You have put a lot of thought into your content marketing strategy and you are excited to put it into action. But before you can do that, you need approval from the stakeholders like the CEO, CMO and CFO.
Getting buy-in for your content marketing strategy can seem like a daunting task, but it is not impossible. With the right approach, you can convince the top leadership of your company that your strategy is worth investing in.
In this article, we will walk you through the necessary steps to get approval for your content marketing strategy. We will also provide tips for selling your strategy to the decision makers and making sure it aligns with your company’s goals.
What Is Content Marketing?
You have probably heard the saying, “content is king” – it is a popular phrase for a reason: quality content is essential for any successful marketing strategy. But what exactly does it mean? At its core, content marketing is the use of valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain customers.
Essentially, it is a way to market your business through the creation and distribution of content that is not promotional in nature. Instead, content marketing focuses on providing valuable information and insights that help your target audience solve their problems.
And when done well, content marketing such as blogging can be incredibly effective in driving leads and sales for your business. In fact, businesses that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those that don’t.
How content marketing helps build brand recognition
Content marketing can help businesses build a name for themselves. The right mix of informative and entertaining content can engage customers and keep them coming back for more. Over time, this can create a level of trust and credibility that can be difficult to rival with traditional advertising methods.
What’s more, content marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach your target audience. It does not require big budgets or elaborate campaigns. All you need is quality content that resonates with your customers. So, if you are looking for a way to get your business seen and heard, content marketing is definitely worth a try.
Benefits of content marketing for businesses
When done correctly, content marketing can provide a number of benefits for businesses.
For starters, it can help you build trust with your target audience. By providing valuable and relevant content, you show that you are an authority in your field and that you care about your customers. This helps build trust and helps you connect with your audience on a deeper level.
Second, content marketing can also help you grow your business by driving traffic to your website and increasing leads and sales. The right content can reach the right people at the right time, and it can help persuade them to do business with you.
Finally, content marketing is a great way to position your business as a thought leader in your industry. When you share your insights and expertise with the world, you raise brand awareness and attract new customers.
Importance of Content Marketing Strategy
When it comes to content marketing, having a strategy is key.
Why? Well, without a plan in place, it is easy to get overwhelmed and feel scattered. Not to mention, you will lose focus on what is important and what is not.
A well-crafted strategy will take into account your business goals, target audience, the types of content that will resonate with them, and the channels you will use to reach them. Without a strategy, your content will likely be all over the place, and you will have a hard time measuring its effectiveness.
A good place to start when crafting your content marketing strategy is to answer these four questions:
- What are your business goals?
- Who is your target audience?
- What type of content will resonate with them?
- Which channels will you use to reach them?
If you know your target audience hangs out online, you will have a better opportunity of meeting them where they are at – more of this on our free comprehensive ebook.
A strategy provides you with the roadmap you need to make sure your content is on point and you are reaching your target audience. It also allows you to track your progress and measure your results. This way, you can see what is working and what is not and that will help you make necessary adjustments as you move forward.
Last but not the least, a strategy gives you direction and purpose, which is essential for keeping your content marketing efforts on track and aligned.
A Step-By-Step Guide to Gaining Approval for Your Content Marketing Strategy
Now that you know the benefits of content marketing and how essential a strategy is, let us dive into how you can get buy-in for your content marketing strategy.
1. Defining Your Content Marketing Strategy
Before you can even think about gaining approval for your content marketing strategy, you need to first define the what and the how –
- What are your goals?
- What results are you expecting?
- How are you going to accomplish it?
By starting with a clear understanding of what you are trying to achieve, you will give yourself the best chance of success.
To set you up for success, we published a free ebook with tips, tricks, templates and worksheets to help you outrank your competition and launch powerful content that drives growth.
2. Developing a Plan for Your Content Marketing Strategy
With your content marketing strategy defined, you now have to create a well-thought-out plan so you can best achieve those goals.
You can’t just sit down and start churning out content willy-nilly and expect it to perform well. That is not how it works. You need to have a plan – a strategy in place before you start creating content.
Your plan should include the following:
- Your goals and objectives for the campaign
- The target audience you are trying to reach
- The types of content you will create
- The channels you will use to promote your content
- The budget you will need to support your campaign
- The people involved in the creation and distribution of your campaign
- The timeline for your campaign
Remember to use facts and figures to justify your plan. This way you can emphasize why it is important for the company to invest in content marketing.
