Here are 10 steps to take when creating a content marketing strategy in 2023.

Here are 10 steps to take when creating a content marketing strategy:

1. Set SMART Goals

• Having a goal is so important because it spearheads the direction of your strategy. The goals should be set based on where you are now and where you want to be.

2. Audience Research

• It is important to understand who consumes your content and where they consume it, your different audience segments, the problems they face, and what type of content drives the most engagement.

3. Research Competitors

• You usually have two types of competitors, indirect and direct competitors. Direct competitors are those who have similar offerings and the same target audience, while indirect have the same target audience for different product offerings.

4. Complete Topic and Keyword Research

• you need to find out what your audience is searching for online. There are several tools for this, but one of the cheapest ways I learned recently is to use Google or YouTube. Type in your area of interest, and automatically the search engine begins to assume what you need based on popular requests. Finding relevant keywords will give you new ideas for content.5. Review Your Existing Content and Channels

5. Review Your Existing Content and Channels

• What channel are you currently using? Instagram? Website? Tiktok? Which content brought you the most sales and traction? You might already have good stuff published, so you need to analyze why that content and channel did so well.

6. Brainstorm on ideas

• From your research, you have more insights into what your audience wants. Get your brain to work. Don’t restrict yourself to the keywords; generate as many ideas as possible. Don’t bother about refining it, the more ideas, the merrier. After brainstorming, you also want to think about your distribution channels.

7. Group Your Content Ideas

• Here, you begin to group your ideas into funnel stages. Think of the funnel as movement from awareness, consideration, and the perfect candidate for the job. Using Sugarfairy as our case study, I will define the funnel stages.

8. Plan Your Resources

• You have all these amazing ideas, but can you afford to do all of them? What do you need to execute excellently? When will you execute them? You need to organize your content strategy in a calendar, which details the following.

9. Create Content

• Remember to focus on your users. In this day and age where attention is currency, whatever you are creating has to be valuable. For text content (anything that will be read), it has to be free of ambiguity, simple terms will make use of storytelling.

10. Lastly, Distribute Forever

• Let the world see your creation. You can use one platform to promote another content on your primary channel, i.e., using WhatsApp to promote your post on Instagram and vice versa. You can also choose to back your stuff up with paid ads.