As a future marketing professional, understanding content and creating a strategic plan are very important. Content strategy is finding the balance between what your users need and what your brand or company needs. This is often confused with content tactics which are specific plans/tactics such as choosing the right platform, content type, and scheduling. Having strong tactics is very beneficial, but you need to have a strategy first to ensure your actions are efficient.
The Evolution of Content Strategy
The concept of content strategy has been around for a long time, however, it has gone through some evolutions. Just within the past 15 years, the practice has changed largely due to the development of social media and the web. Social media changed content strategy because it allows users to consume content passively. When users utilize web searches they tend to have very clear goals and journeys. Meanwhile, most social media content is viewed casually or for entertainment. This new method of content consumption requires an attention-grabbing strategy.
Another change that occurred is that video has become a much more integral element in content strategy. Content comes in many forms including photos, graphics, emails, polls, etc. The popularity of video-centric social platforms such as Youtube and Tik Tok helped cause this shift. In 2021, 9/10 people reported wanting to see more videos from brands. It is important to understand audience expectations to ensure you are meeting their needs.
Although the practice has evolved with new technology and resources, the overall concept remains. In 1945, the article, As We May Think, was published; this article demonstrated the need for managing content for a range of uses. This idea is the core of modern content strategy.
Developing A Strategy
One of the first steps in a content strategy project is convincing company leaders of the benefits of your plan. Therefore you must plan out your budget, get buy-in, and set yourself up for success. Implementing your strategy requires support therefore you must think like a business professional. Demonstrating the ROI (return on investment) that is available with your plan can make it easier to gain financial resources. Although math is never fun for communication professionals, it can be persuasive to demonstrate the monetary risks and rewards. Plus, understanding the finances attached to a project ensures your plans are effective and achievable in scope.
Once you have gathered financial support it is important to get leadership aligned on what the project should achieve and set expectations about what help you will need. Stakeholders of a project can fit into various roles including project owner, decision makers, champions, influencers, and derailers. Understanding the roles of business leadership is important because it allows you to prepare how to approach the conversations. To help the stakeholders understand the goals of the project, Meghan Casey, author of Content Strategy Toolkit suggests planning to provide clarity. Some tips include facilitative listening, paraphrasing, and encouraging group decision-making. Once you have your partners aligned you can start putting your plan into action.
To run a project, the most helpful step is preparation. Plan the project in detail by considering the team, deliverables, goals, timeline, communication methods, and tools needed. It is integral to get everyone on the same page at the beginning of the project. To help your team understand the content strategy plan you need to have a planned out budget, timeline, lexicon, and review process. Once your planning is complete you can take action. Although the prior steps may seem complicated they are necessary to ensure the success of your strategy.
Sources
Bailie, Rahel Anne. “An Uneven History of Content Strategy.” Medium, Medium, 5 Feb. 2021, https://rahelab.medium.com/an-uneven-history-of-content-strategy-d514cfd7eee5.
Casey, Meghan. The Content Strategy Toolkit: Methods, Guidelines, and Templates for Getting Content Right. New Riders, 2015.
Catherine Toole. “Content Strategy vs. Content Tactics.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 Jan. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjVRJcbKKJI.
Forsey, Caroline. “The Evolution of Content Marketing: How It’s Changed and Where It’s Going in the next Decade.” HubSpot Blog, HubSpot, 12 Apr. 2022, https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/future-content-marketing.