How to ensure your digital content strategy sets you up for success
When it comes to crafting a digital content strategy for your business, think about these 7 rules.
Rule #1: Focus on your Customer First
Whether it’s your digital content plan or your business plan, this rule should always be the top priority. From a content angle, understanding your target customers and their needs will guide you in the right direction. Provide them with what they seek and surprise them at every turn. A customer-focused digital content strategy should be central to your marketing plan. Think like your customers, write for them, engage with them, and most importantly… do right by them.
Rule #2: Be Consistent
Staying consistent is crucial for building loyalty. If you provide your customers with great content regularly, they’ll return for more and likely recommend you to others. A detailed publishing calendar is essential for a successful digital content strategy. It helps you keep track of your content and maintain a steady flow.
Rule #3: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone – Be Creative
While consistency in publishing is critical, the method of delivery can vary. Facebook updates, white papers and monthly contests are all great. But mix things up every now and then and create a funny video or utilize eye-catching imagery to convey your message to your target audience. Think of different ways to repurpose content to extend it’s reach. Be creative in your approach to set yourself apart.
Rule #4: Communicate
Talk with your customers… not at them. Engage them in interesting dialogue and make them feel acknowledged and appreciated. Companies with strong community managers truly set themselves apart from those who simply push content. Social media provides a huge opportunity to get closer to your target customer… take advantage of this whenever possible. You will learn more about your customers as well as how they perceive your company, products and/or services. Don’t forget the most important aspect of communication… be human. Unless of course, you are bacon… then, well… be bacon (definitely take a look at the excellent community management on the Baconator Facebook page).
Rule #5: Create Unique Content
What will keep your customers coming back to you for more? Giving them something that they can’t get anywhere else. Make sure you are providing unique, relevant and valuable content that your customers actually want or need. HubSpot does a remarkable job at this, consistently offering white papers, guides and templates that their target audience loves… which allows them to track inbound leads and market to them more personally based on their interests.
Rule #6: Curate Select Content
Fill the gaps between your original content with curated content. Be selective about what you share and make sure it fits your overall business and content strategy. When done correctly, content curation can be very beneficial. “A curated site that mixes created, contributed and gathered content sends a powerful message of inclusion to customers,” says Steve Rosenbaum, author of Curation Nation and CEO of Magnify.net.
Rule #7: Collaborate with Customers
User generated content can be extremely powerful in your overall digital content strategy. The best way to show the benefits and advantages of your product or service is through the voice of your customers. Whether it is via a picture of a customer using your product or a comment about your product on a social network – it provides validity that is often needed for a prospect to make the jump to being a customer. Lululemon provides an excellent example of this with their #thesweatlife campaign – which encourages customers to share photographs of them sweating it out in their Lululemon gear. Just take a look at all the amazing photo’s they have received.
Takeaway:
Crafting the optimal digital content strategy for your business will take on its own unique character and form – taking into consideration your resources, capabilities, intent and passion. Keeping these 7 simple rules in mind will keep you on the path to success. As with any strategy, continuous monitoring, measuring and adjusting are necessary to ensure you are always at your best.
Thanks for reading! What other rules do you think are crucial in ensuring a successful digital content strategy? I’d love to hear your thoughts.