Content Strategy

Overview

Develop and execute content strategy that attracts, engages, and converts

Steps

Step 1: Define content goals and success metrics

Align content goals with business objectives:

Goal types to consider:

Awareness: Reach new audience, build brand recognition
Engagement: Build relationships, grow community
Conversion: Generate leads, drive trials, close sales
Retention: Keep existing customers engaged and loyal

For each goal, define SMART metrics:

Specific: What exactly are we measuring?
Measurable: How will we track it?
Achievable: Is the target realistic?
Relevant: Does it tie to business outcomes?
Time-bound: By when?

Examples:

“Increase organic traffic by 50% in 6 months”
“Generate 100 email subscribers per month”
“Achieve 5% conversion rate from content to trial”

Step 2: Research and define target audience

Build detailed audience understanding:

Demographics and firmographics:

Who are they? (role, company, industry)
What decisions do they make?
What budget/authority do they have?

Psychographics and behaviors:

What do they care about?
What problems do they have?
What content do they already consume?
Where do they spend time online?
How do they prefer to learn?

Create audience personas:

2-3 detailed profiles of ideal readers
Include goals, challenges, objections
Map content preferences per persona

Research methods:

Customer interviews (use customer_discovery procedure)
Sales team insights
Support ticket analysis
Competitor audience analysis
Social media listening

Step 3: Audit existing content

Inventory and assess current content assets:

Catalog all content:

Blog posts and articles
Guides and ebooks
Videos and podcasts
Social media content
Email sequences
Documentation

Assess each piece:

Traffic and engagement metrics
SEO rankings and backlinks
Conversion performance
Content quality and accuracy
Brand alignment

Categorize for action:

Keep: Performing well, still relevant
Update: Good foundation, needs refresh
Consolidate: Multiple pieces on same topic
Remove: Outdated, low quality, or off-brand

Identify gaps:

Topics not covered
Funnel stages missing content
Formats not utilized

Step 4: Establish content pillars

Define 3-5 core themes for all content:

What makes a good pillar:

Broad enough to generate many topics
Specific enough to build authority
Aligned with business expertise
Relevant to audience needs
Differentiated from competitors

Pillar selection process:

List potential themes from audience research
Map themes to business capabilities
Assess competitive landscape per theme
Prioritize based on opportunity and fit
Select 3-5 pillars to focus on

For each pillar:

Define the scope and boundaries
Identify sub-topics to cover
Determine content formats that work best
Set expertise level (beginner to advanced)

Example pillars for project management software:

Team productivity and collaboration
Project planning and execution
Remote work best practices
Engineering leadership

Step 5: Build topic backlog and prioritize

Research and prioritize topics within pillars:

Topic sources:

Keyword research (search volume, difficulty, intent)
Audience questions (from interviews, support, sales)
Competitive analysis (what’s working for others)
Trend monitoring (emerging topics in your space)
Internal expertise (unique insights to share)

For each topic, assess:

Search demand (volume and trends)
Competition (difficulty to rank)
Business relevance (ties to product/service)
Audience value (how much they care)
Expertise fit (can you add unique value)

Prioritization matrix:

High demand + low competition = Quick wins
High demand + high competition = Strategic investments
Low demand + low competition = Niche opportunities
Low demand + high competition = Avoid

Build backlog with 3-6 months of topics prioritized.

Step 6: Create content calendar

Plan content production schedule:

Determine sustainable cadence:

What can you produce consistently long-term?
Quality > quantity always
Better to do less well than more poorly

Typical cadences:

Blog: 1-4 posts per week
Newsletter: Weekly or bi-weekly
Social: Daily to 3x per week
Video: Weekly to monthly
Podcast: Weekly to monthly

Calendar structure:

Quarterly: Themes and major campaigns
Monthly: Specific topics and formats
Weekly: Production schedule and assignments

For each content piece:

Topic and working title
Content pillar it belongs to
Funnel stage (awareness/consideration/decision)
Format and length
Target keyword
Author/creator
Publish date
Distribution channels
Status tracking

Build in flexibility for timely content and adjustments.

Step 7: Establish creation and quality process

Define workflow for content production:

Content brief template:

Topic and title
Target audience persona
Goal and key message
Target keyword and search intent
Key points to cover
Competitor content to beat
Internal links to include
Call to action
Format and target length

Creation process:

Research topic thoroughly
Create detailed outline
Write first draft
Edit for clarity, value, and voice
Add visuals and formatting
Optimize for SEO
Review and approve
Schedule publication

Quality checklist:

Does it provide genuine value?
Is it better than existing content on the topic?
Is it actionable (reader can do something)?
Is it well-structured and scannable?
Is it accurate and well-researched?
Is it on-brand in voice and style?
Is it optimized for target keyword?

Set up review process with clear ownership.

Step 8: Define distribution strategy

Plan how content will reach audience:

Owned channels (you control):

Website/blog
Email list
Social media profiles
App/product
Community

Earned channels (others share):

Social shares and virality
Backlinks from other sites
PR and media coverage
Guest posting opportunities
Podcast appearances

Paid channels (you pay for reach):

Social media ads
Search ads
Sponsored content
Influencer partnerships
Content syndication

Repurposing strategy:

Create once, distribute many times
Long-form guide becomes blog series, social posts, infographic, email course, webinar, podcast episode

For each content piece, define:

Primary distribution channel
Secondary channels
Repurposing plan
Promotion timeline
Paid amplification (if any)

Step 9: Implement measurement and optimization

Set up tracking and review process:

Metrics by goal:

Awareness metrics:

Traffic (total, by source, by content)
Impressions and reach
New vs returning visitors
Brand mention tracking

Engagement metrics:

Time on page
Pages per session
Scroll depth
Social engagement (shares, comments)
Email open and click rates

Conversion metrics:

Email signups
Lead generation
Trial starts
Sales attribution

SEO metrics:

Keyword rankings
Organic traffic growth
Backlinks acquired
Domain authority

Review cadence:

Weekly: Quick metrics check
Monthly: Performance review and adjustments
Quarterly: Strategy review and planning

Optimization process:

Identify top and bottom performers
Analyze what’s working and why
Update underperforming content
Double down on winning formats/topics
Iterate on strategy based on data

When to Use

Building an audience for a product or service
Establishing thought leadership in a domain
Starting or revamping content marketing efforts
When organic traffic and SEO are strategic priorities
Building trust with potential customers before purchase
Creating assets that compound over time (evergreen content)
When paid acquisition costs are unsustainable alone
Differentiating through expertise demonstration

Verification

Content strategy is tied to specific business goals
Audience is defined with real data, not assumptions
Content pillars are focused and differentiated
Calendar is realistic and sustainable long-term
Every piece has clear purpose and distribution plan
Measurement tracks business outcomes, not vanity metrics
Quality standards are defined and consistently applied

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