Content marketing is similar to baking.
While one ingredient, such as a blog post or chocolate chips, maybe the first thing a customer or snacker notices, it is far from the only one in the recipe.
The recipe will contain a large number of ingredients and will have used a variety of tools that the end-user will never notice.
Consider things like baking soda and powder… Hidden ingredients activate a large portion of the chemistry that makes baked goods so tasty.
Or the impact of using the appropriate hand mixer or baking sheet on the overall effort required.
Those ingredients and tools, while frequently overlooked by the end-user, are critical to the success of the final product (and delicious).
Targets and research are baking soda in the content marketing recipe.
And having a smooth, systemized process is akin to owning a prized KitchenAid stand mixer with all the fancy attachments and hooks you can imagine.
(Unless I’m the only one who fantasizes about dough hooks…)
Here’s the complete recipe for successful content marketing, including any hidden ingredients.
1. Targeted Content Strategy
A focused content strategy is analogous to the large mixing bowl used to combine wet and dry ingredients.
Without it, there are no containers or restrictions, and everything is disorganized.
However, with a clear content strategy that is focused on a specific goal and timeline, you can limit yourself to the ideas and tactics that are important.
You don’t want to overfill the bowl with ingredients that aren’t called for in the recipe, or you won’t have room for the important ingredients.
2. Specific Content Guidelines
Your content guidelines function similarly to smaller bowls or a measuring cup. You might know what ingredients to use but not how to combine them if you don’t have them.
Your content guidelines instruct writers, designers, and other contributors on how to structure and deliver their work for it to fit into the larger finished product.
What dimensions should designers use when creating blog cover photos?
Which grammar and style rules should your writers adhere to?
The guidelines will lay that out so that all of the various pieces fit together seamlessly.
3. Long-Term Content Calendar
Then, for each active piece of content, you’ll need a content calendar that outlines all of the elements of the content marketing process.
Due dates, publish dates, promotion dates, and content refresh dates all require dedicated calendar space.
What matters more than how much is on your calendar is how well you can keep up with it.
A content calendar that is constantly behind because you tried to “shoot for” daily posts is pretty useless.
A content calendar with only two new posts per month, on the other hand, maybe something you can stick to for more than a few weeks.
4. Content Workflow Efficiency
A content workflow is analogous to a baker’s oven. You put the raw batter in, and as long as the timing and environment are correct, you will get a beautiful and delicious finished piece.
It is responsible for transforming raw ingredients into a finished product.
Your content workflow should allow everyone involved to complete their tasks on time and without hiccups.
You’ll also want to ensure that you’ve allowed enough time for all stages of the content marketing process, not just creation and publishing.
And, if the first four ingredients are the tools required to achieve the desired results, the next six are consumable ingredients.
Things with which your customers will interact and taste.
5. Conversion-Oriented Website
Your website is the next component to consider. Specifically, the design and structure. The ability to convert visitors into engaged prospects or customers is more important than any branding or design trends (depending on its goal).
Is it clear what your company provides? Is there a clear path to the next step?
Can a visitor tell if it’s appropriate for them? Can they find information or resources to learn more?
This is all very important to keep in mind.
Too often, marketers invest a lot of time and money into creating assets that are then published somewhere that website visitors will never find.
6. Targeted Long-Form Content
Your brand is ready to start publishing content once your content strategy and guidelines are in place and your website is optimized for your specific marketing strategy.
Long-form, onsite content targeted at strategic SEO keywords is the marketing equivalent of sourdough bread.
It’s time-consuming to make, but it’s filling and flavorful enough that it’s worth it.
And once you have it, you can use it in a variety of other recipes and meals.
7. Plan for Distribution and Repurposing
Using a staple ingredient like bread for another meal (such as french toast, which is delicious) is similar to content distribution and repurposing. You’re transforming something that already exists in one form into something else.
Unless you work in one of the rare industries where there is no content competition, you will need to work to get your content seen and consumed.
When you have long-form blog content, you can do so much with it: repurpose it for social media, turn it into video scripts, and so on.
To avoid becoming overwhelmed by all of your options, make a plan for what you’re going to do ahead of time.
8. Nurture Cycle
Most people only think of nurture sequences when they think of email marketing. And, while those are excellent choices, they are not the only ones.
Consider a nurture sequence to be any type of campaign that can follow up with content visitors to convert them into customers.
This could include an email sequence following an email opt-in, social media posts, or retargeting ads. It could be something entirely different.
What matters is that you have a plan in place to bridge the gap between free content, such as your company’s blog, and paid products.
9. Conversion Factors
What is the point of all this nurturing? To persuade them to become a customer.
The conversion point is the journey’s final destination. The cart checkout, SaaS signup, lead submission form, or whatever your sales process’s endpoint is.
After all, what is the point of it all if not for this?
And, like any other ingredient, each recipe necessitates a unique conversion point.
10. Tools for Measuring
Finally, now that you have a complete path for visitors to follow to become customers, you’ll need to know how well it’s working.
This necessitates the use of a measuring device, which is the final ingredient.
Again, this will be determined by your company’s sales process, but options to consider include Google Analytics, Databox, and HubSpot.
You should also define which metrics are most important to track with those tools.
You can evaluate and adjust your efforts once you’ve measured them.
This is similar to the baker’s taste test. It’s the only way to find out if you inadvertently messed up another part of the process before the end-user does.
Begin mixing
With the tools and ingredients listed above, you have everything you need to strategize, create, and measure the effectiveness of your content.
In our baking metaphor, you’ll be able to make baked goods worthy of Paul Hollywood.
Now it’s your turn to bake!
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