So I bought this snazzy new chess set. But here’s the thing: I’m no chess prodigy. It’s no secret that I like to #livecolorfully – the pops of colour in this chess set really spoke to me. And I thought it would be a fun activity to do on our staycation and on cozy nights in, quarantine-style.
One sunny day this summer, my husband and I played a game of chess on a whim, kicking back in our patio chairs, cold beers in-hand. Truth be told, we really had no clue about the difference between a pawn and a rook and a knight and a queen and the like. We were definitely not well versed on the key motivations and tactical moves of each chess piece on the board – winging it with no clear plan and googling the rules of the game on-the-fly. We were just eager to get started.
While there’s a time and place for enthusiasm and spontaneity and the fail fast/fail often mantra, we probably would have enjoyed the pace of the game more, had we gotten the lay of the land ahead of time and flipped through a beginner’s guide to the ins and outs of chess.
It got me thinking about content strategy and how it can level up your game for your brand or business. How important it is to do the legwork and not skip over the “boring” parts to rush into the action. (Though, to be honest, content strategy is my jam and I get pretty jazzed about this work!)
So, where to begin? Without getting too granular here, let’s walk through some key components of content strategy to help you get started.
Strategic Objectives – Think big picture. What are you hoping to achieve? What are your end goals? What is your point A to your point B?
Buyer Personas – Who is your target audience? Who are you trying to reach? This is where buyer personas come in to play. Paint a picture of your ideal customer(s): what are their needs, wants and aspirations; where do they come from; what do they do; where and how do they spend their time? Buyer personas act as guideposts as you aim to create content that is meaningful, resonates and inspires action.
Storytelling – If there’s one acronym to keep in mind, this is it: WIIFM. What’s In It For Me. And by “me”, I don’t mean “you”, I mean “them”. Them = your buyer personas. Them = your target audience. Think about their pain points and their aspirations – and how you can help them. It’s not just a hard-sell; be authentic and genuinely helpful. Nurture conversations and always keep your customer at the heart of your brand storytelling. Remember, it’s not about you.
Platforms – I’m going to throw in a few age-old sayings here as food for thought…
Just because the cool kids are doing it, doesn’t mean that you have to, too. With the constantly evolving arena of social media and digital marketing, there’s often a shiny new platform or flavour of the week making a grand entrance every few months. Resist the temptation to jump on the bandwagon.
Less is more. Don’t feel like your brand needs to be everywhere. It’s not realistic to expect (especially when you’re just getting started) to be on every social media channel. Start by picking one or two platforms – do these one or two things well vs. trying to do everything sub-par.
If you build it, they will come. While this saying holds true in many instances, it doesn’t necessarily ring true for social media. You need to be where your target audience lives and spends their time. Think about your buyer personas and where they hang out. As digital marketing author Kim Garst says, “conversations are happening whether you are there or not.” Be there.
Path to Purchase – Plan and execute your content strategy to get them to the destination: converting into a new or repeat customer of your brand. Or better yet, a brand advocate that helps spread the word about all the amazing things that you do! Be there every step of the way to shepherd them through the funnel from awareness > interest > desire > action.
While this is not an exhaustive list when it comes to building a content strategy, it can help get the wheels in motion and steer the conversation in the right direction.
Looking to get a content strategy and roadmap in place to drive your brand forward? Let’s chat.
- michelle