Your 2015 Content Marketing Strategy: The First Step

Dec 2014

“… the, uh, the 2015 Content Marketing Strategy? Uh, yes sir … I have it around here somewhere … will send it over as soon as it turns up …” [STARES BLANKLY INTO SPACE AS PANIC SLOWLY CREEPS IN]

Sound familiar? Sure, in a perfect world, we would have all started working on our strategies back in October and wrapped them up by mid-November. But if your days are anything like mine, that very good intention probably got buried under an avalanche of emails, meetings, and deadlines until … well, until now.

First of all, in the immortal words of Douglas Adams, don’t panic! You still have time to put together a killer content marketing strategy before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, and here’s your first step: Read through your 2014 strategy and make note of what has changed since you wrote it.

It’s OK if it’s been a while since you last looked at that gleaming beacon you were oh-so-proud-of back in January — just brush off the dust and give it a good once-over.

As you go through your 2014 strategy, here are a few key questions to mull over:

1. What has changed in your company?

Have you added new products or services since you created your strategy? Have you retired any?
Has anything changed in your branding? Does your strategy include any outdated language that you no longer use?
Has anything changed in your team? Have you brought on new team members, or have roles and responsibilities shifted?

2. What has changed in your target audience?

Have you had to revise the image of your ideal customer? Or have new products or services generated the need to reach a totally new audience?
Have there been any shifts in your existing audience’s preferences regarding how they discover and consume content?
Have any new audiences come on the scene that would be a perfect fit for your product or service?

3. What has changed in your environment?

Have any new competitors come on the scene? Have any old ones gone away?
What changes at Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social networks might be driving you to re-think your social mix?
(For regulated industries) Have you learned of any new government or regulatory requirements regarding what you can and cannot say in your content?

Once you’ve reviewed your 2014 strategy with these questions in mind, you’re already well on your way to creating a powerful plan for 2015. And stick with us all through the month of December for more helpful tips and advice to help you hit the ground running come January 1!

OK, your turn! How are you addressing (or, for our overachievers, how have you addressed) adjustments to your strategy for 2015? Tell us about it in the Comments — we’d love to hear from you!

Get Content Marketing Tips Delivered to Your Inbox

Each Friday, we deliver a simple but impactful tip to boost your content marketing mojo.

About the Author

A self-described geek who can recite entire episodes of South Park by heart, Rachel Parker has had a passion for content ever since she was old enough to hold a crayon (purple, please).

As Founder and CEO of Resonance, Rachel helps businesses publish content that connects with their audience … and converts those followers into customers. She’s also the host of the Content Marketing Podcast and a sought-after speaker, having presented to many major business and marketing organizations. Contact Rachel about speaking to your group or business.

Our Clients Are Saying

Event Sold Out Two Years In A Row!

Rachel worked with me on creating a content marketing calendar and content for the Big Social Media Summit (Big SMS) three years in a row. She is very organized and knows just the right amount of posts on social, email newsletters and content to send. Her content marketing efforts helping us sell out our event three years in a row! I am expecting the same for October 2014.

Rachel was hired to write content for our email newsletter and content for our social platforms. In addition, she had a budget to do advertising on social media. She participated in the event live and after the fact to assure buzz was created before, during and after the event. As a result, our event sold out.

When I work with Rachel, I have total peace of mind. I know that she is on target, on time, reliable and delivers over and above the results I expect.

I trust Rachel totally with her ideas on strategy, marketing and the content used to not only promote our events, but also post on my behalf on social networks. I have been doing social media for 8 years, and I hire Resonance to post on some of my social sites as it saves me time, and keeps my social sites relevant and current. They always post great, engaging content that gets my social properties likes, comments and shares.
Produced ROI Result

Form.io needed someone who could grasp the complexities of our product, capture the subtlety of our differentiating value propositions, and convey them in the right voice for an exacting customer audience…. Resonance delivered, by crafting a multi-faceted online content marketing strategy that drove traffic and conversion, producing the ROI result we were looking for….
Added 5 figures to my business in less than 4 weeks

Rachel took the overwhelm and stress out of writing content for my marketing campaign! When I approached Rachel, I was really concerned that I wouldn’t have the time to focus on writing copy for a lengthy marketing campaign that included sales pages, solo emails, newsletters and social media updates. Well, let’s just say I’m glad I hired Rachel because I couldn’t have done it without her support and expertise. I loved how she used my voice and words to craft content that helped me reach and attract my ideal client. As a result of working with Rachel, I added 5 figures to my business in less than 4 weeks, hundreds of new social media followers and exceeded my sales and list building goals! You know your marketing copy is working when you hear someone say, “I see you everywhere”. Thank you Rachel for helping me not only get seen by my ideal clients but get paid!
Increased website traffic, New Lead Generation

We were experiencing a lack of internal resources to consistently maintain the Ustream blog. So we turned to Resonance Content Marketing to write blog posts on current industry topics while maintaining a consistent tone with the brand. The result is increased website traffic, new lead generation from gated assets on blog, and better educated/qualified leads. And I now have more time to spend on marketing strategy with the confidence that the content we push out is extremely well written and engaging.

Rachel is an amazing writer and has really managed to create engaging and relevant blog material on topics that aren’t always super interesting. On many occasions, she has been able to quickly turn around one-off requests and the results are always top-notch. She has also helped guide our content strategy based on her expertise in content marketing, which has been a huge asset to our team.
Professionalism and Sincere Desire to Help

I just didn’t seem to be able to find the time or the right words to explain what I offer and how my company helps people accomplish their goals. Rachel was able to ask me some questions, do some research and capture my voice while writing my website copy exactly as I needed it to be written. Now, the copy on my website is much more professional than what I would have created and having this task handled by Rachel and Resonance freed up my time to complete other tasks I am better suited to do.

It was a joy to work with Rachel. Her professionalism and sincere desire to help was apparent from the first communication until the final delivery. I will definitely use Resonance again and highly recommend their services.
Increased our likes and interaction rates

Working with Rachel was a delight. Not only does she communicate very well, but she provided valuable insight about our social media platforms and followers. We have much better engagement with our fans and followers, which increased our likes and interaction rates.
Social Media Ranking Better Than Ever!

We are so happy to have hired Resonance for our social media needs. We spend most of our time serving our clients and studying our field so we can provide the highest quality possible. We no longer worry about our social media, as we have total confidence in the wonderful work Rachel and her team have accomplished.

Our social media is active, promoted, and is ranking better than ever! People often comment about what they see on our Facebook page. Resonance has added a creative, and artistic twist to our social media that is appealing and captivating to our audience. This has allowed me more time to work with my team and clients, so I can focus on service towards the people that help our business grow.

I know there will be wonderful content on Facebook, and that Rachel will answer to posts, comments and questions as soon as a comment arrives. I am often impressed at how quickly she responds! Thank you Resonance! I highly endorse Resonance and encourage companies who need social media strategies to work with Resonance! You won’t regret it!
One of the best “vendor” relationships I’ve ever had.

My company had little or no time to spend on social media. Our needs were to ensure a steady stream of posts across three platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter) by harvesting and re-purposing content from our own site and news streams. So I contacted Rachel Parker of Resonance Content Marketing.

The result was two-fold. Not only did our ranks of followers grew steadily, the steady drip, drip, drip of content helped us train our personnel and direct their own individual social media efforts.

Rachel and her team are extremely organized and open to discussion and new ideas. They deliver a rapid response to new opportunities — and an overall feeling of being on the same team. One of the best “vendor” relationships I’ve ever had.