Content Strategy, Content Plan, Content Calendar – What They Mean And How They Differ
Having something to say is important in today’s world. Not just for individuals, but for businesses too.
Successful businesses don’t just sell to people, they have a conversation with them. And the more sincere the message, the greater the relationship and potential success. A brand voice can drive awareness, establish marketplace authority and customer trust. While internally, having something to say can nurture relationships with the people you choose to say it.
Content is a great way to do this. And whether owned or earned, content can improve conversion rates, warm up leads and get the internet’s attention (in a good way!).
The science behind content
There is a widely held statistic that only 3% of your potential customers are ready to buy at any given moment. But the upside to this? That 3% is always changing, and you can engage the other 97% before they realise they need you. Then when they become the active buyers, your content is already working and putting your brand front of mind.
B2B blogs are a great way to do this. Over a third (35%) of B2B organic lead traffic comes from a company blog, while 67% of B2B businesses with a blog get more leads than those without. What’s more, those B2B businesses with a blog see 55% more website visits than those without, meaning that content can draw people in and inform them of your wider offering.
This isn’t just down to creating compelling content though – there’s a science to it. Content comes in many different forms and when done right, an article’s search engine optimisation (SEO) can see you climbing up the rankings of the likes of Google. What’s more, answer engine optimisation (AEO) can help you become the oracle to search engine user queries – something that has become increasingly important with the rise of AI-generated responses.
So, how can you make your content strategy as effective as possible and ensure that content planning is happening at all stages?
It’s not as easy as ‘just write some words’
If your brand isn’t talking about itself, you can be sure someone else is – and reaping the rewards in the process. It’s a fierce marketplace out there and you need everything to carve out your place in it.
But it’s not as easy as just putting some words onto paper. As compelling and well-written as a piece of content might be, getting clicks and driving leads takes more nuance. You need to spend time defining what you want to say and why. When content can be this valuable, it’s worth taking seriously and knowing what’s going on beneath the hood. What’s more, it goes beyond hitting the publish button – a regular cadence and a structured content calendar can prove the difference in having a voice customers want to keep listening to.
To explore this in more detail, let’s look at the three content pillars: strategy, plan and calendar, and what they mean for you.
What’s a content strategy?
Your content strategy should be a high-level approach to take early on. It’s something that should happen on a yearly, longer-term basis and should look to outline what it is you’re trying to achieve over the next 12 months. For example, what’s the overarching theme or need of your content for the year?
If you have an existing content strategy that’s not working for you, it’s worth conducting a content audit to find what needs fixing. Alternatively, competitive analysis can help you see what your competition is talking about – and what they’re not, opening a space up for you.
But just because this should happen on a yearly basis doesn’t mean your content strategy is locked in for that long. Life moves pretty fast, so it’s worth revisiting this as part of your key performance indicators (KPIs) throughout the year and asking if anything needs to change.
When building your content strategy, you should know:
- Your motive: Ask yourself what your content goals are – why you’re interested in content and how it fits into and supports wider activities.
- Your writers: Good content needs good ideas and writers, so who do you see taking the reins and being your spokespeople? And do you expect to outsource it?
- Your audience: Content also needs reads so think about your audience persona. Who do you want to talk to and what channels will resonate best with them?
- Your KPIs: Your key performance indicators will help confirm you’re on the right track and your content is hitting the mark. For example, your content’s engagement rates, lead generation, website views, newsletter click-through-rates and more are crucial must-knows.
Your content strategy checklist:
- Brand voice
- Messaging and positioning
- Audience persona
- KPIs
- Competitive analysis
What’s a content plan?
Your content plan is how you turn your strategy into the writing on the page. Inevitably, this involves a greater level of detail and should happen at least quarterly. When putting yours together, you should think about:
- Your topics:
These constitute a mix of what you’ll talk about and your value proposition, and should tie back to your KPIs. Think back to your motive, your team and your audience, and decide what the sweet spot is for all three. For instance, if your audience persona is CEO-level, then ensure your messaging strategy is high-level; if you’re writing to engineers, assume a certain level of technical knowledge exists. And remember the golden rule of content – do you want to read it? Content involves a lot of nuts and bolts to succeed, but it also needs to be compelling and original.
- Your writers:
Content should be a core part of how you grow your business and your brand. But it’s not always possible when members of your team have limited time. What’s more, you might be lacking candidates who want to write, or want to push the profile of a CEO who typically won’t have time to write an 800-word byline. This could be the ideal opening for external support – whether from a freelancer or a content agency – that can cover everything from your content strategy to the finished product.
- Your readers:
For content to be read, it needs to be seen. So how are you going to promote it? Will it be a part of your spokesperson’s existing content channels – for example, a Medium blog or a long-form LinkedIn post? If it’s sat on your blog, will it go out to your client base via a newsletter? Will it be supported with social amplification? Or will it be part of a multi-channel strategy? Further, if the content is part of a wider PR push, will a PR team be placing it in a publication and potentially repurposing it for others? The lifespan of content goes far beyond the first and last word, so make sure you have planned its various journeys.
Your content plan checklist:
- Content topics and talk tracks
- Speaker availability
- Sourcing calls and notes
- Content formats
- Promotional strategy
What’s a content calendar?
Next is a key step in making your content strategy and plan successful – timing. Your content calendar should be refreshed monthly and programme all of the formats that are a part of your plan. This is about setting deadlines, assigning owners, managing review cycles and more.
It’s also about digging into how your content can resonate more with your audience. You should never write content for the sake of an awareness day. But if you have something important to say about mental health you should think about saying it around World Mental Health Day. Similarly, if you have commentary about climate action then this will get more attention in the run up to this year’s COP. But remember that these days should amplify the reach of what you have to say – they shouldn’t determine whether you say it or not.
Programming your content calendar can ensure the success of your content strategy and avoid factors such as missed deadlines and lost opportunities that can create friction.
Your content calendar checklist:
- Time for writing and review cycles
- Clear roles and responsibilities
- Links to drafts and published content
- Clearly labelled internal and external drafts
- Flexibility
Content is worth your time
I’m a content director so of course I’m going to say that content is worth your time. It brings personality and conviction to your brand. Plus the possibilities are endless in terms of what you want to create and the shape it takes. At Archetype, we work on thought leadership for blogs and bylines, event scripts, reports and talk tracks. But we also create Spotify playlists, quizzes, team development templates and copy for billboards.
A content strategy rewards liberated thinking and if you set out to change the world with your content, then you shouldn’t be shy about it. For instance, at Archetype we’re hoping to make a huge impact with Archetype Zero – supporting the growth of the green economy through content development, in addition to digital marketing and PR communications.
As many as 84% of B2B companies outsource their blog content creation. Whether it’s down to a shortage of time, ideas, strategy or just the desire to collaborate with a team that lives and breathes content. Whatever the reason, at Archetype we’d love to work with you, tell your stories and power your ambitions.
If you’re interested, just say the word.
