There are many different types of content strategy. These are the approaches, processes, and types of content that you plan on using to create your brand’s content over time.
A content strategy combines the larger perspective of a content marketing strategy framework with the detailed, nitty-gritty tactics of a content plan. It takes into account big-picture items like trends and marketing objectives, as well as the specific tools you have available to create content for your brand.
Here is an overview of what it takes to create a comprehensive content strategy in 2024, along with a step-by-step process to chart the course for your own content marketing strategy this year.
Digital content is always in a state of evolution. An effective digital marketing content strategy always considers the latest content marketing trends.
In 2024, most trends trace their way back to one thing: artificial intelligence. AI is all the rage at the moment. Content marketers are using AI tools to brainstorm ideas, generate outlines, analyze results, and much more — and we’re just starting to scratch the surface of this powerful, limitless technology.
Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is one of the biggest developments to date. Google’s Helpful Content Updates are also redefining how the internet search process takes place. The brand’s updated E-E-A-T guidelines also put the emphasis on educational, helpful, and high-quality content rather than generic or unhelpful alternatives.
While there are other content trends, like using video and interactive content, these latest AI-focused developments from the world’s most powerful search tool have the potential to revolutionize how users and marketers alike use search engines. Savvy marketing teams should be watching and learning everything they can regarding these trends as they shape their content strategies for 2024.
As you pull together the different parts of a content strategy, you want to consider all of the different types of content and formats available. What content strategy tools can you use? How do the trends listed above play into the picture?
The best way to create a solid content strategy plan is to use a structured approach. Here is a content strategy example that uses a step-by-step process to form a roadmap for the next twelve months. Use it to help guide you as you build your plan.
Always start a time-based content strategy with an initial review of your larger content marketing goals. Review the themes and niche topics where you want to position your brand as a source of expertise and authority.
Also, review basic brand goals, such as driving revenue, generating leads, or creating brand awareness. What are your long-term content goals? This is your starting point. As you prepare to create content in 2024, remember to keep your larger marketing strategy in mind as you go along.
Now, it’s time to look past the hypothetical and consider the real world. What are the topics and search queries that your target audience is looking for? Don’t be afraid to ask them directly on social media or through email if you need to. This information is key to creating the engaging content that will be most helpful to your audience.
While you’re researching, it’s also a good idea to conduct competitive research and consider current trends like those listed above. Look at what your competitors are doing well or what they could improve on so you know what works and where opportunity lies.
This is the tricky part. Now that you’ve done your research and review, you need to consider how it all fits together. This means aligning your larger brand objectives with current trends and potential customers' pain points. As you consider all three of these, you can begin to create specific strategies for the coming year.
For instance, consider a SaaS brand focused on using AI to simplify tech stacks. They want to spur revenue by generating leads, and their audience is looking for ways to eliminate unnecessary spend.
A good content goal might be to create a series of top-of-funnel blog articles that highlight overspending on tech and the power that AI has to analyze and reduce inefficiencies. This goal considers the brand’s themes (tech/simplification), current trends (AI tools), and customer pain points (overspending/inefficiency).
Once you have your goals set, it’s time to dig into more of the details. Where are these goals in your sales funnel? What kind of content facilitates achieving them?
For example, if you need top-funnel content, you may want to create a topical blog post, conduct a content audit focused on improving your helpful content, or create more social media content. However, if you need to create content for the bottom of your funnel, you may want to focus on creating demos, video content, whitepapers, or email marketing.
When you plan out an entire year of content, it’s tempting to dive in and start posting things as soon as you’ve created them. However, it’s wise to spread things out and post things on a schedule. This keeps your brand looking fresh and current.
Set up a content calendar that incorporates everything. Social media, on-site content, top-funnel, bottom-funnel, take everything into consideration. What is time-sensitive? What isn’t? Use the answers to plot your content’s course for 2024.
Finally, don’t forget to set the stage to analyze your results. Once your content is live, use tools like Google Analytics to gauge how it performs.
Relevant content can take varying times to generate results. On the one hand, a social post will have near-instantaneous traffic. On the other hand, an SEO-optimized blog article could take six months to start generating organic traffic to your site.
Set up a recurring schedule to check in on your content creation strategy throughout the year. When you do, consider what’s working and make adjustments where necessary. If you aren’t sure what to do to improve a lagging campaign, you can also work with a good content marketing agency to improve your results.
2024 is the year of AI, and Google’s AI is focused on creating helpful content. If your valuable content is genuinely educating and supporting consumers, it will shine through. In fact, Google specifically recommends that if you’re already producing helpful content, “then you don't need to do anything; in fact this system may be good for your site, as it is designed to reward helpful content.”
However, if you need more quality content, you need to build a good content strategy for the coming year. Use the steps above to consider your digital marketing strategy goals, current trends, and customer pain points. Then, pull everything together into a killer content strategy that can generate truly helpful content for your customers.
