The most important part of your content marketing calendar is, of course, what topics you share with your audience. Identifying topics and crafting text is also the part of the process that slows people down the most. (What’s a marketing calendar? Read our blog on how a calendar helps plan your communications strategy.)
Trying to think of content at the spur of the moment – when you realize you haven’t connected with your audience in a while – can be paralyzing. Planning ahead heads avoid this pressure. One of the easiest ways to develop your content is to break the year into manageable pieces. Most businesses have an ebb and flow that is consistent year over year. Identifying the trends in your business will help you map out your content.
Start with What Your Business Does
Quick – list the top four products or services offered by your business! You now have four quarterly themes to plan your content around.
After identifying these four main topics, break the topic into three sub-topics. These sub-topics are now your monthly focus. For instance, one theme may be communications services. Sub-themes could be internet, VOIP and phones. Once you have the topics outlined, it is much easier to create social media posts, blogs and more.
Other examples of themes to block into your year include relevant national and religious holidays and professional trade shows. If a conference has a theme, you can incorporate that as well.
Your competitors are also a source of content information. Subscribe to newsletters and review online blogs to learn more about what others see as important issues in your industry. Another great idea is to review your competition’s social media posts to see what potential customers are engaging with and what keywords the business is using to attract viewers.
Finally, content should be a mix of business promotion, educational information for your audience and just for fun posts! While it’s important to talk about what your company can do for others, it’s equally important to show the human side of your business.
PRO TIP: Repurpose your content! It’s not necessary to have new information in every new piece of marketing material. For instance, when you write a blog, include it in your newsletter, post a link to social media and break the information into two or three visuals to post the next month on social media.
Be Authentic
No one likes to be sold to – and that includes on social media and in marketing materials. The best message is one that is simple and addresses a potential customer’s needs. Don’t spend too much time trying to have “perfect” content. Spend your time sharing your passion and the content will come together.
This post is courtesy of MMC Account Manager Melissa Holder.