Questions to Consider When Developing a Content Marketing Campaign

There are several topics to consider as you prepare to use social media to market your business. You'll want to be sure that you've considered each aspect of social networking as it relates to the content you want to distribute. As you plan your content marketing strategy for social media, here are 10 questions to consider:

1. Who is your target market? Write your content to coincide with age, gender, level of education, geographic location, income, and other important characteristics that you've identified. For example, you will write differently to reach a group of 18-21 year olds than you would to speak to a group of 50-60 year olds.
2. Which networking site will help you reach that target? Each medium attracts different users, and you should know where you are mostly likely to find your target audience. LinkedIn may be appropriate for some content, but MySpace might make more sense for others.
3. Who will write the content that you will distribute? Are they skilled at writing clearly and concisely? You may have experts in your organization that will be your resource for the information, but make sure the person who is preparing the content is skilled at writing with a conversational and genuine style. You want content that clearly presents a message. In general, you want proper grammar, spelling, and sentence structure, but there are always exceptions depending on your audience and purpose. Someone who is familiar with Web content can help you decide what is ok and what is too casual.
4. What is your plan for responding to the comments, questions, and feedback generated by your content? Who in your organization is responsible for this task? Someone must monitor your social media profiles for all types of communication. A lack of response to a question or comment could be deadly to your reputation and will hurt relationships. Have someone track the conversation and identify further content ideas based on what others are saying or asking. It's also a good idea to set up Google Alerts with your business name and key people as search terms. This will help you catch the comments that are circling about you and give you a chance to respond quickly and appropriately.
5. Is your content honest, sincere, trustworthy, and important to your audience? Write about relevant topics and be genuine in your efforts to educate and inform. Your content should portray a helpful, supportive approach. Eliminate all pretentious, judgmental, and patronizing language.
6. Are you writing to sell or writing to educate? Content marketing focuses on education. Inform, don't advertise.
7. What is the problem/need that your product or service will solve/meet? Show the potential customer that you can relate to their problems, and that you have a solution that can help.
8. How can you position your business/yourself as an expert in your industry? Customers expect you to know your industry and the upcoming trends. Be willing to share and contribute your knowledge to the conversations that occur on social networking sites. Customers will appreciate your input and respect your opinions.
9. How will you encourage your customers to share your content with friends and colleagues? Ask your friends, fans, and followers to invite others to be a part of the conversation. Let them know you appreciate their support and thank them for their loyalty. Share you successes and attribute that (at least in part) to their interest and word-of-mouth advertising.
10. What results do you expect to see? An increase in communication? An increase in sales? How will you know your strategy has been successful? Be sure to gather benchmark information when you start a campaign so you can clearly see how your customers are responding to your content. Set goals for each campaign and study the statistics to make sure you are seeing positive results. If not, take an objective look at your content and consider revising your strategy.

What tips and topics are important to you when thinking about social media campaigns? How do you plan your content strategy? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Leave us a comment or respond to info@e-websmart.com.