Content Marketing vs Content Strategy: What's The Difference?
But first, a story.
When my brother was 8, he had his eyes on a new set of Legos.
It wasn’t a generic Lego set with pointy pieces that found their way beneath my feet too many times for my liking. No, these had metal pieces with electrical parts, batteries, and screws that came together to form a remote-controlled sports car.
After weeks of begging, my brother finally got his dream car. As was his ritual when he got new Legos, he excitedly ripped open the box and poured all the pieces on the floor. Suddenly, his dream became a nightmare.
As he stared at the mound of parts before him, he became overwhelmed. They were a lot. Like, a lot a lot.
That’s the reality of content marketing. It is so intricate and has so many bits and pieces that need to keep moving in synergy. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. But that’s where having a content strategy comes in.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the distinction between content marketing and content strategy, and why you need both.
What exactly is Content Strategy?
 |
| Tobi the Martian needs to read his blueprint carefully before building |
Content strategy is the comprehensive blueprint that guides the creation, management, and distribution of all content associated with your business.
According to Moz, “Content strategy is the ongoing process of developing a comprehensive plan to ideate, design, create, share, and promote content that aligns with your brand, speaks to your target audience, and is measured against specific goals.”
Think about a blueprint for a building. Before anyone starts construction, there needs to be a meticulous blueprint that maps out how the building will be designed, what materials will be used, where doors and sinks and appliances will go, with precise measurements.
Can you imagine trying to build a house without a blueprint? The entire construction project will descend into chaos!
And that’s what happens when you do content marketing without a defined content strategy.
Unlike a literal blueprint, however, a content strategy is ongoing and dynamic.
New communication channels and technology are always popping up, so you need to adjust your strategy to suit the market. To make sure you're on the right track, here are some important questions to adapt your content strategy with:
1. Why are we making this content?
- What's the reason behind it?
2. Who do we want to talk to with our content?
- Who are we trying to reach?
3. What do we want people to do when they see our content?
- What actions or responses are we aiming for?
4. How will we let people know about our content once it's ready?
- How will we advertise it?
5. How will people discover our content?
- How will they come across it?
6. What kinds of content do we plan to make?
- What is the content format?
7. Where and when will we put our content out there?
- Which channels and times are best for sharing it?
8. Who's responsible for making our content?
- Who's in charge of creating it?
9. How will we make sure our style and brand are consistent across different platforms?
- How will we keep everything looking and sounding the same?
Remember, developing your content strategy involves more than just answering these questions, but they're a good starting point. Your ultimate plan should use these answers as a foundation and then include more research and careful planning.
What exactly is Content Marketing?
 |
| Tobi the Martian is now ready to start building |
According to the Content Marketing Institute, “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
While not every piece of content marketing directly promotes a sale, the valuable information you offer ultimately plays a role in drawing and converting your intended audience, thus fueling the growth of your business.
Content marketers employ a diverse array of content types, and this variety keeps expanding as the digital world develops, spanning from traditional blogs to the dynamic realms of platforms like TikTok and beyond.
The most favoured content formats are:
1. Email Campaigns
2. Social Media Posts (such as Instagram Reels or TikTok videos)
3. Infographics
4. Whitepapers
5. Case Studies
6. Webinars
7. Quizzes
8. Articles or Listicles
These content forms serve as valuable tools for engaging and connecting with a wide-ranging audience across various online platforms.
What is the difference between Content Marketing and Content Strategy?
It's likely that if you've been involved in crafting content for a brand, you've already contributed to the content marketing process and followed a content strategy.
As you can tell, there's quite an overlap between your content strategy and your content marketing activities. However, it's important to remember that they have different roles and goals.
What are their goals?
Content marketing focuses on building brand recognition, attracting potential customers, and tapping into existing demand. It does this by turning ideas into valuable content assets and distributing them to the target audience.
Your content strategy serves as a compass, offering guidance and coherence to these content marketing efforts, giving them purpose and direction. It makes sure that every piece of content you put out aligns with the primary goal of advancing your business.
What do they involve?
Content marketing brings together your marketing resources to craft and sharing valuable content assets across the right channels to establish and enhance a brand's online presence. This process also encompasses the crucial step of analyzing data, allowing for adjustments to content campaigns as needed.
Content Strategy spans the entire content lifecycle, from the initial stages, including research, content audit, and the establishment of content guidelines, to the production phase, encompassing content creation, distribution processes, and the use of tools. They oversee the post-production aspects, such as content promotion, evaluation, and in-depth analysis.
What are their outcomes?
Content marketing serves as a catalyst for multiple positive outcomes, including heightened brand traffic, enhanced authority, increased trust, successful lead generation, improved conversion rates, and strengthened customer loyalty.
On the other hand, content strategy operates as the architect behind content marketing systems, orchestrating the creation of content that positions a brand as the ultimate solution to customers' needs.
Why do you need both content strategy and content marketing for success?
 |
| Tobi and his friend Didi are happy now that his house is completed |
Good content marketing can not exist independently of content strategy and vice versa.
If marketing is the cash, strategy is the rubber band. If marketing is Bonnie, strategy is Clyde. If marketing is cake, strategy is the plate it’s served up on.
Think about it.
Why bother planning if you don't put them into action? And how can you achieve marketing success without a well-structured plan?
Strategy is the foundation of marketing practices. It works in harmony with marketing to help you reach your business objectives.
Imagine content marketing as the process of cooking a meal. Content strategy corresponds to all the planning and decision-making that happens before you actually start cooking. What dish do you want to prepare? Which ingredients are needed? Where will you do the cooking, and how will you present the finished meal?
