Expectations vs. Reality: Building A Content Marketing Strategy

In any scenario, expectations don’t always live up to reality, and building a content marketing strategy is no different. Taking the time to produce quality content, address your audience’s pain points, and working collaboratively are all key parts of the recipe for content marketing success. Here are some realities of building a content marketing strategy to consider as you prepare your content plan. 

Expectation: Quantity is greater than quality when it comes to content.

Reality: Marketing is no longer just a numbers game when it comes to content.

Quality should always take priority over quantity. Purpose is the north star of any project and will keep your brand top of mind for readers who are searching for simple and straightforward solutions to their pain points. As a content marketer, you should always ask yourself: What value does this — fill in the blank: blog, ebook, webinar  — provide to my audience? 

With more digital noise in today’s marketing landscape than ever before, we as marketers must develop authentic, meaningful, and compelling perspectives in order to genuinely connect with our audiences. If you are creating content just for the sake of creating content, purpose gets lost and quality goes down the drain. Publishing a few well thought out pieces of content is much more impactful than creating a hundred pieces of lackluster content. Take the time to sit down, research, and write about a topic your audience will care about. Let this stat inspire you:

Bloggers who put six or more hours of work into each post on average are far more likely to report strong results [relative to the blogger’s goals]. -Orbit Media

Wouldn’t you rather read one rich blog post with the answers to all of your questions than five short blog posts with no takeaways? Creating unique and informative content is worth the time it takes to develop it. Readers will appreciate your time and effort and continue to engage with your brand. Before you feel overwhelmed at this seemingly daunting task, consider this next point.

Expectation: Content creation should be done completely in-house.

Reality: External collaboration is a powerful tactic to ensure well-rounded perspectives.

While tapping into your company’s in-house subject matter experts is a compelling strategy to gather credible research and establish thought leadership, external resources should also be leveraged to ensure well-rounded perspectives. Calling on marketing partners to collaborate on content ideation, production, and distribution is a powerful content strategy that also strengthens business relationships.
 

Bringing in external copywriters, editors, content creators, subject matter experts, and others can help you gather fresh ideas and prevent burnout within your team. Collaboration, both in-house and externally, is absolutely imperative to delivering an impactful and sustainable content marketing strategy. But how does collaboration look in the new endemic era?

Expectation: Content marketing strategies are the same now as they were pre-pandemic.

Reality: The current endemic era has caused a shift in the content marketing landscape.

There is no doubt that many things have changed from pre-pandemic to now. From shifts in the workplace to lifestyle changes, we’ve learned to be agile in many areas of life, and content marketing is no different.

“58 percent of B2B content marketers said their content marketing strategy is moderately or slightly different now versus pre-pandemic.” -Content Marketing Institute

To begin, we all know digital has been on the rise over the past decade, but the pandemic caused an abrupt, accelerated shift. With a large number of employees working remotely, we have seen a growing need to stay in front of people digitally. More and more businesses are hopping on the digital content marketing train, making it increasingly difficult to stand out among competitors. This has created a monumental challenge for content marketers: How do we create meaningful content that resonates with readers across a wide range of platforms without reiterating what our competitors have said?

Expectation: Audiences are only looking for unique perspectives.

Reality: Audiences are seeking practical, actionable content.

Knowing who your audience is and serving them content they not only want, but need, is key to fostering positive relationships and deep trust with consumers. It is impossible to resonate with every single audience, so honing in on the interests of a few key personas is essential to ensure your content is practical and actionable. 

While sharing unique perspectives can help your business stand out in the content-saturated universe, today’s readers demand authenticity and content that they can act on. Let the core of your content strategy be the desire to address and help solve your audience’s pain points. Offering unique perspectives can certainly garner attention, but serving consistent, practical content to a targeted audience will serve your business and customers best in the long run.

56% of brands that developed formal customer engagement strategies reported exceeding their revenue goals in 2020. –Braze 2021 Global Customer Engagement Review

Expectation: Audiences will become leads the moment they read the content.

Reality: Lead generation typically takes multiple touchpoints.

At a minimum, publishing content helps build brand awareness, credibility, and loyalty. But what if you took your strategy one step further? Using your content to capture leads through tailored nurture campaigns is a clever way to share knowledge, prove your businesses’ value, and measure ROI in relation to your overall marketing goals.
 
However, lead conversion is hardly ever immediate. Achieving results from content marketing takes a long-term strategy and multiple touchpoints. Gating content, such as ebooks, whitepapers, and other pieces of content that appeals to audiences, can help your business easily capture top-of-funnel leads that your team can nurture over time.
 
Create a simple form asking for their name, email address, and any other relevant information that populates upfront before users can download your content. Next, sort the gathered leads into a personalized pipeline and add them to a post-download nurture campaign that sends them content that relates to the piece they downloaded, along with emails and information that spotlight products and services that can help them act on the best practices you’ve given them in the content. 
 

