What Is a Content Marketing Framework?

Content marketing strategies function as the roadmap for your content creation. They guide all of your content along the right path toward the same goals.  

At least, that’s what a good content strategy is supposed to do. However, it’s difficult for the higher vision of a content strategy to translate into the details of specific pieces of content.  

That’s where a content marketing framework comes into the picture.

What Is a Content Marketing Framework?

A content marketing framework puts meat on the bones of a content strategy. Where a strategy serves as the “why” behind each piece of content that you create, a framework gives you the structure to turn concepts into reality.

A framework for your content marketing plan gives you a comprehensive, 10,000-foot view of everything your larger content strategy requires to be effective. It considers your organization’s larger mission, values, vision, and goals and connects them to the specific tools, techniques, and other resources you have available. Without one, the content marketing world can be confusing and hard to navigate. 

Critically, a content marketing strategy framework also puts things in writing. It collects documented and detailed elements of everything from mission statements to brand guides, KPIs to content tools.  

If something is part of the content creation process, it should be accounted for in your content strategy framework.

A Content Strategy Framework Vs. a Content Strategy Template

As a quick aside, a content strategy framework doesn’t specify how to create each individual piece of content. That is what a content strategy template is for.

Content marketers can use the comprehensive, detailed, and documented resources available in a content strategy framework to create individual templates. These are repeatable content framing devices, such as a format for blog posts or social media posts, that you can use over and over again as you create content in relation to a specific content strategy.

What Are the Benefits of a Content Marketing Framework?

If you’re already building out a content strategy and you know you have to create templates to execute that strategy, why go to all the trouble to also create a framework? There are several answers to that question. Here are just a few of the biggest benefits that a solid framework offers: 

• A content marketing framework provides comprehensive clarity. A content strategy may make sense in theory, but it’s often difficult to grasp how to turn all of the hypotheticals into specific marketing assets. A framework puts it all in front of you. It helps you see everything at the same time.
• A content marketing framework bridges the gap between high-minded strategy and nitty-gritty content creation. It’s difficult to remember your company mission statement or a specific KPI when you’re fighting with Canva to reformat an image, or you’re in Google Docs optimizing a blog post for SEO. Frameworks help you connect the big picture with specifics, even when you’re in the thick of the creative process.
• A content marketing strategy framework creates consistency. Valuable content can take multiple forms. It can also send many different messages to various audience segments. A solid framework keeps all of your content and its messages flowing in the same direction.
• A content marketing framework makes it easy to make changes. Adjusting a content marketing strategy is difficult, especially if you have multiple digital marketing initiatives going on at the same time. A framework makes it easy to make tweaks and pivots to your entire strategy in order to stay in front of your target audience.
• A content strategy framework generates synergy toward content marketing goals. It’s hard to move so many different content marketing elements toward the same SMART goals. A framework ensures everything is working toward the same results. 

Frameworks aren’t just a content marketing frill. They provide the infrastructure required to execute a content strategy at a high level.

What Are the Elements of a Content Marketing Framework?

Okay, so a framework is worth it …but how do you create one? Here are the pieces you want to consider when pulling together a marketing framework for your content.

• Vision, values, mission, and goals: Always start with the high-level stuff. Review both your larger objectives and short-term goals as a company and keep them at the center of your framework.
• Target audience: Who are you targeting? Make sure you’ve identified your primary audience. Should you focus on a specific segment of that group? What content type will help you reach potential customers? Use this information to create a clear buyer persona for your current content marketing strategy. 
• Content marketing resources: You can’t turn plans into assets without the right tools, team members, and budget in place. What are the resources that you have available to create content right now? What pieces or people are missing for your strategy to be effective?
• Content ideas: What will your content be about? What will your content format look like? Are there general themes, topics, or keywords that you want to hit on a regular basis? Will you be repurposing existing content? Figure these out and add them to your framework.
• A solid schedule: You don’t have to predict when you’ll post every article, infographic, or social blurb. However, you do want to have a rough idea of the timeline and content calendar that your strategy will require. This is why building out a schedule for creating, posting, and following up on content distribution is essential.

The holistic nature of this collection of components is a great snapshot example of how important a framework is as a central repository for all of your content strategy needs.

Tapping Into the Power of a Content Marketing Framework

It’s tempting to skip over the need for a framework as you seek to get your content production schedule rolling. However, this is a critical piece of a larger content strategy that you should never ignore.

Take the time to build out a framework for your content strategies. If you’re struggling to develop an effective framework on your own, find an experienced content marketing agency to help you pull everything together. 

That way, you can optimize the results of each content campaign you run and ensure it has a maximum impact on your overall content marketing efforts.