Developing an effective content marketing strategy

[9868john]

Hi,

I'm building a content marketing strategy for our business, we already produce loads of content; webinars, videos blog posts etc but putting it all into a strategy to follow seems like a daunting task.

I am looking for strategy templates and or examples that I can use, I started on a spreadsheet with content / distribution and channels but i'd like to compare with other examples.

Heres a link to the spreadsheet i've done as a draft so far, i've allowed comments on the document so any advice is welcomed!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gHjvb4nkfddzOLW278G-lr5W0XkpQofSFDx-tDWVfRg/edit?usp=sharing

[MickEdwards]

I would refine your social strategy so that you don't post the same to all platforms.  For example, someone may link up on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook and they are likely to get cheesed off with repetition all over, it can be spammy.  Also, I think there needs to be some trial and error - the LinkedIn audience will quite possibly respond to content that won't work effectively on Google+, and so on.  Just a thought.

[DonnaDuncan]

I'm confused when you talk about a content strategy and your spreadsheet looks like it's addressing only a subset of what I would expect in a strategy - that what, when and where.

So maybe I'm just caught up in semantics, but I'm really wondering about your objectives, who your audience is, where they like to hang out, the information they want and need, and how you'll measure progress and/or know when adjustment is needed. I think those questions need to be asked and answered before you get to your spreadsheet.

• The content marketing institute has a very useful guide for developing a content marketing strategy that I look at from time-to-time.
• This mozinar provides some excellent tools and examples.
• I also like this 2012 Moz post by Stephanie Chang because of it's practical and manageable for most small business owners. I have no idea if you're a big or small business. Just say'in I find it easier to learn by starting small.

I agree with Michael Edwards, that you maybe don't need to post the same thing to all platforms. The one restriction we all face is time and ties back to my other questions. Do you really need to be in all those places? I'd start narrower and have a plan to spread after have met with some success. The plan would include how to reuse existing content. For example, bundling post charts and images into slideshare presentations or webinars.