The 5 Phases of a Content Marketing Strategy

For years, marketing was mostly about getting your products and services in front of potential customers to make sure they knew you existed. Most of the time this meant ads alongside word of mouth. But when the digital age emerged, ads became annoying due to people being inundated by thousands of them per day. In fact, this type of aggressive advertising got so out of control that ad blockers were integrated into web browsers. That left both large and small businesses wondering about a content marketing strategy.

Content marketing is a more subtle type of advertising in which valuable content is created and shared with a company’s audience. Therefore, in order for small and mid-sized businesses to survive, they need content marketing as a way to compete with larger competitors. And it avoids being ignored, annoying, or expensive. Small businesses can craft a content marketing strategy that help them uncover new sales opportunities, nurture leads, and lots more.

Your content marketing efforts can feel unsystematic if you don’t have a guiding strategy. On the other hand, a methodical strategy has many benefits. For example, it enables you to optimize and analyze the result over time. Then measure and track its performance for adjustment opportunities to achieve your goals.