We have all heard of the 5 W’s for journalism: who, what, when, where and why. They are the elements of information gathering needed to get the full story. But the 5 W’s do not just apply to journalism; they can also apply to your business strategy in marketing.

Whether it is a customer service representative trying to resolve a customer complaint, or your marketing team trying to come up with a new business strategy, the 5 W’s are essential to relaying concise information to your audience. In developing a sound business strategy for your content marketing efforts, here are a few tips to follow.

Who?

Within your marketing efforts you need to figure out two “who’s;” who is the audience you are trying to reach and who will be in charge of handling the content marketing efforts to obtain that audience. Let’s begin with who the audience is. You need to understand your community, including users and potential users, to succeed as an organization. Know your demographics and their interests. The better you know who they are, the better you can deliver value to that audience.

The second “who” is within the company itself; who will handle the marketing efforts? Will you hire an intern, someone within the company, or will you bring in an outside company to handle those efforts? Whatever is decided, make sure the “who” understands the above audience. You want them to have a clear understanding of what your business is all about, while also appealing to a wide audience.

What?

What makes your company different?

What makes your company different? It’s important to figure out what makes your company stand out from the crowd of alternatives. You do not want to provide the same information as company X to the audience you’re trying to reach. You want to make your company different. Think about your community as a whole; what do they care about? Then focus your efforts on that type of content.

For example, if you are a bakery and recently changed the type of eggs you buy due to the effects it has on your products, blog about that experience. Offer relevant advice that will help your audience.

When?

In the world we live in, time is money. Think about when you will be posting content. Will your company post once a month, once a week or once a day? This can be a difficult question to answer. However, a good rule of thumb is to post at least once a week, at the same time and day each week. The more regularly you post the better it is for SEO purposes and the more l your company’s content will be seen. Another tip: most online traffic occurs between 9a.m. and 3p.m. EST.

Where?

Where you are posting content is becoming increasingly important.

The obvious answer is your company’s website. However, you want to promote that content as well as produce it. Where you are posting content is becoming increasingly important. There are several options to choose from including creating a separate company blog on WordPress if your company website does not have a blog area. If you decide to go that route, make sure to link the blog to your company website so that people can access your content easily.

Why?

Asking “why” helps business leaders define what they want to achieve from their business strategy. Why are you doing all of this? Do you want to generate leads? Improve brand awareness? Become an industry leader? When your business figures out its goals, you can then create a marketing strategy that achieves those goals and works for them in the long run.

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