Creating A Winning Content Marketing Strategy From Scratch: A Guide

The whole marketing realm has drastically changed in the past few years. And this change has given birth to the age of digital marketing. Today, digital marketing is successfully shifting the whole map of how we used to define marketing.

The foundation of digital marketing relies on quality content combined with innovative digital tools. Thus, it is safe to say that content plays a vital role in creating a successful digital marketing strategy. In fact, content marketing is one of the top trends of 2023 that digital marketers hope to leverage.

Today, the EZ Marketing Tech team will explore further how important content marketing is in the digital marketing scenario. So let’s get started right away!

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing might seem like a new terminology. But that is surprisingly not the case. The term content marketing was first coined in 1996 at a journalism conference by John F. Oppedahl.

The definition of content marketing can be explained as a marketing tool that involves creating value-added, engaging content for promotional purposes. But, of course, content marketing is much more elaborate than that. It is a way of providing relevant information in a unique manner that can attract an audience. Apart from that, content marketing is also aimed at educating and distributing.

Therefore, content marketing specialists strive to create content marketing strategies amalgamating all the mentioned factors. But at the same time, one that motivates the audience to take action. In essence, it is a multi-faceted job that involves not just imparting information or motivating action but also serving some goal.

Importance Of Content Marketing In Digital Marketing

Content marketing is one of the pillars that support digital marketing. In fact, the majority of your digital marketing strategy’s success relies on your content. The importance of content marketing in digital marketing can be reflected in the behavior of marketers in recent years.

Data shows that 73% of B2B and 70% of B2C marketers use content marketing as a part of their marketing strategy. Also, 22% of B2B marketers agreed to spend 50% or more of their total marketing budget on content marketing.

These statistics clearly point to just how integral content is in digital marketing. Content marketing agencies attest that content usage reportedly increased by 207% after the pandemic. And this data is all set to experience an even more significant surge.

Content marketing is a part of digital marketing. But it is a part without which digital marketing will fall apart. Because digital marketing revolves around marketing digital content created using integrated digital tools. Apart from that, here are a few reasons why content marketing is essential in digital marketing.

Helps Build A Better Connection With Customers– the main perk of engaging content is it helps build better connections with the customer. Earlier traditional marketing techniques were all focused on driving sales. But as content took over the marketing realm, the focus shifted to driving better connections. And what ultimately led to better sales but one more stable.

Cost Effective– another considerable advantage of content marketing is that it’s actually cost-effective. Creating interactive visuals or blogs for your brand can almost be done for free. A plethora of software available across the internet allows free content creation. This saves a lot of cost and time. And not only that but distribution cost is also reduced.

Better Rankings– search engine rankings play an important role in marketing today, especially in digital marketing. High-quality content increases your chance of rankings which is what you need to get visibility. And ranking at the top doesn’t just help with visibility but also traffic.

Data shows that the #1 organic (non-paid) position in Google search earns a CTR of 39.6%. Therefore, heavy traffic on your website is key to gaining more customers and hence sales.

Better ROI– Research shows that content marketing generates significantly better ROI than traditional marketing. Estimatedly, companies with blogs generate 67% more leads. They are also expected to earn 97% inbound links and 434% more indexed pages on Google. And this while being much more cost-effective in comparison.

Role Of Content Marketers In Devising Marketing Strategy

Strategy can be defined as a plan of action intended to achieve a long-term or overall aim. Marketing strategies are detailed plans aimed at achieving the marketing goals of a firm. As times have shifted, marketing strategies have become more elaborate.

Content marketing strategies play a significant role in devising a marketing strategy. The reason is that most businesses have now largely shifted to digital marketing. And digital marketing is all about content.

Content marketers are the ones responsible for planning a content marketing strategy. And this may make us wonder what a content marketer is.

A content marketer is someone who specializes in planning, creating, and sharing valuable content to attract customers and turn them into repeat buyers. And even though it may seem like a content marketer is solely responsible for the content, that is not the case. A content marketer is an overall player, which means one who knows all domains surrounding content marketing. This may include knowledge of SEO, marketing, etc.

Content marketers play a multitude of roles when it comes to devising a marketing strategy. These people are responsible for coming up with compelling content and how to market it, strategizing, and making necessary adjustments while keeping up with the trends and changes.

