Content Planning 101 (For Entrepreneurs Looking To Scale Their Online Business!)
Successful content marketing has two parts: the content strategy, and the content plan.
“But ArEn’T tHeY tHe SaMe ThInG?”😬😲
Nah. I’ll show you why in a bit.
Without optimizing both, your content is bound to get confusing and random because it’s not strategically planned or organized.
But not for you!
In this post, I’ll discuss content plans, why you should use a content plan, and 5 tips for improving your content plan.
Let’s start.
What Is A Content Plan?
Think about it as your strategized timetable for posting content.
Here’s Clearvoice’s definition of a content plan:
“all the marketing assets and data-gathering functions needed to achieve the goals set forth in your content strategy.” -ClearVoice.
Hubspot also has something to say about content plans:
“the management of pretty much any tangible media that you create and own: written, visual, downloadable.” -Hubspot.
Without a plan, your strategy can’t do much for you.
In short, a content plan is going to help you make the most of your time while making relevant, optimized, and engaging content for your platforms.
Must I Have A Content Plan?
Yes, I recommend that you create one. It helps you:
- Achieve your business goals by helping you arrange the necessary content you included in your content strategy
- Prepare new/fresh content ideas and topics
- Keep your content up to date with trends, news, and other happenings in your niche/industry
- Keep your traffic consistently growing by publishing content at the right time
Here’s an example:
Let’s say you want to publish three blog posts about increasing engagement, followers, and comments on your Instagram account.
From your content strategy, the blog post is the content you use to achieve your business goals (increasing traffic, increasing sales from your blog, e.t.c.)
With a content plan, you know when publish each blog post over three weeks on the days when your audience is most engaged, so you can get maximum results.
Creating and embedding a link to a roadmap on using reliable hashtags in those posts, results in continuous lead generation on your page.
This is called evergreen content; content that stays useful forever. Using evergreen content for your brand creates awareness, attracts curious prospects, and establishes your authority on that topic.
How Do I Use A Content Plan?
You need to set & define your business goals and content needs first.
Are you trying to generate more leads?
Is your content strategy up to date and targeted towards a particular audience?
You’ll need these five steps to get on track:
- Why you are making a content plan
- Who you are creating content for and distributing to
- When you will create, refine, and distribute content
- How you will distribute, fund, and research on your content
- What channels, resources, and materials you will use to distribute and create content
TUC: The Building Blocks Of Your Content Plan
✅Your (Target) Audience:
Are you trying to target new customers? Does your content address the issues/needs of your existing audience?
Your target audience is the people who are interested in/ ready to buy your products or services.
Determine how many audiences you’ll be addressing, and be as specific as possible.
To succeed in engaging them with your content, consider these few things:
- Their needs: What do they research online? Why do they need your product?
- Their buyer persona: This is a representation of your ideal customers based on real data and market research. It includes your customer’s goals, demographic traits, locations, interests, and more.
- Their budgets: How much money are they willing to spend on your product? How much do they earn? Make sure they can afford your product.
- What platforms they are on: You should research where they spend their time most on. Is it Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter?
Find out, and you’ll know how to make the right content for that platform.
By knowing your target audience well, you’re able to produce relevant content they can use, buy from, and enjoy consuming.
✅Your Unique Selling Point
Many niches are saturated with the same product or service.
If someone can get the same thing you’re offering at a lower price, then why should they buy from you?
Why are you different from your competitors?
Do you offer more features in your product? Is it a new version of something already created?
Identifying your unique selling point, or the factor that differentiates you from your competitors.
Don’t blend in with the crowd.
Highlight your unique selling point in your value statement, and make it appear in your content where you can.
✅The Channels And Content Types You’ll Use
What channels will you use to distribute your content?
You need platforms that are profitable and can help you reach your audience easily and quickly, e,g social media.
Other great spots are your blog, podcast, or even YouTube channel.
A blog is a great place to establish your authority on a topic, feature your products in posts, and publish online resources your target audience can use.
Social media is great for making shareable content, especially as most people spend two hours or MORE on social media!
That’s a lot of time you can take advantage of.
Some content ideas you can use:
- Infographics
- Professionally taken pictures
- Product promotions
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Ebooks
5 Tips For Creating A Powerful Content Plan
1. Create Personalized, Relevant Content🤝🏽
Give them a reason to engage with your content. When creating content, consider why it would be relevant to your target audience.
For example, a 19-yr old beauty influencer might find your Instagram posts
You can achieve this by offering a solution for a problem, provide a guide on using a product or a service, and most importantly, address their wants and needs.
2. Only Target A Specific Audience🎯
Going for the general public?
Stop right there.
Focus only on your buyer personas/target audience.
Two reasons why:
- You don’t waste time, resources, and effort selling to the wrong people
- You don’t make noise in your industry; you have a clear offer
3. Start Fresh🧼
Do a content audit. What content is working best for you?
What topics & content types perform best?
Which of your past content is the most profitable?
What can you repurpose into other forms of content?
You can turn one blog post into a series of Twitter/Facebook posts, infographics, Instagram posts, and more!
4. Use The Right Keywords🔑
Look for the keywords your target audience is looking for, and use/rank for them.
This helps them find you because your content has the keywords they’re looking for, and helps you attract them.
5. Set Up An Efficient Content Management System💻
Don’t post ‘whenever you feel like.’
Trust me, it harms your chances of becoming buddies with the algorithm.
Consistently posting content also helps build your audience — because they learn to anticipate your content, and will be excited to check it out!
Keep your ideas, completed projects, and other content in one place.
Now You Can Get Started!
Don’t forget that it’ll take time, effort, creativity, a good budget, and a few errors to develop a content plan that fits snugly into your business.
Focus on building the foundation of your marketing plan, managing your content, and constantly developing your strategy to maximize profits and conversions.
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