Content is one of the primary driving forces in modern digital marketing. Which is why it is important for any great digital marketing firm to be able to create and deliver high quality content for their clients. This is why a content plan is an integral part of this process. Despite this not many people know what a content plan is or how to create one. Which is why we decided to write this blog to take a look at the fundamentals of this process.
What is a content plan?
A content plan is a strategic document outlining the goals, topics and timelines for creating and publishing pieces of content. It defines what content will be made and when it will be published. These outlines help to ensure that the content falls in line with the overall marketing objectives of the business or individual. Content can be blogs, videos, social posts, etc. It also ensures that the entire marketing team is on the same page regarding the content marketing plan, and when everything is needed, helping everything run smoothly.
Book: Epic content marketing.
Steps to create a great content plan
We will now look at the steps involved in creating a great content plan. These steps are as follows:
Research
The first step in creating a content plan is research. This step involves looking into what your target market is searching for and finding relevant keywords for your content. At this step it is important to ensure that the search intent, the intention behind the searches using the keyword, is relevant to your marketing goals. Once you have found a relevant search keyword with good search intent, and high search volume you are ready to move on to the next step.
Brainstorm topics
Once you have your search keywords it is time to brainstorm some topics. A good topic will answer the search intent of the user. It is also important that your topic title draws the attention of the user, as this is the first thing users will see of your content.
Competitor analysis
Once you have the topics for your content plan, the next step is doing a competitor analysis. In a competitor analysis, you take a look at how often your competitors post content on their website and social media channels. You can also look at what type of content they have, especially the ones that are similar to your chosen topics. This step allows you to better plan how often you need to post content to keep pace with or outpace your competitors. Additionally, it allows you to see what content is out there and what you will need to include in your content to be better than your competition.
Scheduling
Once you have conducted a competitor analysis you are ready to decide on your content schedule aspect of your content plan. The content schedule sets out the dates your content will be published on. When deciding on your schedule, make sure that you are able to complete each piece of content in time for your publishing dates, and not schedule more than you can complete.
Create content
Now that you have your content plan you can move on to the next step, creating the content. At this stage you will use the information gathered during the competitor analysis to ensure that the content is the best available. This will set your site apart from the competition as the best option available.
Benefits of a content plan
Now that we know how to create a content plan we can look at some of the benefits of them. These benefits include the following:
- Insights: A good content plan provides you with numerous insights into what content is out there and the type of content your target audience is looking for. This can vastly improve the performance of your content helping you to achieve your marketing goals.
- Alignment: A good content plan ensures that your content aligns with the overall marketing goals of your business. This concerted effort improves the overall effectiveness of your marketing efforts, and improves your ROI.
- Quality content: A content plan helps to ensure that the content you post on the website is of the highest quality. This is due to the research conducted ensuring that your content is the best available. Which in turn increases the users trust in your business.
- Team stays informed: A content plan ensures that your entire content team is on the same page. As every member can see when content needs to be published and what the content should include. This makes the entire content production cycle easy and efficient.
- Maintaining engagement: A content plan helps to maintain user engagement on your business website. This is because it provides a consistent schedule for the release of new content to help keep users engaged.
Conclusion
As we have seen a content plan is a vital part of any content marketing endeavour. We hope this blog has provided you with insight into how you can create your own content plan for your business. If you are still unsure about how to create a great content plan, contact Orcanically. Their experienced professionals will be able to help you create a content plan that is suited to your unique business needs. Helping your business increase user engagement and generate more revenue.
