marketing plan

What Your Content Marketing Plan Needs

Don’t expect to skip over your content marketing planning phase and still be successful.   You want to develop a plan that is engaging for your audience and be sure that you keep it up-to-date and relevant for your readers.  In this article, we will discuss the 3 parts that your content marketing plan needs.

Setting SMART Goals

There are both smart and non-smart goals.  Non-smart goals are those that don’t fit the S.M.A.R.T. criteria.  Below is the S.M.A.R.T. goal criteria:

  • Your goal should be Specific / Significant
  • The goal should be Measurable / Meaningful
  • Your goal should be Achievable / Acceptable
  • The goal should be Realistic / Rewarding
  • Your goal should be Time-based / Tangible

Setting SMART goals eliminates what is irrelevant and guides you to success much quicker.  They help you to focus primarily on accomplishing your goals.  They are structured with directional paths to take you to your goals more timely.  Visit Goal Buddy for goal setting templates that you may find helpful.  You may have to find what works best for your business through trial and error but you will still be able to reach your goals quicker than if you skip the planning phase.  For more information on SMART goals see our previous post, Can S.M.A.R.T. Goals Move You to the Top?

marketing audience

Learn Who Your Audience Is

If you don’t know who you are creating content for, it’s likely that your content marketing plan will not be successful.  Quality will win over quantity in any race.  One of the best ways to ensure you are providing quality content is by knowing who your audience is.  Once you understand who your audience is, and what their needs are, you can create content that is geared toward their needs.

You will be able to present yourself as an expert because you are able to identify with their needs and their obstacles.  If you fail to establish who your audience is, your hard work is a waste of time.

Create Shareable and Valuable Content

Lastly, the main factor in a successful content marketing plan is your content itself.  When you create content that relates well with your audience it’s much easier to convince them to follow your call to action.

Your audience will embrace you as an authority and will need very little convincing to join your mailing list.  They will be more likely to follow your recommendations, and you will be able to easily monetize your content by inserting your own products or those you are affiliated with.

Outsourcing Your Content Creation

If you’re not willing to spend all your energy creating content, then how about you leave it to the experts?

Outsourcing is a great solution to help get your content marketing strategy moving along. Of course, the downside of outsourcing is the expense.  But if it’s an investment you’re willing to make then be sure to choose the right freelancer or agency for your business needs.  See our previous post, Outsourcing Your Content Marketing, for additional tips on outsourcing.

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