How to Develop a Content Strategy That Actually Works

You can produce content all day, every day, but unless you have a plan, you’re just throwing content at the wall to see what sticks. A strong content strategy isn’t a “nice-to-have”.

It’s essential to your website’s success, responsible for growth, engagement, and conversions.

And guess what? 90% of businesses are already using content marketing and 70% claim they have a better ROI from it. So, how can you become one of the winners in content marketing?

In this post, you’ll learn step by step how to develop a content strategy that generates results that you can track. Learn how to put together a plan that meets your goals and creates meaningful business results that last!

Let’s get started.

#1 Define Clear Goals and Objectives

Why Goals Matter More Than You Think

Here’s the thing: without defined goals, your content strategy is a ship without a rudder – drifting and useless. You can write blog posts and make videos and be on social all day long, but without a clear why, you’re wasting time and money.

So what exactly should your goals be? They must be tied directly to your business results.” Are you seeking to grow brand recognition? Generate leads? Retain customers? Position yourself as an authority? Make SMART goals.

SMART Goals

SMART stands for – Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time bound. For example:

See the difference? A SMART goal provides a tangible achievement, which makes it easier to gauge success and stay motivated.

The Proof Is in the Numbers

Here’s a huge stat to keep you motivated: 87% of marketers say that content marketing drove brand awareness, and 74% directly generated leads. It they can do it, you can do it. Begin by asking yourself: What business outcomes am I trying to drive with my content?

#2 Know Your Audience Inside Out

One of the most effective ways to get to know your audience is by generating audience personas. These are in-depth descriptions of your ideal customers, including their demographics, interests, pain points, and online behavior. Consider them as imaginary personas that typify your intended user base.

For instance, if you’re selling eco-friendly cleaning supplies, one persona might be “Eco-Mom Emily,” a 35-year-old suburban mother who values sustainability and buys household essentials online. It will help tailor your content to her needs.

After you have created your personas, leverage them to personalize your content. Take the company SAP, for instance. They customized content for 19 unique customer segments, generating $3.7 million in new opportunities for marketing and more than $50 million in pipeline revenue. Personalization is effective – and it can yield massive dividends.

#3 Keyword and Trend Research

If nobody can find your content, does it exist at all? Most likely not – at least not as far as search engines are concerned. That’s where keyword research comes into play: Finding the right keywords helps your content get discovered when people look for topics relevant to your business.

Topic Clusters

Stop focusing on key words individually, start thinking in topic clusters instead.

Example: The food website Allrecipes nicely leverages topic clusters with pillar pages like a meal type like “Breakfast” and cluster pages like an ingredient such as “Avocado Toast.” The result? Increased organic search traffic and user engagement.

Staying Ahead of Trends

SEO is not just about keywords but also about relevance. Monitor industry trends to keep your content timely and competitive. Use tools like Google Trends and BuzzSumo to help identify topics before your competitors do.

#4 Map Out a Strategic Content Plan

Content marketing is about being consistent. Without a plan, you’ll end up posting randomly. Use a content calendar, the organizational endgame you’ve been waiting for.

Branching Out With Your Content Types

Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket. Diversify your content types to cater to varying audience preferences. Blogs work great for SEO; videos are appealing to the visual mind; infographics distill complicated data into simple, understandable visuals; podcasts cater to multitaskers; and case studies develop trust and credibility.

Leverage Scheduling

Have a plan for what you’ll write about, when you’ll publish it, and how you’ll promote it. Make planning easier using a tool like Trello, Asana, or Notion.

#5 Develop Good Quality Content That Adds Value

Every time and all times – Quality over Quantity (Q4Q)

The fact is, average content doesn’t suffice anymore. And in the sea of online noise, your content needs to provide value to the reader. Resolve issues, respond to inquiries and implement solutions.

The Power of Storytelling

Stories resonate with people in an emotional level and make your content more memorable. Take Airbnb, for example. Its travel guides showcase local tales that help build trust and wanderlust and are likely to help spur more bookings. Done right, storytelling can change the shape of your brand.

Authenticity Builds Trust

People crave authenticity. Show real people, user-generated content, and testimonials. Create a dedicated community who can follow real customers and their stories.

#6 Optimize for SEO and User-Friendliness

You need your content to be found, and search engine optimization (SEO) is how you get that to happen. You can also optimize headlines, meta descriptions and images. Internal links can help keep your users engaged and moving through your site.

User experience (UX) is what keeps people on your site after your search engine optimized content has gotten them there. Make sure your site is mobile responsive, loads fast, and is easy to navigate. Keep in mind that most users view content on mobile, so optimizing for mobile is not an option – it is a necessity.

#7 Measure, Analyze, and Refine

Monitor success metrics like traffic, engagement, leads generated and conversion rates. Leverage analytics to find out what works and what could be done better.

Content marketing never stands still. Test out new formats, themes, and approaches informed by performance data. Keep ahead of the game and always continue to adjust your strategy.

Final Thoughts

A great content strategy is no longer just a marketing strategy – it’s a growth strategy for your website and your business.

With 87% of marketers claiming it has helped them to drive brand awareness and 74% saying it has assisted in lead generation, the proof is in.