We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Having a documented content marketing strategy is not just a good idea, it's a game-changer. We’re reiterating this because we believe this advice is more crucial than ever as marketing departments face challenges. Companies cannot afford to waste time and resources on unfocused, meandering marketing efforts. You need to be laser-focused; the only way to do that is with a strategy that links every marketing decision to your goals. This is your key to success, even in the face of budget constraints.

Content strategy: Why now?

Let’s be direct. The past few years have been challenging for marketing departments. These teams, often seen as expendable during tough times or cost-cutting measures, play a crucial role in company growth. However, the failure to establish a clear link between their activities and growth often leads to their undervaluation. As consultants working with various companies, we frequently observe this issue across different industries. 

This is largely due to one problem: It is rare that we see a company take the time to develop a clear, documented content strategy that links all of its efforts back to its goals. As a result, companies strategy hop, shifting their tactics on a whim. I often hear about founders and other C-suite executives getting together, talking amongst themselves, and then making quick strategy changes based on what their buddies are saying. This is especially true in tech circles where that whole “move fast and break things” ethos still exists, even though the constant iteration of taglines, key messaging, and sales pitches leave customers and marketing pros flustered and confused.

A carefully considered, documented strategy allows marketing departments to hold everyone accountable, including those at the top who may grow impatient and try to change horses midstream. Setting clear goals, mapping them to individual tactics, and determining how they will be measured provides a guide everyone can follow, which is invaluable when marketing departments are under pressure to prove their worth. 

The top 3 mistakes we see companies make without a content strategy

• Moving forward too quickly — It’s easy to get excited about new ideas and want to rush into creating assets and launching campaigns. However, those assets and campaigns need to be tied to specific goals, and success needs to be defined. Without those guardrails in place, your campaign can go off the rails.

• Expecting too much too quickly — This is especially true when a company is just launching its marketing efforts, but for some reason, people think leads start flowing in as soon as you throw up a white paper. If that were true, everyone would be rolling in new clients. Marketing is a long game, especially in the B2B world where sales cycles are lengthy and potential new customers are circumspect with their dollars. You must ensure your goals are set appropriately — accounting for the small wins that ultimately lead to the big leads — and that expectations are properly set for timelines. 

• Being too aggressive with your asks — We know leads and sales are the end goal. Still, if we had a dime for every time we saw a client immediately jump to asking for a registration without any luck, we wouldn’t be writing this blog. Imagine you build apps for small businesses and run a Google ad campaign on broad search terms like “mobile apps.” The ad leads to a landing page for a white paper, and you are not seeing the results you expected. There’s a lot going on here, and the problems are obvious. The content does not match the intent of the search, and asking people who have never heard of you to register for a download is far too aggressive. A download is a bottom-of-the-funnel activity; you must start at the top. 

How does a content strategy streamline marketing efforts? 

If some of the problems above seem related, that’s because they are. They are all symptoms of the same problem: not having a strategy that clearly aligns every piece of content with different goals, all of which should be mapped to a stage in the funnel. 

The metrics for measuring the success of a blog post are different than those associated with a white paper, but they are all parts of a user journey. When you have not taken the time to clearly define how each piece of content relates back to the overall strategy, it’s impossible to ensure you are putting your limited resources into the right places. And it’s worth noting that having a strategy that all the stakeholders in your company agree upon can help preserve your sanity. That is worth its weight in gold in today’s business landscape.

If your marketing department constantly struggles to stay focused, a documented strategy may be the solution you’re looking for. We understand that taking the time to develop the strategy while keeping up with everything else you do may be impossible. Luckily, there are plenty of consultants (including Quiet Corner Communications) who are ready to help. Our goal is to turn your team into content experts, helping you build a thoughtful strategy that you can effectively execute.