Wuraola Ademola Shanu: 10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Content Strategy

Content strategy involves satisfying business requirements through content creation and distribution. Of course, while there are a lot of people out there who claim to write, design and create content, content strategy is, itself, an art. Content strategy involves having someone taking a step back and asking, “What am I creating for my business and why?”

The goals of content marketing are to:

• Build a community of potential customers
• Create trust
• Boost engagement with current customers
• Establish relationships with prospects
• Generate leads
• Increase sales

Whether you’re in the beginner, intermediate or advanced stage, a comprehensive written content strategy is the only way to truly succeed with content marketing. It’s similar to building a house – without the plans first, you’ll end up creating a caricature of a house. The same principle applies to your business. Having a well-written, detailed and solid content strategy allows you to create content and take actions that attract prospects, engage buyers and convert them into paying customers.

Here are 10 reasons why your business needs a content strategy:

It amplifies your brand’s promotion

Deciding which to pick between brand awareness and lead generation can be difficult. ‘Awareness’ aims to increase the size of your audience, while ‘lead generation’ restricts your audience to a group of people who are willing to exchange their contact information for your content.

However, with content strategy, both activities do not have to engage in a survival of the fittest game. An awesome content strategy will work to ensure that both brand awareness and lead generation work in sync.

It offers value to potential customers – education, entertainment or inspiration

Whether you promote your business on social media/online or off, every action you take should provide value to your customers. Thankfully, social media allows you to deliver this value depending n your schedule or content structure.

Please note that not all of your followers who follow you intend to buy what you’re selling. For this category of people, providing helpful, useful and entertaining content will be helpful. For those who are in-market and researching, educational content like blog posts attracts them. And for those who want to buy, here’s where you need to bring your A-game to the fore. Plus, this also includes using social advertising strategy such as running ads.

It improves your SEO rankings

Content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) are like peas in a pod. This means that when you blend them together properly, you get a badass combo better than chocolate whipped cream. Wee-optimized content drives organic search results.

It builds an ever-growing community of people who feel like they know you

A business owner or not, we all are customers at certain places. And without the need for conviction, we’d rather buy from brands that make us feel special and feel like they know us and care. Everyone prefers to buy from people they know, like and trust.

So, how can you create an atmosphere that makes your followers feel like they know you? Storytelling! Storytelling cuts across all ages, religions and social status. Everyone loves stories. Incorporating storytelling into your captions establishes a connection with your followers/buyers and creates a ‘one big family’ atmosphere. This, in turn, builds and retains customer loyalty.

You become the go-to ‘Likeable Expert’

Are you the likeable expert that owns your market? An excellent content strategy for your business can establish authority with your most valued prospects and customers and make you become the figure/person they listen to.

It compels your fans, followers and readers to share your content with their network

We all know this: when we see a content that’s jaw-droppingly full of value and of utmost quality, we do not hesitate to bookmark/save it and share it with our friends, families and people in our network. That’s because we realize that others would benefit from seeing it. Customers behave in the same manner so give them something worth sharing.

It turns fans into customers

Within the parameters of your written content strategy, there should be content created specifically for generating leads and sales. And elements of a well-written content include:

• Carefully-crafted ideas
• Ad text/copy
• Images
• Video
• Landing Pages
• Calls-to-Action
• Lead forms

Improves employee engagement

When your content is top-notch, engagement from them will come in loads. This, in turn, increases employee engagement. An increase in employee engagement establishes the following:

• Higher service, quality, and productivity.
• Higher customer satisfaction.
• Increased sales (repeat business and referrals).
• Higher profits.

It turns fans/customers to your brand’s ambassadors

A fundamental part of your written content strategy is to leverage the equity you’ve built up from consistently delivering excellent customer service. Please note that if you’ve got an excellent content strategy but a shitty customer service, that’s like seeing all your efforts go down the drain. However, put an excellent content strategy with excellent products/services, pair it with top-notch customer experience and you’ve got stark, loyal fans for life. They will rave about you/your business. Also, don’t forget to incorporate customer stories and video testimonials in your social media and content marketing.

It builds and solidifies your online reputation

Most brands do not see online ratings/reviews and reputation as part of their content strategy. And that’s a key aspect that shouldn’t be taken for granted. The fact that these ratings show up in search results when customers search for you is evidence enough to start developing an internal process to capture your happy, loyal customers’ feedback.

Content strategy is about getting the right message to the right customer at the right time. It should be one of the foundations upon which your business should be built. Don’t let your business collapse as a result of lack of proper planning.