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September 17, 2018 Content Chat Recap: Aligning Content Marketing Goals to Business Goals

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Aligning content marketing goals with business goals

 

Content is crucial in helping you achieve business goals—whether it’s to increase sales, improve employee retention, expand your brand awareness, etc.—but aligning your content marketing goals to your business goals is often easier said than done. In this #ContentChat with special guest Rebekah Meyer (@RebekahLMeyer), we dive into the goal alignment process and share tips to help you map your content marketing strategy to the business results that matter.

Q1: Does your business communicate business goals to the company? What are some of the common goals you are working toward?

Rebekah started us off with some quick tips: goals are necessary to keep employees moving in the same direction. It doesn’t matter if the goal is annual, quarterly, or even for individual campaigns.

Goals can range in focus, including sales, customer engagement, brand awareness and more. These can be set at a corporate level, then individual teams can be assigned their own goals that ladder up to the overarching goal(s).

With those goals, teams can plan and prioritize upcoming content or activations to ensure they stay focused on the finish line. Sometimes, that means saying no to projects that do not tie back to your goals.

Q2: Does your team document your content strategy? If so, how do you incorporate your business goals into that strategy?

Each piece of content you plan to create should ladder back to one of your goals.

Cross-functional meetings or resources help avoid silos and make it easier to identify ways your content can be tweaked to fit the needs of other business units.

And it doesn’t hurt to include goals/focus for each individual piece of content. You’d be hard pressed to find a writer who wouldn’t appreciate this.

Q3: Many companies are looking for their content team to build awareness, whether that is around a new company, a new product, or just an undervalued existing asset. How do you build awareness? How would those efforts change if the customer was B2B vs. B2C?

Actively look for areas that your key audience is, and find ways to naturally place yourself there. Remember to appeal to each audience’s unique needs.

There are numerous avenues you can explore, and success can vary based on your industry, business type, and existing customer base/brand awareness.

Above all, don’t lose sight of the fact that at the end of the day you are marketing to people.

Q4: Once you’ve got their attention, it’s time to close the sale. How can a content team help their company move potential customers into the “closed-won” column?

Content should meet the needs of customers at various stages of the buying cycle. Address their needs at each stage and tailor content to proactively answer any questions.

Timing and format of this content can make or break a deal—ensure prospects receive the right information at the right time.

Q5: Retaining customers is a fraction of the cost of bringing in new customers. What are some of the best ideas for a content program to retain and re-engage existing customers?

There are many ways content can assist with customer retention and re-engagement—newsletters, for example, give an opportunity for you to highlight product tips or complementary services.

Social media platforms can have fun, interactive ways for your customers to engage with your brand. Interact with their content, too! A one-sided conversation is no fun.

If you choose to create new content, optimize its SEO to make it easier for your customers to find.

When in doubt, stop and listen. Check in with your audience to see the type of content they would be interested in.

Q6: Companies have faced a competitive job market recently, with few qualified applicants and low unemployment. What content efforts could help your company attract new employees?

Highlighting your company culture is a safe bet, and there’s plenty of ways you can approach it.

Q7: How frequently do you follow up on the efficacy of your content plans. Does your team review it as a whole, or does the reporting mostly go to managers and up?

Your follow-up cadence can vary, ranging from weekly to quarterly. Monthly is a sweet spot, and ensure anyone who had a part in the content is involved in some capacity with the review.

If you’re looking for some tools to help enable employee advocacy in support of your content goals, Bambu by Sprout Social and Emplify are both recommended by #ContentChat community members.

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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