Content Writing

Essentials for Developing & Implementing Effective Content Marketing

Writer / Author Christopher Vickers, Atlanta-based Brand, Advertising + Content Marketing & Communications Strategist & Creator

Content marketing is a valuable tool with which to engage and connect with an audience, generate leads, increase sales and build brand loyalty. This article explores the fundamentals of content marketing, its implementation and trends with a focus on efficient, effective practical application.

What is Content Marketing? Proper content marketing is a long-term strategic approach (akin to training for and running in a marathon) to creating, distributing and measuring relevant, valuable content, consistently over time, to attract and retain a defined audience, which ultimately results in profitable customer action. For most companies this means delivering a combination of information and experience that resonates with customers throughout their “buyer’s journey”.

Companies use content marketing to engage - and typically to educate - target audiences about a variety of topics relevant to customer interests, challenges and goals. Relevant content - like organic social media posts, articles, white papers, videos and podcasts - can increase company awareness, familiarity and consideration and establish it as expert within a category, growing positive perceptions and associations about it, its employees, products and services. This in turn can increase likeability, trust and consideration in crowded markets. Content marketing can also help improve search engine rankings, generate leads, support sales efforts, increase sales and help grow customer loyalty.

For example a technology company might create and distribute how-to videos, buying guides and comparison charts to help educate customers about their category of products and services (including their own), key factors to consider and to help them make more intelligent decisions.

The Main Components The main components of effective content marketing include strategy, creation, distribution and measurement. Herein is an overview of the key phases and how to perform each. For greater depth and insight see my related articles Content Strategy Essentials and Content Creation Essentials.

Content Strategy Content strategy is the cornerstone of content marketing efforts and includes a variety of work, typically in a defined sequence. To get started, most practitioners:

• Conduct market research: This can include speaking with company sales people, interviewing customers, using surveys (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Typeform), focus groups, secondary research and the internet (including AI) to gain a broad understanding of your target audience, competitors and market dynamics in your category.

• Develop customer / buyer personas: Create three to five detailed profiles of your ideal customers which capture and summarize relevant demographics and their “pain points”, challenges, motivations and goals. Tools like HubSpot's Make My Persona or Xtensio can help streamline this process.

• Map the customer / buyer persona purchase “journeys”: Outline the steps ideal customers take from pre-awareness to purchase and beyond to identify key touchpoints (opportunities) for content and experience delivery. Tools like UXPressia or Smaply can assist in creating visual journey maps.

Set Clear Goals and Objectives Establishing clear measurable content marketing goals is important to set and manage expectations. Examples include:

• Increase website traffic by 30% in six months

• Generate 500 qualified leads per quarter through content downloads

• Improve customer retention rates by 15% through educational content

Use project management tools like Asana or Trello to track progress towards these goals.

Perform a Content Audit and Gap Analysis Evaluate existing content assets and identify areas where new or additional content is needed to support your marketing objectives. Tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Semrush's Content Audit tool can help automate this process.

Perform Keyword Research and SEO Identify relevant keywords and phrases your target audience uses during search and optimize your content accordingly. Tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz Pro offer comprehensive keyword research capabilities.

Content Development Planning and Creation Develop a comprehensive editorial calendar based on your personas, objectives and resources. It should include short persona descriptions, content topics, formats and timing. Use tools like CoSchedule, Monday.com, Asana or Airtable to help develop editorial calendars and for content planning. Content types include:

• Blog posts, articles, white papers and case studies (WordPress, Medium)

• Videos and audio, e.g. expert interviews (YouTube, Vimeo, iTunes, Spotify)

• Infographics and buyer’s guides (Canva, Piktochart)

• Social media posts (Buffer, Hootsuite)

Focus on creating content that is engaging, insightful and valuable and is aligned with your objectives and brand voice. This might include product tutorials, industry insights and educational pieces about your company’s field of expertise. Use tools like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor for writing assistance and Canva or Adobe Creative Suite for visual content creation.

Content Distribution and Promotion There are a variety of different kinds of paid, owned and earned channels with which to distribute and measure content including:

• Company owned analog and digital media and events including websites and trade show / conference participation

• Search engines including Google, Bing and Yahoo

• Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Youtube and Facebook. Hootsuite and Sprinklr are popular management tools.

• Email platforms like Mailchimp and Constant Contact.

• Influencer partnerships (see AspireIQ and Upfluence) and industry publications (see BuzzSumo and Traackr).

• Paid promotion on relevant platforms including search and social media like Google, Bing, X and Threads.

Each channel has strengths and weaknesses, based on persona interests, challenges and goals, purchase journeys, channels competitors use, budget, objectives and so on.

Measurement and Analysis Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) like website traffic, time on page, social media engagement (like, share, comment, re-post), CTR (click-thru) conversion rates, downloads, lead generation etc. Use analytics tools like Google Analytics, HotJar, Crazy Egg, Mixpanel or Amplitude to gain insights and refine your content strategy over time.

