How To Leverage A Digital Presence Analysis – Part 3

January 4th, 2018

Contents

Part Three: Creating A Content Campaign

Successfully navigating the world of digital marketing requires a strategy, a map if you will. You need to know where you are (point A) and where you want to go (point B, and possibly points C, D, and E too). These points on the map are your goals – the reasons you’re taking this journey and the places you want to go.

And once you know where you are and where you want to go, a content campaign that involves content development, search engine optimization, and social dissemination, will plot your best route to get there.

In part one and part two of our series on digital presence analyses, we explored how to perform a SWOT analysis on your brand and how to develop consumer personas. In part three, we’ll explore how to use both tools to develop and execute a content campaign that will raise your brand awareness and revitalize your business.

So, how do you create a content campaign? 

Creating A Content Campaign

A content campaign combines social mediacontent, and SEO to create a unified digital strategy that will leverage identified personas, as well as the information collected in a DPA, to outline actionable items that will support a common goal.

Often underrated, content is the backbone of every marketing strategy as it provides material that can be shared through social, and that will be crawled and ranked by search engines like Google – positioning your company in front of your audience.

But what does a content plan look like?

The answer? It’s different for every company, as a content campaign should be completely unique to each brand – assessing needs and providing creative branded solutions to achieve those goals.

Cropped shot of a businesswoman giving a presentation in the boardroom

Let’s explore an example:

Should a footwear company wish to market a new shoe each month, monthly content campaign’s could be created to reach the audience who is most likely to be interested in that specific ‘shoe of the month.’

This could include targeted:

  • Blog posts about the features of the shoe
  • Email broadcasts promoting the shoe of the month
  • Social posts to share blog content about the shoe
  • Video teasers that showcase the shoe
  • Keyword optimization for the shoe name and features
  • Targeted PPC and SPPC ads for the shoe
  • Print materials that show imagery of the shoe, and more.

And as each of these marketing materials would adapt each month, as the target market shifts, new content would be developed with the audience in mind.

Example:

January Featured Shoe: Women’s Pink Breast Cancer Running Shoe – Brand X 

Target Audience: Women who support breast cancer research and women’s charities, are athletic, like the colour pink, like yoga and exercising, are between the ages of 18-38, etc.

VS. 

February Featured Shoe: Water Resistant Hiking Shoe – Brand Y

Target Audience: Men and women, ages 25-59, who are athletic and enjoy exercising, hiking, rock climbing, swimming, camping, etc.

While some characteristics, such as athleticism and a love of exercising are constant, the other characteristics may shift each month, demanding that the advertising and content campaign remain agile and follow a strategy that can speak to those unique and more specific niche audiences.

Therefore, the content campaign, in this case, would need to project a plan that runs months into the future, including what materials will be developed and shared on the month-to-month basis.

Shot of a young businessman giving a presentation to his colleagues in an office

Content Development & Social Sharing

Content should tell a story, explain a concept, and persuade readers to take action. In other words, content should always aim to educate, inspire, entertain, and convince. However, without the right strategy and tools, content can fall flat and cause potential customers to look elsewhere for information.

Content campaigns require consistency between the content being created and the content being shared, and it is always best to create content that you can own and have control over. Owning quality content will increase your SEO, position your brand as a Key Opinion Leader in your industry, and help you to connect with your audience in a more authentic way.

However, in addition to sharing content that is branded and unique, you can also share content that has been curated by other sources.

For example, if you own a boutique that sells accessories, and you’ve recently begun selling a new line of scarves that you want to create a campaign around, you could share articles, published by other writers, which discuss:

  • How to wear a scarf
  • What to wear a scarf with
  • Why scarves are the best accessories
  • The specific brand you’re selling, and more.

Though this content is not native to your brand, curated content can fill in the gaps between the unique content you’ve crafted and will keep your audience engaged on a more regular basis. Leveraging programs like HootSuite, you’ll be able to schedule these posts months in advance, saving you time and the stress of having to remember to post frequently.

For tips on social media success, check out our article “Why Social Media Works”.

Search Engine Optimization

Your SEO ranking and performance is dependent on the content that exists on your website. To improve your ranking, it is important to analyze the following items before embarking on a content campaign:

  • Is your current content relevant and valuable?
  • Is your current website user-friendly?
  • Do you create content that is sharable (Ex: blog)?
  • Has your content been optimized using proper keywords, meta descriptions, etc.?

Within a content campaign, it is critical to consider the rules of SEO, as well as to optimize content so that your material will impact your visibility to potential customers. Through Google Analytics, you may also track the success of your campaign, monitoring increases in views, time spent on page, conversions, and other measurable results.

For more insights into the value of SEO, check out our blog ‘Conversion Rate Optimization & What It Can Do For You.’

Company employees working in software development and designer office

Leveraging A Digital Presence Analysis: A Checklist

So, while this all may seem overwhelming, we’ve compiled a checklist, in the most simplified way we could, to remind you of the steps covered in our three-part series:

  • Perform a SWOT analysis
  • Develop personas
  • Brainstorm
  • Create a content calendar
  • Write content
  • Optimize content
  • Create a social sharing promotional plan
  • Publish the content
  • Share the content
  • Measure your campaign success

Should you require support in navigating your digital presence analysis or content campaign, be sure to reach out to us at 905-836-4442

Our professional team of content, social media, and SEO specialists can provide you with solutions that will increase your brand recognition and overall marketing success.