You already know that great content can attract clients to your agency, but if you’re reading this article, it’s most likely because you haven’t implemented a content marketing strategy yet.
Creating content can be a game changer, but only if it’s done right. This step-by-step guide will show you how to create an effective content marketing strategy that drives your agency forward.
Step 1 – Define Your Content Marketing Goals
First things first. What do you want your content to accomplish? Is your goal for 2023 to attract new clients, build authority in your space, introduce new products or services, or something else?
Once you know what you want your content to accomplish, you’ll have a framework for everything else you do. As you get to the later steps of content creation, ask yourself, “will this piece of content help my agency achieve its business goals?” If not, go back to the drawing board.
Want more tips on taking your agency to the next level? Check out this guide to growing your digital marketing agency.
Step 2 – Research Your Competitors
While we are never proponents of being copycats, understanding what your competitors are up to can give you insights into how to create successful content.
List your top three to five competitors and take a look at their blogs, YouTube channels, and social media channels, and see what your competitors are publishing. As you read through (or watch) their content, identify what your competitors do well and take note of any areas to improve.
Can you tell by their content who their target market is and what keywords they’re targeting for the search engines? Are there any gaps in their content marketing efforts that you can fill?
The goal of competitive research is to see what your competitors are doing and then figure out a way to do it better.
Step 3 – Do Keyword and Topic Research
After you’ve looked at your competitors, you’ll probably have a list of ideas that you want to write about. However, before you write a single piece of content, you’ll need to do some keyword and topic research first.
You can use free tools like the Google Ads Keyword Planner and Google Trends to identify search volume and trending data for various keywords and topics.
Many agencies go after what they think is the low-hanging fruit of keywords with millions of search queries, but you could have a more effective content strategy if you target keywords that have lower search volume but higher intent.
Step 4 – Create a Content Calendar
Armed with your list of topics and keywords, you can create a calendar that guides your content creation schedule. Define a publishing schedule and choose your platforms. Identify who is responsible for writing the content, whether you need graphic design or video production services, and how often you’ll publish.
Keep in mind when you choose your platforms that you don’t have to be everywhere at once. Consider your strengths as well as how your audience likes to consume content. At a minimum, however, you should have a blog because it will drive traffic to your website and allow you to control the next step in your content strategy – the follow-up funnel.
Step 5 – Architect a Follow-up Funnel
Often, agencies create content in a vacuum, and after publishing a spectacular piece of content it gets lost in the ether. Instead of spinning your wheels in an endless content creation circle, make your content work for you by putting it at the top of your customer acquisition funnel.
Here’s how it works: when someone reads a piece of content, what are the next steps the prospect should take? They should be able to book a call with you, download a free guide, or select a service plan. Be sure to have a way to collect emails, and, at a minimum, install pixels on your site for retargeting.
Step 6 – Measure Results and Adjust Your Strategy
Measure the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy by looking at your analytics and define what success looks like. Track how much traffic your content is getting and whether it has led to any inquiries or new customers. Similarly, note whether any content did not get traction and determine whether that piece of content could potentially be reworked, or you need to pivot your strategy.
Create a Seven-Figure Content Marketing Strategy
When your content is done right, it can serve as one of your most effective members of your sales team. For more tips about scaling your agency, check out our agency growth plan.
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