“Content Marketing is a commitment, not a campaign.” ~ Jon Buscall
It is absolutely crucial to connect content with business objectives; emulating a ‘winging it’ attitude without a specified content objective is a major mistake most content writers make. Before the content team of an eminent digital marketing agency dives into a new project, they carry out extensive research regarding the client’s business goals, their target audience, potential CTAs, targeted SEO keywords, etc. Not being armed with such critical info will only lead to ineffective and unsatisfactory end results.
What happens when you do not set business goals for your content?
With no business goals in place, the content does not amount to anything worthwhile for the client, which results in a shadow of doubt being cast upon your content marketing abilities! Also, it makes your job harder, as you will be unable to produce valuable material without benchmarks to measure success. When there are no available metrics to inform you about the desired topics and formats, along with an effective SEO content writing strategy, the entire marketing process hinges upon misdirected and lacklustre content. It is definitely a bleak and unproductive premise.
Hence, when you have a carefully thought-out plan in place, along with measurable objectives around which you can create content, you can go about the process in a strategic manner. This also allows content to complement other marketing efforts, such as SEO and social media advertisements. For writers, objectives function as guidelines for the pieces they create, as they help them target their content for specific audiences who are most likely to become customers for the client’s business. It leads to the placing of more effective calls-to-action, that guide readers towards the next logical step to be taken from a customer point-of-view. In short, business goals are the foundation for solid content creation efforts and compelling marketing campaigns.
Connecting content with business goals
Let us look at the ways in which we can shape and execute content to cater to business objectives:
1. Prioritise objectives that are paramount to the business: Before creating content, content marketers should give importance to objectives that take precedence over others. Ask yourself questions like, should the end result lead to more email signups or free trial sign ups? What should the definitive call to action be? Once you are able to define the most crucial outcomes, you will be able to make a priority list and work accordingly.
2. Figure out what your audience wants/needs: Gauging audience preferences can be a daunting task, but it sure goes a long way. You can take the help of online surveys, customer service insights and site data to see what kind of information/content is enjoyable for the target audience. Collaborating with the social media team can help you gain insight regarding the queries/suggestions/reviews of your client audience on online platforms.
3. Create content topics that meet business goals and audience preference: Create a running list of topics that are relevant to client objectives and answer common audience queries while being engaging and interesting. You can also cross-refer your list of topics with your SEO strategy and social media teams to see how your content can best complement their efforts.
4. Set SMART goals to measure success/failure: Goals that are SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound – can help you measure the levels of success vis-à-vis your content efforts. Create benchmarks that can help you ascertain what’s workable and what’s not. Document those outcomes for future reference and improvement.
5. Let the data speak for future content strategy: Based on the data gathered by you and your team, work towards shaping your future content. If specific topics or formats work better than others, be sure to introduce such elements into your content from time to time. It is also important to remain flexible and aware in terms of changing trends.
Chart out your objectives today
Be sure to plan content in a way that produces consistent results and drives the business forward. It is okay to push pause on content creation for a while, in order to invest more time in establishing objectives. Take the liberty to add structures, benchmarks, and parameters that will work best for your content.
