Create a Successful Content Strategy With These 11 Tips
Using social media or a blog to promote your brand isn’t as simple as posting for the sake of it. Having a solid content strategy takes the guesswork out of what to publish and ensures that the content will resonate with your audience.
Successful content strategies should consider the needs and demographics of your audience, the mission of your business, the purpose of publishing the content and more. Here, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their No. 1 tips for creating an effective content strategy for your brand and why these tips work so well.
Tell a Good Story
Keywords, hashtags and tagging are one thing, but engagement through creative storytelling is crucial to content strategy. Know how to tell a great story by sharing your products or services through a well-informed and authentic narrative. Sharing relatable conflicts followed by calls to action humanizes brands. – Cynthia Johnson, Bell + Ivy
Include a Hook
Content is king. The No. 1 tip for creating an effective content strategy is to include a hook. A hook is key because it’s the initial sentence that grabs the reader’s attention so that they want to read on. – Jenny Ta, web3vcfunds.com
Share How Your Business Helps Others
Balance out “me” content versus “you” content. If you talk about your company or yourself through digital media, relate it to how your insights, products or services can help others. – Nancy A Shenker, theONswitch
Write a Mission Statement
Take the time to write a mission statement that speaks to the culture and goals of your company. Write and post content that supports that statement to present a consistent message. If you have outgrown your mission statement, adjust it so it grows with your company but retains the essence of your original message. – Sheila Dedenbach, Heavenly Sweet
Keep Your Message Consistent
One of the most important elements of creating an effective content strategy is to be consistent. There are a multitude of formats in which you can create content, but it’s important to keep the style and tone consistent. If you recruit a team of writers, they should also be following this rule. That way, when people see your logo or see your name on something, they know what to expect. – Kristin Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
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Stick With What You Know
The best content comes from those who can speak to the context firsthand. Whatever your expertise, you’ll leave a more meaningful impact when you portray an authentic and knowledgeable understanding of a topic. There is always a story, lesson or valuable piece of advice that anyone can obtain from your unique take on a specific topic. – Andy Hale, Hale & Monico
Answer Customer Questions
The best place to start when writing and creating content for social media and for blog articles is by answering customers’ questions. Existing and potential customers will perform searches about your product or services and you need to be able to offer the answers quickly. The “answers posts” will also help your sales team know how to answer common questions. – Matt Campbell, My Wedding Songs
Be Authentic to Your Brand
Be authentic in your brand’s voice when it comes to creating and sharing content. We live in a world where content is everywhere, and it might be tempting to cut through the clutter with reactive or divisive content. If that fits your brand, go for it. But more likely, your brand has a point of view that brings real value to a certain subset of people. Focus there. Be authentic. – Dan Giuliani, Volt Athletics
Understand Your Audience
Before you start creating content, it’s important to take the time to research and understand your audience’s interests, pain points and preferences. This will help you create content that is relevant, valuable and engaging to them. It’s also important to be consistent in the quality and tone of your content and to share it through the channels where your audience is most likely to see it. – Jason Saltzman, Relief
Inspire, Educate or Entertain
To create effective content, it’s important to focus on providing value to your audience with one of three objectives: inspire, educate or entertain. If every one of your posts achieves at least one of those objectives, your content strategy will be successful. – King Holder, PROCUSSION
Publish Educational Content
I feel the No. 1 strategy for businesses in the social media era is to create educational content. If you can educate people about your brand, you will create a level of trust. Rather than marketing the services or products that you offer directly, try to figure out compelling stories or educational tips around those products. That will serve you much better with engagement. – Kelly Schwarze, Indie Film Factory
