How to Create a Winning Content Strategy

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” -Sun Tzu

If you want your content to do well on social media, you have to be strategic about what you publish and when you publish it.

Follow these 10 steps to start creating a winning formula for your content marketing strategy.

Step #1 Define Your Purpose

Having a clear purpose in mind is the first step to creating great content. What do you hope to achieve with your content marketing? Do you want to increase brand awareness, lead generation, or user engagement? Think about your USP (unique selling proposition). How will you convey that in your content marketing? Don’t create content for the sake of it. Your content should align with your business goals and ethos. If it’s not relevant, it won’t be authentic to your readers.

Take Action: Set SMART goals for your social media marketing. For a goal to become a reality, it needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic, as well as time-specific, these are often called SMART goals.

Step #2 Identify Your Audience’s Needs

Once you have a clear why your next step is to identify exactly who is going to consume the content you create.

Every piece of content that you create should have an intended audience. As you think about creating content to support your social media marketing, focus your strategy around your audience’s needs and interests.

What kind of information is your audience looking for? What problems can you solve for them? Will they be wiser for having read your content?

Focusing more clearly on your audience will help you to create tailored content as well as help you structure your writing for the people you are trying to help. You can then tailor your content more specifically to match their needs. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to attract and engage different members of your audience. The key here is to really know your audience and their pain points and write content that specifically…