Introduction
Content planning involves defining what content you will publish, when you will publish, and across which channels.An effective content plan helps you prioritise tasks, organise the creation process, and track your progress. Creating a content plan is a crucial step in any content strategy, regardless of the types of content you produce (such as images, videos, or blog posts) or the platforms you use to distribute it (such as LinkedIn, Instagram, or your blog). So, firstly, what is a content plan?
What is a content plan?
A content plan is exactly what it sounds like: a plan for your marketing content. It should be a vital part of any marketing strategy, helping to guide the development, planning, and management of your content. A content plan should be created with specific goals in mind: Are you looking to drive more traffic to your website? Do you want to build brand awareness? Are you looking to increase sales? A solid plan can help achieve these end results.
What are the benefits of Content Planning?
Without a content plan, there will be no structure to your marketing, and it will be almost impossible to see results and even more difficult to pinpoint exactly what has been effective and to track your success. A content plan provides focused direction on what to do and when to do it. It offers numerous other benefits, including:
- Improved Organisation: Ensures all content efforts are coordinated and strategic
- Consistency: Maintains a steady flow of content that keeps your audience engaged
- Efficiency: Streamlines the content creation process, saving time and resources
- Goal Alignment: Keeps content aligned with business objectives and marketing goals.
- Performance Tracking: Facilitates the measurement and analysis of content effectiveness.
Building a Clear and Concise Content Strategy
A content strategy outlines your objectives, target audience, distribution channels, and other crucial aspects that steer your content marketing initiatives. A content plan is effectively a documented blueprint for implementing your marketing strategy.
To develop a solid content strategy, you need:
- Measurable goals
- A thorough understanding of your audience
Your strategy establishes the framework that directs your content plan, so it should always come first.
Set-up Goals
Content marketing must have precise goals. There’s no point in creating content if you don’t know what you want to achieve with it. Remember that these goals have to be SMART. This is an acronym that stands for:
- Specific – Objective clearly states, so anyone reading it can understand, what will be done and who will do it.
- Measurable – The objective includes how the action will be measured. Measuring your objectives helps you determine if you are making progress. It keeps you on track and on schedule.
- Achievable – The objective is realistic and obtainable given your plan’s timeframes and target audience. Setting reasonable objectives helps set the project up for success.
- Relevant – Your goals must be relevant to your business and fit the purpose of the content plan. They should also address the vision for your business or project.
- Time-bound – Every objective has a specific timeline for completion.
Understanding your Audience
Audience research is crucial for creating content that aligns with your customers’ needs. Here are key aspects you should understand about your audience:
- The topics they are interested in
- The channels they use (e.g., Instagram, Google Search, etc)
- The formats they prefer (e.g., videos, blog posts, podcasts)
How to perform Audience Research
If you feel like you don’t know enough about your audience to create effective content plans, start with audience research. There are many ways to perform it.
Two quick and effective options are:
- Reaching out to your customers or followers
- Analysing your data
Talking to your customers (or followers) is the best way to understand the content they’d find valuable. You can call them or send a personal email, or save time by using surveys. Free tools like Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, and Typeform make it easy to create customer surveys.
Conducting keyword research can also give you valuable insight into what your audience is searching for related to your business. Finding the most used search terms related to your product or service can improve your marketing efforts and give you insight into what your consumers want specifically.
Create Your Template
You can create a content plan with a simple spreadsheet or take it a step further by using a project management tool. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for planning content; each company’s content plan will be unique.
However, some elements are essential for every piece of content.
At a minimum, you should include:
- Title
- Format (e.g., 30-second video, blog article, etc.)
- Person in charge
- Publication date
- Status
These are the basics, but each type of content has specific requirements, so you need to adapt your content plans accordingly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a content plan is essential for businesses looking to make a substantial impact in their respective industries. By offering a roadmap that streamlines content creation and distribution, a content plan ensures that businesses optimise the effectiveness of their content marketing endeavours.
