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October 19, 2020 Content Chat Recap: How To Conduct A Marketing SWOT Analysis To Inform Your Content Strategy

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When planning a content strategy, marketers should not only review their past content success but also evaluate how their market is changing and any external factors that could help or hinder their efforts. Conducting a marketing SWOT analysis is a valuable way to get this full-picture look at a company’s potential, but many marketers simply do not conduct this research in a valuable or actionable way.

In this #ContentChat, we discuss how to conduct a marketing SWOT analysis to inform your content strategy. Read the full recap below, where we explore what a marketing SWOT analysis is, how often your marketing team should conduct a SWOT analysis, and how to conduct your analysis in an effective way.

Q1: What is a marketing SWOT analysis, and how often should your team conduct one?

A marketing SWOT analysis is a framework for evaluating your marketing team’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

A marketing SWOT analysis should be conducted at least once a year, but it can be done more frequently or as your company undergoes any significant changes (i.e. new product offering(s), change in business model, new focus for marketing team, etc.).

On a smaller scale, a SWOT framework can be used as a guide to explore potential ways to overcome creative or competitive hurdles.

Q2: How do you define your marketing strengths, and what should you consider when assessing your strengths?

Your marketing strengths include any internal resources, skills, and other competitive advantages of your team. As the community notes, strengths are typically within a company’s control and can include proprietary intellectual property, key employees, and subject matter expertise, among others.

Any content you create that meets or exceeds its goals will help to define your strengths.

As well as any type of content or content topics that your team is passionate about.

Tod recommends viewing these key areas from a customer perspective, and it is important to assess what makes your company unique in each of these areas.

Q3: How do you define your marketing weaknesses, and what should you consider when assessing your weaknesses?

Weaknesses are internal areas for improvement, including current gaps and shortcomings in your team’s structure, focus, or skill.

One way to look at strengths and weaknesses is that strengths can create opportunities, whereas weaknesses can miss opportunities.

Examples can include difficulty hiring the right team, current skill limitations, disjointed team processes, siloed organizations, and more.

As Diana says, weaknesses are a goldmine for brainstorming…

But your team should stay focused on the obstacles you can overcome. Some weaknesses may take much longer to overcome, so stay focused on making any progress that you can. In some cases, you can identify a weakness without focusing on finding a solution.

Q4: What constitutes a marketing “threat”, and how do you identify these threats?

Marketing threats are external issues, changes, or occurrences that could impact your ability to meet your goals. Or, these can be seen as factors that could reduce the opportunities created by your strengths.

Marketing threats can include: natural disasters, supply disruptions, legislative changes, competitor alliances, mergers or acquisitions, new competitive products or technologies, etc.

Q5: Using your strengths, weaknesses, and threats, how do you determine your marketing opportunities?

The opportunities section of a SWOT analysis evaluates how your strengths can be used to drive value while your team also addresses its weaknesses and works to insulate the company from external threats. This step in the SWOT analysis process will take the most amount of time.

You can start by deciding how to mitigate your weaknesses or how to maximize your strengths, as each area will likely lead to different strategies.

Q6: What tools do you use to assist in conducting a marketing SWOT, and how do they help?

Use a whiteboard for collaborative brainstorm and discussion, and use sticky notes or magnets for items that may move around on the board.

Ensure anyone involved in the SWOT analysis process understands the purpose of the process, and define any terms that may cause confusion.

Carmen has used tools like Miro to assist in this process. If you have any other tools you recommend, let us know in the comments.

Q7: A SWOT is only useful if it is then acted on. Who do you present your SWOT to, how do you format the information, and what are the “next steps” after a SWOT is presented?

Your marketing team will take a first pass at developing the SWOT analysis, and it should then be shared with any key stakeholders for their initial review/input. Provide ample context for your findings so that everyone can understand any proposed changes.

Incorporate this initial feedback before using the SWOT as a tool for your next marketing planning meetings.

Next, host a meeting with your key decision-makers and a cross-departmental mix of team members (including those that helped with the initial SWOT analysis) to review the findings. Specifically, this meeting is to discuss any proposed changes to your team’s strategy given the findings of your SWOT analysis.

Throughout the conversations, ensure that any proposed changes do not compromise your existing strengths.

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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