In addition, content marketers work to build awareness, generate leads and increase conversions. All these actions are aimed at driving the overall marketing strategy toward a successful outcome.

Top Content Marketing Trends In 2023

Given how integral content marketing is in digital marketing, let us explore a few content marketing trends in 2023.

1. Short-form videos– One of the top trends in 2023 is short-form videos. The era of short-form videos started with TikTok. But now, it is available on almost every social media handle. Short-form content is a great way to engage with your customer. They are short and succinct and get your message straight to the audience without wasting time.
2. Podcasts– Podcasts have been in vogue for years now. But in 2023, it is all set to grow even more. On average, US consumers listened to fifteen billion podcasts in 2021. As a result, businesses are quickly moving to podcasts as an effective marketing tool.
3. Value-Driven Content– In 2023, value-driven content will be emphasized big time. Such type of content not only meets the customer’s needs but also add value to their experience. The key to value-driven content lies in personalization backed by relevant data.
4. Highly Researched Content– Another trend in 2023 will be high-quality researched content. Audiences have become aware and thus are wary and suspicious of misleading content. Hence, your content should not only be high quality but also well-researched. The last thing you need is to come across as misleading. In 2023, content marketers are predicted to place greater focus on this.

Why Hire A Content Marketing Specialist For Strategy Building?

Cost Effective– Content marketing is relatively cost-effective. But with the potential for much better ROI. A professional content specialist or a team may need some investment initially, but in the long run, it will help you earn even greater results.

The Right Skills– Some people believe that content is nothing but writing, and how hard can that be? Answer: very. Creating engaging and well-researched content is not child’s play. Creating a perfect piece of content takes more than just writing skills.

Hiring a specialist not only helps to develop a piece of good quality content but also helps to create a powerful strategy. Because content marketing specialists are more than just writers. They are researchers, storytellers, and marketers, all combined in one.

High-Quality Results– As the popular saying goes, quality comes before quantity. One of the perks of getting content marketing specialists on board is that they understand quality. Most content specialists have years of skills under their belts. This gives them a holistic idea of what good quality content is. And this is integral when it comes to using content to create an effective marketing strategy.

Multitasking– A content marketing specialist is much more than a content writer, as we already established. These people are multi-taskers. And that means they bring more than high-quality content to the plate. Content marketing specialists are also skilled in SEO, just marketing in general, and many other areas. Thus, with their multitasking abilities, they are not only a great asset but also a great investment.

How Do Content Marketing Agencies Build Strategy?

Given the importance of content marketing, it is essential to have a proper content marketing strategy. Designing a content strategy is an elaborate process that requires a lot of precision. But there are a few key steps that every content marketing agency follows to design an effective strategy. These steps are-

Defining The Aim Of Your Content– Why are you creating what you are creating? What is your content aimed at? This is the first step to developing a content marketing strategy. Without a precise aim, your whole strategy will fail, and your content will lack the clarity it needs. Therefore, it is necessary to have clearly defined goals for your content beforehand.

Define Your Audience– The next step is to define who will be interested in your content. You cannot design entertainment content for a technical website. Therefore, having a clear idea of your audience is integral.

Defining Your Content Format– While developing a content strategy, understanding your content format is also essential. There are several formats available to choose from. You need to understand which one serves you the best and design your strategy around that.

What Publishing Channels To Use? The next crucial step while devising a content marketing strategy is to select your channel. Whether you use YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram, it needs to be clearly defined. The channel selection depends greatly on your audience and the content you are working on.

What Makes You Unique? There are thousands of content on a similar subject available across the web. Then why should the audience opt for yours? How are you different from the others? In an age where competition is thriving, standing out is necessary. Hence, your content needs to have that unique touch that will make it different from others.

EZ Marketing Tech Offers Next-Level Content Marketing Strategies

Content is king, and we understand that at EZ Marketing Tech. Hence, whether it’s creating unique content, such as a press release or engaging blogs, we have a solution for everything.

And not just that, but we understand that good quality content is not enough. So be it onsite analysis, earning backlinks, or practical SEO tools to back your content, we have got you covered. For more information, get in touch with our experts today!