Getting started with content marketing can feel overwhelming. Trying to come up with a cohesive plan can make you want to run and hide from the responsibility that comes with creating quality content.
Firstly if you haven’t checked out our content marketing guide. That’s a good start. But if you are looking for some quick wins in how you can start you can read on.
It is important that you don’t bite off more than you can chew, as it is easy to get overwhelmed.
These 3 steps will look at a range of ways you can kick start your content marketing strategy,.
1) Brainstorming
A list of topics to research can be overwhelming. I would suggest starting with a smaller list and then expanding once you have figured out what works for your site and niche.
Your brainstorming list can be executed in a number of ways. Some ideas include:
Writing down a list of topics you can cover (you may have already done this with your content marketing strategy) Come up with 10-20 topics you want to cover. Let everyone in your company know that these are the topic you are planning on covering and ask for their feedback on what they think would be a good idea.
What problem do you want to solve for your audience? This is where having the end customer in mind is important.
What are their needs? What problem are they trying to solve? Is there one topic that you know is a hot topic in your industry?
What do you know about your audience? Which groups do you think are most likely to be interested in your content?
2) Researching for ideas and inspiration
So you have a couple of ideas from your brainstorming. No jump into Google and start searching to see if you can find a range of content ideas. You don’t want to do this on one idea, it is important to diversify the topics you cover.
You shouldn’t just be searching for related topics, this can lead to some content other people are creating.
Try searching: [insert your topic] + 20 Questions. The 20 questions will give your content a structure, and enable you to get more creative in how you write and the types of content you produce.
You’ve got a few questions in regards to what your customers are potentially asking. Get inspired by what other people are producing out there.
Search and see what comes up. Create a mood board or examples of what you think is a good example of content. This way you can have an idea of what you want to do as a starting point.
3) Use idea generation tools
Thre are plenty of tools out there which you can use to help you come up with solid ideas. To get you started here are some idea generators that can help you:
BuzzSumo: This is a tool that shows which articles are getting the most shares across social media, helping you see what is working in your industry. The date range is also great for showing what works and what doesn’t work.
Google Trends: Google trends is useful for finding what topics will be relevant in the future. You can also see how popular specific terms are across different areas.
Pinterest: By looking at board that have been pinned and liked you can build up a list of high interest topics and ideas to create content around.
Use your social media accounts: If you use social media you should build up a number of topics by using hashtags, mentions, and looking through questions. The more you use these the better you will get at coming up with ideas.
Youtube: YouTube is a great way to find content ideas as well. You can use the search bar in Youtube to find video’s based on your topics. This can help you see what is working and what isn’t.
Once you’ve researched a range of topics it is important to get creative, but also balance the content you create. Focus on quality in your content, as it will take time before you start seeing traffic and engagement grow.
You can also look at what others are doing in your niche and copy their successful content ideas. As the saying goes steal like an artist… but never plagiarise.
Developing your content marketing strategy
So you have a range of ways of getting kick-started. Let’s take a quick look at formalising this into a content strategy. A content marketing strategy simply is a guide for how you are going to develop your content ideas into a coherent plan. This is what it should include:
What are the main topics you want to cover in your content?
How are you going to develop those topics (by using questions, social media, tools etc)?
How often will you add new content? Once a day, once a week etc?
Once you have this strategy in place it is time to get started.
How to develop a content marketing strategy
Like any strategy, you need to start with an overview and know where you are coming from. So let’s take a look at what your content marketing strategy should include:
What are the main topics you want to cover?
What is the typical format of your content going to be? (by using questions, case studies etc)
When will you publish new content? Once a day, once a week etc? How often will you add new content? How will you measure success of your content marketing strategy?
You can also start with the big picture, where do you want to get with your content. Why not try out content marketing guide?
Take a look at our detailed content marketing strategy for a full picture in how you make this process happen.
