Every business owner steps into their business venture with one thought in mind: to succeed. No one purposely sets themselves up to fail. The thoughtful business person makes a plan, creates budgets, researches trends and markets themselves. Part of this journey is understanding today’s consumer and how to connect with them in a fruitful way.
As we’ve explored the facets of the New Consumer, we’ve discovered that one of the key ways to reach them is through content. In our last post, we provided some tips on best practices in digital marketing, and now it’s time to discuss setting yourself up for success for content marketing. Ultimately, we define success in content marketing as capturing a lead through great content and turning that lead into a sale. To help you reach your goals, we’ve broken down various steps to consider as you navigate the world of digital marketing.
Budget
Through the years, companies have had to adjust their budgets with the times. Decades ago it was allotting money for newspaper ads and radio spots. Then came television. Now there is an entire online world that cannot be ignored. It is important to adjust your business’s marketing budget to allow for the resources to create quality content, improve your website and invest in photography and videography that reflect well on your brand. Social media is also a key component in your content strategy, and having the resources to properly manage your social presence is important as well.
Internal vs. Outsourcing
As a business owner, your strength comes from taking on what you are capable of and knowing your limitations. This allows you to excel at what you do best and to delegate your shortcomings to someone who can allow them to flourish. Take time to assess which parts of your marketing strategy you can feasibly do in-house and which would be worth outsourcing to a content creation agency. Designating responsibility will lessen frustration in the long run, help you stay on budget and ultimately allow you to reach your goals.
Editorial Calendar
Before setting foot in the content creation waters, your first step is collaborating on an editorial calendar. By creating an editorial calendar, you are creating marketing goals for your business and organizing the steps to achieve those goals. This type of organizational resources is a helpful way for businesses to think long-term and take into account marketing throughout the year, not just the current quarter.
Create Opportunities to Convert
Once you decide who is taking on your content management and creating an editorial calendar to create said content, you’ve now opened the door to draw people to your site. This is fantastic—but the interaction does not end here. You need to provide your visitors a next step, something to take them from voyeur to customer. Create an opportunity to convert your fans to leads by giving them a call to action. This can be as simple as having your content direct them to subscribe to your newsletter or offering a button where readers can click to “buy” or “sign up.” This is an important facet to consider as you not only create content but also set up your website. Make it easy for readers to make the jump to continued interaction with you, whether it is staying connected via emails or actually buying products.
Tracking Analytics
In business it’s all about numbers: how many customers, total sales, profit and debt. Analytics can show you the numbers of visitors, likes, clicks, sign-ups and sales. Tracking your customers’ activity can give you an idea of the success of your marketing efforts and keep your content strategy on track. Looking at analytics and tracking the conversions is how you learn what is working and what is not. Identifying someone on your team or outsourcing this responsibility is a necessary part of making sure your marketing strategy thrives.
Once you’ve created your budget and decided which portions of your digital marketing strategy you can comfortably take on, it’s time to consider which professional services to partner with to reach your goals.
Dish Works is ready to help you find success through content creation, professional photography, videography, podcasting and website creation. Learn more on our website.
Top two photo credits: Kaboompics; bottom photo credit: Picjumbo