How you measure greatness is also important. You have to prove to company leadership that your content strategy is carrying its weight. Otherwise, you won’t be able to convince them to give you the resources you need to achieve your goals. Your content marketing strategy must do a lot with whatever resources it’s allocated. Stretching that dollar at work is just like stretching it at the grocery store. Here are a few ways you can get the most bang for your content buck.
Analyze Your Content
Knowing what kind of return you’re getting on your digital content investment isn’t as easy to determine as analog marketing efforts. Coding a direct response ad and measuring return was fairly cut and dried. How can you calculate the rate of return on your content? The short answer is that you need to inventory every piece of content you have. If just thinking about doing that manually makes you exhausted, work smarter. Add a content analyzer to your marketing toolbox. A content analyzer can measure various outcomes by just plugging in URLs. It can show you how content pieces rank in searches and how topics are resonating with targets. But there’s even more, a good analyzer tool can do. Imagine being able to look at how each piece could perform by analyzing predictive content ROI. Will an update raise its SERP position, or will a revision fill a keyword gap unanswered by your competitors? Or can you make changes that will increase your brand authority? Don’t just look at what your content is, but look at how it could be. Such analysis may keep you from slashing content that just needs a tweak to perform better. An informed renovation is usually less expensive than a completely new build, too.
Stretch Great Content
Let’s say you created a blog on your website that has risen to the top of search rankings. You may be tempted to just leave it alone and forget about it. But you need to stay on top of it, or you’ll lose your perch. Still, if it hits a high, it’s obviously offering something to have gotten you there. Maybe your target audiences are finding it remarkably relevant, or your brand is being recognized as an authority. Don’t leave this content piece alone when it has proven that it has something great to say. Stretch great content until it’s no longer effective. If it’s currently on your website blog, change it up to use it on social media. You’ll need to translate it to video, photos, or graphics to suit the platform, but you don’t have to totally recreate it. Also, maintain vigilance for trending topics that become important to your audience. If the trend is relatable to the subject of the content piece, work on the emerging trend. That will breathe new life into a piece that’s already proven to be effective without starting over. Just remember that when stretching great content, you must remain authentic. A stretch too far will get you in trouble with browsers, customers, and search engines. But if it makes sense, use the heart of prime content in a variety of ways until it loses steam.
Don’t Guess. Ask.
If you want every dollar you invest in your content strategy to go as far as possible, be intentional. Don’t create random content you throw online like pasta against the wall, trying to see what sticks. If you’re in reactionary mode, basing your actions on high-ranking keywords, start being proactive. Ask your audiences and stakeholders what’s important to them. Then, develop content that will resonate, inform, delight, and keep them coming back for more. That will keep you ahead of them, not always trying to catch up. When you find out what others want to know, you’re letting them drive content creation. Talk to current clients, key prospects, and employees closest to customers. Getting input straight from those in the know will save you time, market research money, and avoid off-target results. Don’t forget to monitor the success and failure of the content your competitors are producing. You can save a lot of money by learning from their mistakes. And you’ll position yourself as more of authority by producing more content that wins with than fails. Measuring the pulse of your audience is a smart way to produce relevant and authoritative content the first time. You’ll have less investment up front and better returns on the backend. That’s a win-win that will show up on your company’s bottom line.
Make Your Content Pay Dividends
To compete in your industry, you need to invest in a solid content strategy. To get a return on that investment, you have to get the biggest bang possible for your content marketing buck. All it takes is working smarter. Using intuitive and predictive analysis tools, maximizing high-performing content, and letting key constituencies drive content will light the fuse. Then, stand back and watch the show your savvy and well-executed content creates. A bang, after all, is always better than a whimper.
