By Cath Dickinson
We’ve all been there. It’s the start of the year and you’re bursting with big ideas. You feel energised about what’s ahead. Content marketing, here we come! Fast forward to 12 months down the track and many of your big ideas have fallen by the wayside. If you’ve ever thought “this will be the year our blog finally gets off the ground” or “we’re going to be more consistent with our social media content”, these are the tips for you for the coming year.
1. PLANNING
Start early
Don’t let your wishlist items stay on that wishlist forever.
There’s nothing like a new year to see us feeling invigorated and ready to turn ideas into action. But, let’s face it, we’re all busy. The further into the year we get, the easier it is to put off non-essential projects until later.
To avoid this, try to break down the greater goal into smaller, more manageable objectives. Ticking things off early means that you’ll build momentum and motivation to see it through.
Think strategically
If you don’t already have a crystal-clear understanding of your brand, audience and value proposition, you need to. This information should always inform your content, giving you direction and a strong point of view.
Once these are clearly defined, you can put yourself in your audience’s shoes. What do they want to hear about? On which platform and in what format do they want to hear it? How can you deliver this content to your audience in an appealing way that utilises your brand’s perspective?
When you have a content marketing strategy underpinning everything you do, new ideas, production and results will flow more naturally. Plus, you’ll stand out from competitors simply because your content has been developed from the ground up for your brand’s unique voice.
Analyse platforms
It might sound crazy, but you don’t have to keep posting on Facebook constantly, just because it’s one of the ‘default’ social media platforms. If your audience isn’t engaging with you there, there’s a reason. There’s a wide world of content platforms to explore, each with their pros and cons. You’ll achieve your goals faster if you’re smart about the platforms you select.
The start of the year is a great time to delve into the data and determine which platforms are delivering the highest quality results. If you’re finding that LinkedIn followers convert well to clients or that Instagram reels are generating extra engagement, focus on those areas.
Don’t have data on a particular platform? Do some research! If your content plan for the year is a little ambitious, you’ll appreciate having a clearly defined list of priorities when it comes to production and execution.
Aim for everything you produce to be genuinely engaging. It might involve more work, but the extra effort will pay off as your audience develops, as will the emotional connection to your content – and, subsequently, your brand.
2. PRODUCTION
Create a schedule
When you don’t have a routine, it’s easy to let tasks slip off your radar. To set yourself up for success, create a content plan and come up with as many ideas as you can ahead of time. On social media channels, it’s best to complement planned content with more immediate posts that reflect current conversations and build relevance.
For example, if your goal is to publish two blog posts per month, you’ll find it much easier to stick to your production plan if you’ve done an annual blog brainstorm session early in the year, noting a few bullet-point prompts for each article in advance.
Engage your audience
It’s critical that you take the time to craft content that offers value to your audience. You could make them laugh, provide them with interesting information, inspire them, satisfy their curiosity or engage them in another way.
Aim for everything you produce to be genuinely engaging. It might involve more work, but the extra effort will pay off as your audience develops, as will the emotional connection to your content – and, subsequently, your brand.
Keep it varied
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Would you be excited to see the same content over and over again? Chances are, the answer is no.
Audiences are much more likely to respond positively to a well-considered mix of content. As an example, your audience on Instagram may respond to different styles of content and messaging than your audience on LinkedIn. With this in mind, it’s best practice to tailor content rather than sharing the same posts on every platform.
Recognise that each platform likely contains unique subsets of your audience. Are your Instagram followers exactly the same types of people as your mailing list subscribers? How are they similar? And how are they different? When you understand the mindset of each audience niche, you can develop content that’s aligned to their emotions, inspiring a greater response.
3. OPTIMISATION
Dare to be different
The fact is, if your content doesn’t deliver new information or a fresh take in some way, you’ll have a hard time connecting with your audience.
A new year is an opportunity to achieve cut-through for your message and test fresh ideas. After each piece of content is published, review your performance data. How can you optimise and evolve your content? How can you stand out amongst your competitors?
Look ahead
Use the past to inform the future. Which learnings will you bring forward for your year’s content marketing work? With proper planning and structure, you can become more efficient each year, building systems and production routines. This gives you the space to continue meeting your targets and achieving your goals.
Regular, meaningful reporting throughout the year will ensure that your content marketing continues to grow. We all know it’s easy to focus on the wins, but it’s also important to investigate the ideas that didn’t succeed and why. This knowledge will guide your decisions on where to focus your time and budget as you move ahead.