If you’re running an online business, you’d know the constant push from all the marketing gurus telling you to be ‘visible’ – writing blogs and posting across social media.
And they make a valid point; you do need to keep posting online to stay in front of your audience.
But if you’re posting willy-nilly without any planning, you’re wasting your time. In the words of a great marketer Mari Smith, ‘Content is king, but engagement is queen, and the lady rules the house!’.
Your content always needs to be timely and relevant to your audience. We’re all in the business of selling. You’re selling your products or your services. You’ve got to create content that aligns with your business and your goals.
Wait! Don’t start writing your content just yet…
Please don’t rush off and start writing yet! I need to ask you this BIG question –
‘Do you know your audience’?
And I mean really know them? I see so many people always selling the features of their product or service rather than nailing the benefit they offer their audience.
What are their pain points? What keeps them awake at night? What do they hate doing? What are their pet peeves? What do they put off doing?
It’s only when you know your audience that you can start writing some amazing, relevant content they’ll lap up.
So, before you post any content, ask these top 2 questions:
- Why does my audience need to hear about this now?
- Why is this content timely and relevant to my audience?
Here are my top x ways to plan your content marketing.
Well thought out content will always win over the content you’ve just thrown together. So, let’s have a look at the best ways I’ve found to plan content (this works for my business and that of my clients).
1. Create a yearly content plan
Trust me; it’s not as scary as it sounds! Break it up into quarters and then start by thinking of 4 things that will happen in that quarter. For example, in the first quarter of the year we have Australia Day, summer holidays, returning to school and Easter. If you need any ideas, please download my free holiday calendar. You can also look at sites like Days of the Year and make fun posts on wacky days of the year like, Drink Wine Day (which was Feb 18th FYI).
2. Think about your FAQs
Like most business owners, you’ll find yourself answering the same questions over and over again. For example, ‘How will your product help me and what happens if I don’t like it?’, or ‘I’m not sure how to outsource my social media but I know I don’t want to keep doing it’. Start making a list of your FAQs and then write relevant blog posts offering advice to not only help your audience but to hopefully reduce some questions for you in the future!
3. Become a content recycler
One major factor of content creation is learning how to repurpose what you’ve got. Stop trying to reinvent the when every week as that’s when you experience ‘content burnout’. Go through a blog you’ve written and pick out all the little nuggets of wisdom that you can use for social posts (create a pretty image to go with it, and you’ll create some winning content). If you’ve never tried Canva, give it a go. It’s an easy to use graphic design platform that helps you create images for your social posts. I love it!
Did you want a content calendar to help you plan?
If you’re still thinking, ‘Where the hell do I start with this?’, please download my free content calendar. It’s what I use, and it works – I’ve trialled it over the years. It gives you a clearer picture of your year and your goals and helps you slot in content where it suits.
And one last thing – if you’re planning on having special offers during the year, remember to schedule these into your content calendar too. You can create a whole heap of enticing content around it. Have fun!
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