Aligning your sales and marketing teams allows a variety of voices to bolster your lead generation touch points. Work with your sales representatives to create and automate personal messages designed to move leads down the sales funnel, increasing the chances that they will eventually convert. And lastly, leverage data such as website traffic and email clicks to continuously improve post-download engagement tactics and plan future content. The moral of the story: don’t be discouraged when you don’t see leads pouring in right away. Building relationships with content leads takes time!

In Conclusion

Producing quality content, addressing your audience’s pain points, and working collaboratively are all key parts of the recipe for content marketing success. If you’re feeling apprehensive, the best thing you can do is simply get started, using these realities as your guiding light.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

You may also like...

Subscribe to Our Blog

Subscribe to receive an email when we publish new content!

    Ready To Empower Your Business?

    We can help you future-ready your business with customized, innovative solutions designed to foster sustainable growth.

    Let’s Talk
    Meto

    Meto

    Meto is a tech-based nonprofit intent on making access to quality higher education a reality for all students. We have a special focus on creating scholarships for low-income students.


    In 2018, Meto was founded to connect African students with university opportunities. Along the way, we have learned that all students can benefit from our innovative model, wherein universities make the first move and invite good-fit students to apply. So, in 2023, we opened our platform to students across the globe.

    website: https://meto-intl.org/

              Nikhil Badlani Foundation

              The Mission of the Nikhil Badlani Foundation (the “Foundation”) is to enhance the lives of underserved children in West Orange, NJ and neighboring communities through music lessons, scholarships, and traffic safety education for all.

              Since the Foundation was established in 2011, Theorem has consistently been an annual sponsor of and team participant in the STOP for Nikhil 5K Run/3K Walk. This event intends to raise traffic safety awareness and to serve as a way to remembervbgfc ≈ and honor those who have been killed or seriously injured in traffic accidents. We recognize the importance of raising awareness and road safety amongst teenagers and parents alike, especially in the local communities of our Chatham, New Jersey office. Learn more about the Nikhil Badlani Foundation at nikhilbadlanifoundation.org

              Diversity and Inclusion

              Theorem actively aids in the ongoing fight against systemic racism and discrimination, realizing the importance of ongoing discussions surrounding diversity and inclusion.

              By contributing to organizations such as Black Girls Code and the Anti-Racism fund, we aim to be a fundamental supporter of diversity in the workplace and beyond. These organizations specifically speak to Theorem’s role as a leading voice in the technology innovation space and we avidly support their missions. The vision of Black Girls Code is to empower girls of color, ages 7-17 to become innovators in STEM fields and encourages them to be the builders of their own futures. The Anti-Racism Fund serves as a response to the inequities experienced by the African-American community. It provides monetary support to a dynamic portfolio of curated organizations as a way to inject and enable social change.

              Feeding America

              Feeding America is the largest charity working to end hunger in the United States. By partnering with local food banks, food pantries and other community food programs, Feeding America looks to advance change across the country and ensure equitable access to nutritious food.

              As a long-standing contributor and sponsor of Feeding America, we deeply believe in their vision of an America without hunger. The need for and importance of organizations like Feeding America has has become more and more prevalent as communities face more hardships as a result of the pandemic and the current economy. Theorem is dedicated to its continued contributions to Feeding America to do our part to empower and strengthen our communities. Learn more about Feeding America at www.feedingamerica.org

              Grameen America

              Grameen America is dedicated to helping entrepreneurial women who live in poverty build businesses to enable financial stability mobility.

              Since their founding in the United States in 2008, Theorem has supported Grameen America’s mission, which seeks to build upon the legacy of Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. Through financial contributions and event participation, Theorem has contributed to Grameen America’s cause. As an immigrant entrepreneur himself, our CEO Jay Kulkarni is especially eager to support the organization’s mission of aiding underserved communities. Learn more about Grameen America at www.grameenamerica.org

              Vision Spring

              VisionSpring is making the wonder of clear vision possible for all by helping provide affordable and quality eyeglasses to those in need. For many, lack of access to affordable eyeglasses leads to loss of employment or less educational opportunities.

              VisionSpring partners with organizations who join them in their mission of supporting livelihood initiatives, enhancing potential for all. Learn more about Vision Spring at https://visionspring.org Theorem has consistently partnered with VisionSpring to organize free events, such as eye check-ups, across multiple villages in the Mysuru, India region, impacting over 3,000 rural residents. We stand with VisionSpring in their mission to increase accessibility to quality eyewear and eye care.

              Covenant House

              Covenant House provides housing and supportive services to youth facing homelessness, helping young people transform their lives.

              For more than 5+ years, Theorem has supported Covenant House with corporate sponsorships, leading career-building workshops at their Newark, NJ shelter facility and participation in the organization’s fund raising Sleep Outs. Covenant House utilizes these Sleep Outs to raise funds and help shine a light on the injustice of youth homelessness, inspiring communities to step up and protect the vulnerable. We are proud to support Covenant House’s programs, which are designed to empower young people to overcome and rise above adversity, today and in the future. Learn more about Covenant House at www.covenanthouse.org

              Contract Type

              |

              Location

              Job Title

              Contract Type

              |

              Location

              Job Title

              Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

              Apply Now