Content marketing has become the preferred strategy for organizations when they make investments in growth-promoting activities. However, following through with the strategy is less common in many organizations. How do you get the “content motor” running and provide a regular stream of quality content and optimal distribution across platforms?
It is not an easy task, but luckily we have teamed up with Aske Kjærup, owner of Kjærup Kommunikation, who shares his experience on the field with us.
Areas of focus regarding content marketing strategy
SEMrush has created a larger investigation among companies and employees in marketing in more than 40 countries, which gives a good insight into the use of content marketing strategy in companies. The investigation shows that more than 97% of the investigated companies use content marketing and that 57% have a content marketing strategy that is more or less complete.
This means there is a large focus on this area. However, numbers from Brandmovers show that only 10% of enterprises think their content marketing is very efficient.
The majority of respondants think that they are only just taking the first steps with their content marketing strategies.
The SEMrush investigation points out three key areas which content marketers choose to focus more on to get results with their content marketing.
- SoMe and building communities
- Better content quality
- Promoting and distributing content
From strategic planning to execution
The need for content marketing is growing because the benefits from good content can be vital for the annual results of the enterprise. The intentions are good but the execution is… less than overwhelming. Only having a strategy is not enough.
Aske Kjærup, the owner of Kjærup Kommunikation, has for years been helping big and small companies with creating unique brands and content marketing. When it comes to strategy and execution of it he focuses on:
“Companies have an overall strategy, which they can easily use on an operational level. The good intentions must be more concrete already after the strategic planning. This will make it easier to act on these intentions”
There is hope for companies who wish to create better results with their content marketing. It’s time to enter the toolbox and grab a content plan.
Quality and consistency with a content plan
Having a strategy and being able to produce a kickass ebook is one thing but keeping up the pace and consistently creating quality content on a regular basis, is another.
It is hard to find a secure spot in the limelight in a competitive content marketing market. The quality must be at a high level every time. With a thoroughly prepared content plan, you have a much better point of departure when it is time to execute on the strategy, especially because you have planned ideas ahead of time. The team can then reflect upon the character of the content, and turn it into gold for the receivers.
This is in contrast to last-minute planning, where for example you wait until the start of the new year with planning the January campaign. Seasons and campaigns can hit you out of nowhere. Do you know the feeling?
Becoming a master of creating content does apparently not happen overnight. It takes patience, investment and commitment. A wise man once said: “Motivation is what gets you started. Commitment is what keeps you going”.
Executable content marketing with the circular planner
A circular planner allows you to include all dimensions in the content planning. The SoMe channels can be represented by rings in the circular planner so you will see future posts across channels at the same time. All channels should be represented in a content plan so maintenance of them all will be remembered. Besides, the circular overview makes it easier to communicate at the right time
About the circular planner, Aske says:
“At Kjærup Kommunikation we always create a circular planner when we initiate a new collaboration. Regardless if the customer operate B2B or B2C, it is important for us and the customer that we know who is doing what and when. The circular planner will be created based on intense brainstorming in which we discuss objectives, platforms, and relations between sender and receiver, format as well as tone of voice. We consider all factors so we know from the beginning what kind of content to produce and when.
“Afterwards, we start executing on the plan. Let’s assume we’re starting a collaboration with a B2B company that is operating on LinkedIn (company page or/and personal brand), the next step involves that we, on the basis of the client’s circular planner, start the content creation. For this, Kjærup Kommunikation prefers to be ahead of time, which means we strive to have the client’s content planned and ready a month ahead.”
“Planning with the circular planner is essential to us. We don’t blindly guess when creating content, the client is in good hands and knows at all times what the collaboration entails. Of course changes can occur and there’s room for that as well.”
Overview of all processes with the circular planner
When the top quality content has been produced, it is important that you don’t just publish it. All processes should be included in the circular planner, so there will be a follow-up on important details. If you have a new blog post or an e-book, it is important to make the content accessible across channels. And then it’s promotion time and the circular calendar is useful for this as well, as you can add to the plan when to spend more money on ads promoting the content and when to post it on the company or personal SoMe. Simply put: The content plan and the circular planner helps you stay one step ahead, so you don’t have to fall behind on executing your strategy and come up with emergency solutions.
The circular planner from Plandisc is developed to overcome challenges in relation to content marketing planning and execution. Best of luck with planning this year’s content marketing initiatives.
