​Author: Angela Călina, Executive Director, Mind Shop

Whether you're in the early stages of content marketing or have been using this approach for a long time, it's a good idea to always review your content strategy to make sure it's up-to-date, innovative and relevant.

In the digital age, competition is higher than ever. According to analyzes made by the Content Marketing Institute, marketing directors from customer-focused companies say that in 2018 they spent 40% of their content marketing budget, up 17% from 2017.

Content strategy refers to the planning, creation, and management of any types of content: written, visual, audio, or mixed content. Content marketing is that part of the marketing plan that continually demonstrates the mission, vision, and activity of the company, as well as the experience it provides to customers in interacting with products, services, or company representatives.

You may have heard how important it is to create original content for business growth - the condition is that all content created has a well-planned purpose. When developing a content strategy, there are a few key things you need to consider:

What is the target audience for this content?

As a business can have more than one type of customer, the content strategy must be able to respond to multiple types of users of the content you create. Using a variety of content and channel types, it helps disseminate original, surprising, relevant and different content for each type of audience that involves those interacting with the company.

What is the issue this issue solves?

Ideally, the product or service solves a problem the target customer segment has, and it is good for marketers to know it very well. Only in this way, the content created guides and truly educates customers to overcome a particular problem as it begins to identify and address it.

A solid content strategy supports people on both sides of the targeting process: potential customers who are still thinking about their main challenges and those who are already using the product to overcome these challenges. The content provided strengthens confidence in the solution the product or service offers and makes more qualified users appreciate the product they offer.

What makes you different?

Your competitors probably have a similar product, a service of the same kind, which means that potential customers need to know why the product you offer is better or at least different. Here the content works.

To prove why it deserves to buy from you, you have to prove why it is worth listening!

What channels to use?

As you can create content in different formats, you will also have the option of many different channels that you can publish. Channels can be owned by the company, such as the website and blog or social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or Youtube.

Most content types will need to be adapted or predicted from the start for a particular channel and only for that one. This is why a well thought out and exceptionally well-planned content strategy is required for production and dissemination.

How do you manage content?

The fact that you will create and publish so many types of content on many different channels can be a daunting task. Each type of original content to be created has a distinct production process and mobilizes important resources.

That's why many companies chose to outsource both the design of content strategy and its implementation to digital marketing agencies. From working with such an agency, many benefits come from superior expertise in delivering quality content.

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About Mind Shop

Mind Shop is the advertising agency where ideas are born and become reality. We are a team of experienced professionals with a special passion for innovation and creative thinking. We started our journey in 2001, and over the past 18 years, we have run over 10,000 projects at local, national and European level. We have an integrated approach, offering high-quality services. We are proud of the very close collaboration we have with our customers – often, wework together as one team. We are serious, trustworthy, creative, and we are very enthusiastic about what we do. Find out more about us on: www.mindshop.ro