Reporting and Optimization Keep colleagues and managers up-to-date with regular reports that highlight key performance indicators, how you plan to optimize your efforts, insights and forecasts for future efforts. Data visualization tools like Tableau or Google Data Studio can summarize data and educate and inform effectively. Use feedback to continuously refine your strategy, focusing on what resonates with your audience and is works best.

Content Marketing Resources Whether you use internal or external resources will depend on company needs, resources, budget etc. In either case ensure contributors have requisite skills including research, strategy, SEO, creation (writers, designers, audio / video producers) distribution and measurement / analytics. Project management tools like Basecamp or Monday.com can help coordinate and streamline team efforts.

Content Governance and Workflow Whether your company employs 20 or 20,000, establish clear guidelines for content creation (including authors and contributors), approval processes (especially by internal subject matter experts/SMEs and legal especially in heavily regulated industries) and brand consistency. Implement efficient workflows to streamline content production and ensure quality control. Tools like Workfront or Wrike can help manage content workflows.

Content Marketing Tools and Technologies Additional tools and technology which helps make content marketing efforts more efficient and effective include content management system (CMS) platforms like WordPress and Drupal, analytics platforms like Google and Adobe Analytics and collaboration tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams. As needed, consider integrating with e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. Marketing automation platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, Eloqua (Oracle) and Marketo (Adobe) are all-in-one creation, distribution, measurement and management tools which help businesses schedule and automate repetitive tasks like email, schedule and manage social media and capture, store and track leads, accelerating and streamlining the the content marketing process.

Case Studies Two popular examples of category content marketing excellence include Red Bull energy drinks and John Deere agriculture equipment. Below are summaries of both in case study format.

Red Bull Energy Drinks

• Challenge: Red Bull needed to differentiate itself in the crowded energy drink market to engage a young active target audience.

• Opportunity: Create and use high quality content to associate the brand with extreme sports and adventurous lifestyles i.e., high energy.

• Approach: Red Bull created Red Bull Media House, an internal agency which produces high-quality content including videos, TV shows, magazines, music and more featuring extreme sports and daring feats. They use platforms like YouTube, Instagram and their own website for distribution. Some of their best and most exciting programming is broadcast on TV.

• Results: Red Bull has become synonymous with extreme sports and adventure, and in the process expanded its brand recognition and grown sales and market share. Its YouTube channel has almost 20 million subscribers and succeeded in creating a unique brand that extends beyond the product.

John Deere Agriculture Equipment

• Challenge: John Deere wanted to build long-term relationships with farmers and establish itself as an authority in the agricultural industry.

• Opportunity: Provide valuable, educational content to farmers to help them improve their businesses and grow brand familiarity, consideration, trust and sales.

• Approach: John Deere launched The Furrow magazine in 1895, focusing on educational content for farmers. The magazine continues today in print and digital formats, offering insights on agricultural technology, farming best practices and useful industry trends. They've expanded their content strategy to include a robust website, social media presence and YouTube channel.

• Results: The Furrow has helped John Deere build and maintain a position as a trusted leader in the agricultural sector for over a century, fostering customer engagement and loyalty.

Emerging Technologies Generative AI is revolutionizing content marketing across industries. Some applications include:

• Personalized content recommendations based on user behavior and preferences (e.g., Adobe Target, Dynamic Yield)

• Automated content creation for product descriptions and basic marketing copy (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc.)

• Chatbots for customer service and guided shopping experiences (e.g., Intercom, Drift)

• Predictive analytics for content performance and audience targeting (e.g., Albert.ai, Cortex)

Some of the pros of AI in content marketing include 1) Increased efficiency and scalability; 2) Enhanced personalization capabilities; 3) Data-driven decision making and 4) Improved customer experiences. Some of the cons include 1) Potential loss of human creativity and nuance; 2) Data privacy concerns; 3) Additional costs of time and effort to learn and implement successfully and 4) Risk of over-automation leading to impersonal interactions.

Based on my experience and news and reviews to date, the pros far outweigh the cons. For most companies AI has been and will continue to be an easy-to-learn tool which substantially improves content marketing efficiency and effectiveness, saving time and reducing costs.

Evolving Content Formats A variety of newer content formats have and are continuing to emerge, including 1) Interactive content like configurators, AR product try-ons using tools like Ceros and Thinglink; 2) Voice-optimized content for smart speakers and voice search, leveraging tools like Voiceflow and Alexa Skills Kit and 3) User-generated content campaigns which boost authenticity and engagement, facilitated by platforms like TINT and Stackla. Depending on the type of business, target audience and goals, most are worth a look and further exploration.

Conclusion Content marketing offers businesses a powerful way to connect with customers and increase engagement, consideration, sales and loyalty. Content marketing can help companies establish thought leadership in their categories and create meaningful relationships with their audience. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, those who adapt and modernize their approach and use of content marketing will be best positioned for success.

References & Sources: Hubspot, AhRefs, eWizard, Hootsuite, BackLinko, Wordstream, Buzzstream, Jasper.