produced to explore more important concepts that may remain relevant for more than a year.  Therefore, it is also suited for print production.  Short-form content is meant to be consumed on the go.  Email marketing, infographics, and social media posts are intended to be consumed by everyone thumbing their phones waiting for a flight, in line, or ignoring dinner companions.  It is a captive audience of everyone waiting anywhere for anything in the industrialized world. 

Understanding the forms, consider execution.  Recognize that for the sake of brevity this explanation is geared to a private company prospecting in one region.  However, considerations are compounded by any additional interest including multi-national organization or investors. 

Starting in the ideation phase, a team should develop a program calendar to serve as the foundation of the strategy.  The calendar is a detailed schedule representing a top-down approach that makes sure you regularly cover the most attractive subjects for your audience.  Ideally, when scheduling content for the program calendar keywords are integrated, which are designed to support search engine results for your organization (SEO).  The ground-up approach is taking cues from the field whether that is new market intelligence, a perfect case study, or in response to industry headlines.

The process of development must be documented and practiced.  Address the phases of drafting and formalize review methods.  Complete strategy names the players dedicated to the process, each member’s responsibility at every stage, and steps are followed to increase efficiency.  Efficiency is critical to keep the product relevant and fresh and to protect ROI for the initiative.

How, when & where an organization publishes is all a matter of the targeted audience.  This plan takes extensive study and consistent implementation because it the audience will grow when expectations are most evident.  Approach this thoughtfully to drive engagement and funnel the traffic right where it is most likely to convert from prospects to clients.

Developing a waterfall approach to publishing will maximize the impact of all this hard work.  With thorough planning, content is leveraged across channels for peak content marketing performance.  However, it is critical that you be consistent and tactical about publishing efforts to heighten engagement by enhancing the expectation of the audience.  For instance, a quarterly report posted on a website is promoted by short-form components from that paper such as an infographic or a quick quote through social media posts.  This approach is the best way to drive organic SEO with your content marketing.  It also encourages views and ensures prospective clients are drawn from their favorite platforms to the brand’s most fertile ground for conversion. 

Close the loop on the process with a thorough analysis phase.  The analysis should be designed to measure ROI and illuminate areas of improvement for the overall strategy.

Develop consistent messaging that serves the organization’s essential audience to foster trust and loyalty in the brand.  Invest in branding to improve prospect conversion and client retention to grow revenue.