Once you understand the power of inbound marketing for lead generation and client acquisition, you start to prioritize content marketing.
What you'll learn in this article:
The purpose of content marketing in your lead generation
The value of inbound lead generation
How to map out your content marketing strategy
Every business, brand, and organization that is engaging with an audience to communicate its vision, mission, and values is doing so with content. Whether through advertising, branding, or PR, content is an integral part to marketing. However, simply using content doesn’t mean you’re practicing content marketing.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a strategic inbound marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable content to attract and convert an audience, ultimately driving profitable action for your business.
But here’s the trick: Instead of directly pitching products or services, a strategic content marketing approach offers your audience content that helps them solve problems—whether in their work (B2B) or personal lives (B2C).
A well-planned content strategy will also lay the foundation for your other marketing efforts like advertising, SEO, social media, email campaigns, events, and PR.
The Value of Inbound Marketing
The main motivator for investing in content marketing is its effectiveness for inbound lead generation.
Inbound marketing is all about attracting customers by offering valuable content and experiences. Rather than interrupting potential customers with ads, inbound marketing nurtures relationships, builds trust, and attracts a loyal following.
What’s great about inbound marketing is that the people who find you through this method are usually looking for the products or services you offer. These "warm" leads are more likely to turn into customers because they’ve come to you on their own terms—unlike "cold" leads generated by advertising or cold calls, which often require additional resources to convert.
Step 1: Define Your Message
Start by defining what you want to communicate. If you already have content, conduct a content audit to assess what’s working and what’s not. If you’re starting from scratch, begin by identifying your target audience.
The goal here is to define:
Messaging and keywords: What are your offers, and what key topics will you cover?
Content pillars: Brainstorm topics and themes you’ll consistently create content around.
Tone and style: Tailor your language based on your audience’s demographics and psychographics.
Communication channels: Identify where your audience spends their time online and offline.
Learn more about how to conduct a content audit and identify your target audience here.
Step 2: Build Your Virtual Home Base
Build or spruce up your virtual home address. Focus on owned media, where you have full control over your message. This is where you get to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track your content’s effectiveness.
Your website or blog should be the hub of your content strategy—this is where all your content lives or where you drive traffic.
Learn more about what owned media is here.
Step 3: Choose Your Social Media Channels
On average, 86.1% of the world’s population aged 18+ are active on social media.... People are social and increasingly becoming virtually-based.
Social media is where you find your community and amplify your content. Choose your social platforms, and spread the word.
Not all platforms are created equal --- aligning your chosen platforms with your audience and content format is key. It’s better to focus on a few key platforms than to spread yourself too thin.
Here’s a breakdown example based on content format:
Video-focused platforms: Instagram, TikTok
Text-based platforms: X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn
Visual and creative platforms: Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest
Search engines for content: YouTube, Pinterest
Discussion forums: Reddit, Quora
Step 4: Consider Your Marketing Funnel
This step is a little technical but doesn't have to be complicated. This is the meat of your content strategy.
Understanding your buyer’s journey is crucial. Your content should guide your target audience through each stage of the marketing funnel, from awareness to decision-making.
This will look different depending on your organization. A simplified funnel might look like this:
Top of funnel: SEO copy, advertising, event sponsorships
Middle of funnel: Blog articles, YouTube videos, free useful downloads
Bottom of funnel: Newsletter, sales offers, nurture emails
To learn more about writing for different stages of the buyer’s journey, check out my article Marketing Funnel: 5 Types of Copy You Need.
Step 5: Create and Optimize Content
Now that you’ve mapped out your strategy, it’s time to create content. Things get very busy at this point and therefore efficiency is key.
Investing time in finding the best resources and tools to streamline each stage of your content creation process will make all the difference.
Research & Planning - some tools that I've used are Trello, Notion, Ahrefs
Content Calendar - some tools that I've used are Notion, HubSpot, Hootsuite
Content Creation - some tools that I've used are Canva, ChatGPT, Grammarly, CapCut
Scheduling - some tools that I've used are Buffer, Social Champ, and Sprout Social
Analytics - some tools that I've used are Google Analytics, Semrush, HubSpot
Conclusion
By following these five steps, you’ll develop a content strategy that not only attracts leads but also builds meaningful relationships with your audience. Remember, content marketing isn’t just about short-term gains; it’s about crafting a long-term strategy that keeps your audience coming back for more.
If you are looking to improve your content marketing strategy or create a new one, contact PENEDIT Marketing here.