By Kristina Halvorson
Overcoming the Common Roadblocks to Effective Content Strategy
Lack of Support — People are always asking me how to win support from higher-ups for investing time and money in content strategy. My advice: sell to their pain points or hot topics. Figure out how to tie the results of what you want to do to things leadership cares deeply about. Skip the fancy “here’s what CS is and how to do it” decks. Go straight into the why.
Lack of Research — It’s always shocking to find out how little companies invest in actually talking to their existing and potential customers. We find that marketers often make big decisions based largely on their own assumptions. That’s unnecessary when there are so many ways to connect with your audience. Start by asking them to talk to you—on the phone (gasp)! Alternatively, run a survey on your website; go listen in on social media forums discussing your industry, product, or service; check SEO keyword trends to see how people are searching for your product or service; and talk to your customer service and sales reps. I could go on and on.
Lack of Strategy — This is a big one. We’ve been told that a content marketing strategy essentially consists of figuring out what your business goals are and who your audience is, then making a plan for how you’re going to communicate with them. That’s a very tactical approach. A strategy has to define “where you’re going to play and how you’re going to win” (to borrow from business-management thought leader Roger L. Martin). So you have to be differentiated, you have to say no to certain things, and you have to understand your audience, vertical, and editorial approach. Know those things and understand their interdependencies before you start planning your editorial calendar.
