Keeping your business top of mind for your targets calls for you to post content regularly. You must post the right things at the right time to make the biggest impact.
Your posting schedule must be consistent with your marketing efforts, with a focus on your strategic needs and projected outcomes.
In other words, you need a content plan.
But what is that? Is it the same thing as a content strategy? What type of information needs to be included? And what separates a good content plan from a bad one?
For the answers to all these questions and more – plus a free template you can download and customize to your own needs, read on.
A content plan is a document that defines all the marketing content and assets you need to implement your content marketing strategy.
This includes everything from blogs and social media posts to search engine optimization research and white papers.
It will directly align with your marketing funnel, with each included asset corresponding with one of its stages: awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty.
Content is an essential part of marketing.
By creating a content plan, you make it easier for your team to create, collaborate and implement this content.
A good plan will help you project future resource allocation, avoiding unnecessary delays and expenses.
Though they have similar names, are often mistaken for one another, and are sometimes incorrectly used as interchangeable terms, a content plan is not the same as a content strategy.
And yes, you need both.
So, what’s the difference?
The main thing you need to know is this: your content strategy defines how and why content will be used in your marketing strategy.
Your content plan determines what, when, and where you’ll use various assets as part of this strategy in order to reach your goals.
Essentially, your content plan is the building blocks (blogs, outreach, reports, etc.) you use to reach the goals you outlined in your content strategy (more leads, increased sales, etc.)
You should lay out your content strategy before starting on your content plan, as your content plan will define how you achieve the strategy’s goals.
An effective content plan should provide your content creators with useful information they can use when developing assets. Namely, it should tell them:
Depending on your needs, you may also want to include information about tone, notes about structure and layout, word counts, categories, and URLs.
It has already been mentioned how every piece of content should align with a specific stage of your marketing funnel.
Now, let’s look at each stage and discuss the types of content that work best for each.
This type of content is going after the top of the marketing funnel.
It’s about showing potential customers that you exist and informing them about the qualities that differentiate you. Content should be easily consumable and easy to share.
Common types of awareness content are:
At the second stage of the funnel, you’re nurturing leads, building a relationship, and establishing trust. At this point, your content should be more in-depth and provide evidence of solutions.
Content that works well for the consideration stage includes:
The lead is on the hook, now it’s time to reel them in and complete the sale. Content in this stage should provide information on why customers should choose your brand.
Types that can help in this stage include:
As promised, here is a template of a content plan you can download and put to work for your business.
But here’s the thing – your company’s needs are unique. Just downloading this plan isn’t going to be effective.
You need to adapt it to your specific situation.
Not sure how to do that?
You’re in luck. We’ve also provided a handy step-by-step guide.
Trying to be everything to everyone is a terrible strategy. Remember the old adage, “a jack of all trades is a master of none.”
This is especially true for marketing content.
Every piece of content you plan, and eventually create, should have a specific purpose.
As you’re filling out your own content plan, keep in mind what you’re trying to accomplish with that piece. Make sure each piece of content clearly aligns with a specific stage of your marketing funnel.
Decide who you’re targeting and then figure out the best way to reach them. Then, determine where each piece of content can be placed for maximum impact.
Bear in mind that certain types of content will perform better on specific platforms.
For example, that professional eBook you’re planning to create is more likely to receive more attention and interaction on LinkedIn than it is on Facebook.
When determining when to create and release certain pieces of content, be mindful of your budget.
For example, if you have a tradeshow in August that will require a lot of investment, in both time and money, then June and July may not be the best times to undertake resource-intensive content projects.
One of the benefits of a content plan is that it gives you information about ongoing and upcoming projects at a glance.
Use this to your advantage.
Gaining credibility and growing your audience requires the regular release of fresh content.
Unfortunately, there’s no magic number for what that is. Only you can determine what works best for you and your audience’s desires.
You should look at your schedule to determine how much time it allows you to dedicate to content creation and curation.
Then, put yourself in your targets’ shoes and decide how frequently they would like content from you.
Finally, consider how your release frequency will help you achieve your goals.
For example, if you’re trying to grow your audience, you should probably post more frequently than if you’re seeking to maintain customer loyalty.
You need a clearly defined content creation process.
It should outline what each person is responsible for, who is involved in each step, and establish a process for passing things off from one person or department to the next.
Many organizations find using a color-coded system most effective for this stage.
Now that you have your content plan template downloaded and you’ve customized it to your unique situation, it’s time to get started planning and creating that content – well, almost.
Before you take the leap and start outlining every asset and piece of collateral you’ll use in the coming year, here as some final things to bear in mind:
Use the color fill functionality spreadsheets offer to give you at-a-glance information about each piece of content.
You should be easily able to identify where a piece is in the creation process, which platform(s) it will be used on, and how it fits into your overall marketing strategy.
A lot of your leads are going to come to you via the internet, which means it’s of utmost importance that you help them find you. Any digital content you create should always keep search engine optimization in mind.
Make sure you’ve researched your keywords and are including them whenever possible. Strive to make content that matches search intent and make sure that everything is providing value.
Don’t be afraid to draw inspiration from pages that are currently ranking highly for your desired keywords.
(Note the word “inspiration.” This does not mean stealing. All your content should be original.)
Each content marketing channel has its own objectives. You should always keep these in mind when determining what will go where.
That said, keep an eye out for opportunities to repurpose things. If you can generate engagement by posting links to the same blog post on four different social media channels, then you absolutely should.
Great content ideas can come to you anywhere, often when they’re least expected. Consider adding another tab to your content plan spreadsheet in which you can list ideas for future content.
Keywords are a great jumping-off point for generating ideas. Look around at what other brands are doing. Can you take a similar approach?
Maybe you have a silly idea that you’re not serious about, but which could inspire someone else.
Your goal with your idea file is to brainstorm as many ideas as possible, which means none are wrong.
Creating a successful content plan isn’t difficult, but it does take a bit of work. However, if you’re serious about achieving your marketing goals, it’s something you need to do.
And be aware: Your positions, goals, and criteria will evolve over time, and your content should evolve alongside it.
Now get out there and make something great.
More resources:
Featured Image: maybealice/Shutterstock
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