3. Presenting Your Content Marketing Strategy to Decision Makers
When it comes to pitching your content marketing strategy to your team, it is important to be prepared. After all, you want to make a good impression and show that you have put thought into the process.
Here are four steps to help you do just that:
- Gather your data: This includes stats on website traffic, social media followers, leads generated, and so on. You want to have a clear picture of your current online presence.
- Draft your strategy: This is where you will outline your plan for creating and promoting content. Emphasize how content marketing will boost your online presence which ultimately results in more leads and sales.
- Present your strategy: Be sure to tailor your pitch to your audience, whether it is the top leadership or other members of your team.
- Ask for feedback and input: Constructive feedback and suggestions will help you improve your proposed content marketing strategy.
- Follow up: After your presentation, be sure to follow up with any questions or concerns that the decision makers may have.
4. Crafting a Compelling Argument for Your Content Marketing Strategy
It is important to remember that not everyone is going to be on board with your content marketing strategy from the get-go. And that’s okay! You just need to be prepared to make a compelling argument for why it is necessary.
Here are a few things you want to keep in mind as you are crafting your argument:
- What are your company’s goals and how can content marketing help achieve them faster.
- What are the results of your current marketing efforts versus the potential results of content marketing. Remember to highlight what your company will be losing if they don’t adopt content marketing.
- Who is your target audience and how content marketing helps position your company as the leading figure in your industry.
- How can content marketing help impact the growth and the future of your company.
Answering these questions will help you build a strong case for why your content marketing strategy is worth pursuing. And when you are armed with that information, you will be much more likely to get the buy-in you need from decision makers.
5. Crafting an Ongoing Action Plan for Your Approved Content Marketing Strategy
Let’s say you now have the buy-in for your content marketing strategy – well, this is the beginning of the real work. You need to create an action plan that will help you implement it consistently. Keep in mind, posting on a regular basis is the key in content marketing.
The action plan should include:
- A calendar for creating and publishing content
- Details on who will be responsible for each stage of the process (research, writing, editing, publishing, etc.)
- Guidelines for what kind of content you will create (blog posts, infographics, videos, etc.)
- A system for measuring the success of your content (analytics, surveys, etc.)
- A comprehensive monthly or quarterly report discussing the results of your campaigns
If you can put all of this together in a clear and concise way, you will be able to put your content marketing strategy into action and see the results you want.
Tips for Getting Buy-in for Your Content Marketing Strategy
When you are trying to get buy-in for your content marketing strategy, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success. Here are a few tips:
Do your research. Before you even start talking to potential stakeholders, make sure you have done your homework.
Know what the current landscape looks like, what the competition is doing, and what your target audience wants and needs. This will give you an edge in your content marketing efforts.
Make a solid case. Once you have done your research, you need to make a solid case for why your content marketing strategy is the way to go.
Have the facts and figures ready. Be prepared to answer tough questions and address any concerns that come up.
Be flexible. Be prepared to compromise and make changes to your strategy based on feedback from the decision makers.
Remember, not everyone is going to be 100% on board from the start, but if you are willing to make some adjustments, you may be able to win them over.
Have a backup plan. If all else fails and you can’t seem to get buy-in for your content marketing strategy, have a backup plan ready.
This could involve going ahead with a smaller scale version of your strategy. Starting small requires less time and money or in other words, less risk. So, plan for a small-scale content marketing project that will get results. Then you can use it to win the stakeholders for a bigger project.
Takeaway
Content marketing is one of the most efficient and effective ways to build a connection with your customers and if you want your content to be seen by more people, you need to have a plan for promoting it – that is where a content marketing strategy comes in.
A content marketing strategy is basically a blueprint that takes into account what kind of content you are creating, who you are creating it for, and how you are going to get it in front of them.
By taking the time to create a content marketing strategy, you are giving yourself a roadmap for success – and that is something that any business can benefit from.
However, getting everyone on board to support your content marketing initiative may take some work, especially if it is a first for your company to implement such a marketing campaign.
Convincing the decision makers and stakeholders to support your content marketing strategy requires research and preparation – this will be the key in developing a comprehensive plan to ensure that the invested time and money won’t go down the drain and you will be able to achieve the set goals.
Want to save countless hours creating blog posts? Try Copysmith’s Blog Kickstarter and have a complete blog post written for you in seconds. No credit card required, sign up today.