When most of us think about content marketing, we’re thinking copywriters, infographics, and something that we don’t have experience in, which for some is enough to scare any business owner away from creating content for their business. In this month’s Lunch and Learn, Anvil’s VP of Strategy, Josh Breese, shows small businesses that content marketing isn’t as scary as it seems.

What is Content Marketing?

As you do your research into what content marketing is and how to get started, you’ll see all the moving pieces and how it can get overwhelming, but not to worry, we went ahead and broke it down to 4 simple steps. However, while considering each of these steps, it is important to keep in mind that the main goal of content marketing is getting users to complete the action you want them to do.

What you need to do to get started:

1. Identify
   • The first step is defining your goals. What do you want to accomplish through your content marketing and what is your time frame?
   • Next, define who your target audiences are, which will help you determine what channels and technology are the best ways to reach them.
   • Then, you will need to assess what content you already have and whether it matches up with your target audiences and the overall goal of your marketing strategy.
   • You will also need to determine what resources you have available to create content. Will you need to look for outside help or do you already have content creators on your team?
   • Lastly, metrics need to be defined, baselines need to be determined, as well as set-up tests and learning procedures.
2. Creation
   • When it comes to creation, you’re telling a story through multiple channels for a long period of time. Thus, it is important that you keep a consistency through your channels, with subject matter, brand image, etc.
   • Next in the creation process, it is important to consider that if someone tunes in half way through your story, will they be able to tell what is going on? Therefore, you will want to build a plan for what content you are creating and in what order, to ensure that your story is organized and easy to follow.
3. Amplify
   • This will be your distribution channels. How are you getting your content out to users? Will it be through social media, web, email, advertisements, etc.
4. Refine
   • The last step of the content marketing process is testing your data to see what’s working and what’s not working. This is where identifying metrics is important, so you will have baselines to determine whether your strategy is meeting your goals.
   • Next, based on that information, you can refine your approach to better reach your users.
   • Lastly, it is important to remember that this stage is a continuous process. You will want to consistently check your KPIs to determine what needs refining and what doesn’t and implement new strategies accordingly.

Click here to view the full presentation and as always, contact us with any and all of your digital marketing needs!