It might seem crazy what I’m about to say…

But it’s been more than six months since Pharrell’s mega-hit “Happy” was released, and I STILL crank up the radio whenever it comes on.  As a result, there is a little bit of time each day when this song is hopelessly stuck in my head.  As much as I love the beat, I love the lyrics even more.  After all, in a room without a roof, the sky is literally the limit.  No matter who you are, you can achieve infinite happiness when you don’t have any limits pushing down on you.  (And, yes, this is exactly what Pharrell meant when he wrote the song.)

If you want that no-holds-barred scenario to apply to your business, then you need a content marketing strategy that makes it possible.  Or, as Pharrell would say, you need a content strategy that feels like a room without a roof!

But how do you actually create it?

Have a crystal clear focus

It may sound ridiculous, but you can’t publish great content if you don’t have anything to say!  These days, so many business owners have heard about the importance of content marketing that they post any ol’ thing just to say they’ve got fresh content.  Unfortunately, that approach is nothing but a waste of time.

Remember, people are logging onto the web to get answers to their questions and solutions to their problems.  The last thing they want to see is some article, blog post, video, or ebook of yours that rambles on and on without a point.  If you make your readers feel like they’ve wasted their time by reading your content, they’ll never do business with you!

That’s why the very first step in creating your content strategy is to define exactly what your focus is.  What do you have expertise in?  How can you provide value to your readers?  Until you answer those two questions, you shouldn’t post a single word online!

Figure out how to connect with your audience

Who’s going to read all of this content that you publish?  How old are they?  What kind of education do they have?  What makes them angry, scared, happy, and sad?

If you don’t know who you’re talking to, you’ll never be able to connect with your readers.  Unfortunately, if there’s no connection, the odds of anyone reading your content and then going to buy your product are very, very slim.  Never forget that people like to do business with other PEOPLE.  Your readers need to see you as an actual human being who wants to do right by them.  If your web content just rehashes a bunch of corporate speak — instead of feeling like a genuine, one-on-one conversation — it will never build the relationship that you need it to.

Share, share, and then share some more

A great content marketing strategy isn’t done until you’ve actually come up with the MARKETING part!  You can publish the greatest content in the world, but if no one knows it’s out there, it will never do you any good.

You only need to spend a few seconds on Twitter to understand how posts can get lost in the shuffle.  So, be sure to share each piece of content a few times — a tactic some people call “recirculation”.  (Want to see how powerful this tactic can be?  Just read the details of this experiment!)

Whatever you do, though, don’t become “that guy”.  You know, the one who Tweets the same link 27 times in five minutes.  Instead, spread things out — like Tweeting the same blog post once a day for a couple of days, or Tweeting a few hours apart so that you reach people in every time zone.

And, of course, don’t just limit your content promotion efforts to Twitter!  The social media world extends far beyond those 140 characters.

Follow this advice, and you’ll have happy readers, which translates into a happy bottom line!  And, best of all, these tips can be used over and over indefinitely.  Before you know it, your biggest challenge won’t be publishing and promoting great content.  Instead, it will actually be getting “Happy” out of your head!