Once you've figured out the "what," "when," "where," and "how" in your content strategy, you can then translate that vision into reality by creating the content.
Tips for creating an effective content strategy
Now, we’ve established that creating an effective content strategy is crucial for achieving your marketing and business goals.
Here are some tips to help you develop a successful content strategy:
1. Define Clear Goals:
- Start by identifying what you want to achieve with your content. Whether it's increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or improving customer retention, having clear objectives is key.
2. Know Your Audience:
- Understand your target audience's preferences, challenges, and interests. This insight will help you tailor your content to resonate with them.
3. Conduct Competitive Analysis:
- Research what your competitors are doing in terms of content. Identify gaps and opportunities that you can leverage.
4. Choose the Right Content Types:
- Select content formats that align with your goals and are well-suited to your audience. This may include blog posts, videos, infographics, podcasts, or a mix of different formats.
5. Develop a Content Calendar:
- Create a content calendar that outlines when and what content you'll publish. Consistency is essential for building and retaining an audience.
6. Keyword Research:
- If you're creating content for online visibility, conduct keyword research to optimize your content for search engines and improve organic traffic.
7. Content Promotion:
- Plan how you'll promote your content through various channels, including social media, email marketing, and partnerships.
8. Monitor and Measure:
- Use analytics tools to track the performance of your content. Monitor metrics like website traffic, engagement, conversions, and ROI. Adjust your strategy based on the data.
9. Iterate and Improve:
- Be willing to adapt and improve your content strategy based on what you learn from performance data and evolving industry trends.
10. Consider the Buyer's Journey:
- Tailor your content to different stages of the buyer's journey, from awareness to consideration to decision. Provide the right information at the right time.
11. Allocate Resources:
- Ensure you have the resources, including personnel, time, and budget, to execute your content strategy effectively.
12. Quality Over Quantity:
- Focus on creating high-quality content that adds value to your audience. It's better to have a few exceptional pieces than a lot of mediocre content.
13. Stay Consistent with Branding:
- Maintain a consistent brand voice and visual identity across all your content, helping to reinforce brand recognition.
14. Stay Informed:
- Stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies to adapt your strategy and content accordingly.
15. Test and Experiment:
- Don't be afraid to experiment with different content types and strategies to see what resonates best with your audience.
By following these tips, you can create a content strategy that is well-aligned with your objectives and helps you connect with your audience effectively.
Tips for content marketing that converts
To create content that effectively converts your audience, consider the following tips:
1. Understand Your Audience:
- Develop a deep understanding of your target audience's needs, challenges, and interests. Tailor your content to address their specific concerns.
2. Clear and Interesting Call to Action (CTA):
- Every piece of content should include a clear and enticing CTA that tells the reader what action to take next, such as signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, or downloading a resource.
3. Provide Value:
- Ensure that your content offers valuable information, insights, or solutions. Content that educates, entertains, or solves problems is more likely to engage and convert.
4. Use Visuals:
- Incorporate engaging visuals like images, infographics, and videos to make your content more appealing and informative.
5. A/B Testing:
- Experiment with different headlines, CTAs, and content formats to see which variations perform better. A/B testing helps optimize your conversion rates.
6. Mobile Optimization:
- Ensure your content is mobile-friendly, as an increasing number of users access content on mobile devices. Responsive design and fast loading times are crucial.
7. Build Trust:
- Establish trust through well-researched, authoritative content. Use data, case studies, testimonials, and industry expertise to back up your claims.
8. Consistency:
- Maintain a consistent posting schedule to keep your audience engaged and returning for more. Predictable content delivery helps build trust.
9. Email Marketing:
- Use email marketing to nurture leads and guide them through the conversion process. Personalized and targeted email campaigns can be highly effective.
10. Content Distribution:
- Promote your content through various channels, including social media, email, partnerships, and paid advertising, to reach a wider audience.
11. SEO Optimization:
- Optimize your content for search engines to increase organic traffic. Keyword research, meta tags, and quality backlinks can boost your search rankings.
12. Social Proof:
- Showcase user reviews, testimonials, and social media mentions to show the value of your products or services.
13. Scannable Content:
- Break up text with subheadings, bullet points, and concise paragraphs to make content easier to read and skim.
14. Personalization:
- Tailor your content to individual user preferences, behaviour, and demographics to increase relevancy and engagement.
15. Lead Magnets:
- Offer valuable lead magnets, such as ebooks, webinars, or templates, to entice visitors to share their contact information with you.
16. Retargeting:
- Implement retargeting campaigns to reach visitors who have previously engaged with your content or website. Remind them of your offerings.
17. Analytics and Iteration:
- Continuously monitor content performance through analytics tools and make data-driven improvements to your content and conversion strategies.
18. Social Sharing:
- Make it easy for readers to share your content on social media. Encourage them to spread the word about your products or services.
19. Storytelling:
- Craft interesting narratives that connect with your audience on an emotional level. Stories have the power to engage and persuade.
By incorporating these strategies, you can create content that not only engages your audience but also leads to higher conversion rates and business growth.
To sum it all up: Content Marketing vs. Content Strategy
As Taylor Swift once said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
My brother became less overwhelmed when he read through the manual. From there, he worked out a plan to create an assembly line to build individual aspects of the car (the doors, the truck, the electrical connections) and then put all those together to form the full car.
While content marketing and content strategy are closely intertwined, they play distinct roles in your digital strategy.
Think of content strategy as the guiding blueprint, charting the course to cater to your audience's needs, while content marketing is the engine that powers the execution of this strategy.
Employing both effectively creates a well-coordinated content mechanism that not only meets your audience's demands but also propels your business forward, ensuring long-term success in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
Comments
Post a Comment