From the course: Small Business Marketing

Creating a content marketing plan

From the course: Small Business Marketing

Creating a content marketing plan

- Content is at the heart of marketing. But organizing and planning for the content you need can get overwhelming fast. I like plans that are simple, otherwise they actually never get used. So your content plan can consist of just two documents. The first is a hub-and-spoke model to help you define the structure. At the core of your content strategy is the content you that you own and host on platforms that are yours. This could be a website, or your blog, this is the hub. Now I like the idea of keeping a blog for your company or brand because it's a cheap and easy way to control the conversation. And from here, you can distribute your message and you can link back to these posts to bring people back into your full message. Now the content in your hub is entirely under your control. Then you'll collect your spokes. The spokes represent the platforms you plan to participate in, and where you'll further distribute your message. Draw your hub-and-spoke model and then build on everything else you've learned on refining and selecting the right channels. If it isn't on your model, then it's not a priority. This model will help you structure your content and plan for new content creation. Now from here you'll what to create a communication calendar. And creating the calendar is relatively self-explanatory. Start by creating a high-level plan for an entire year. List the internal events or important milestones you know your business has planned for this year alongside the right dates. For instance, product launches, annual sales events, or opening a new location, and so on. Then list any external events that matter to your business or industry, as well as holidays that are celebrated where you are. Some examples of this might be New Years, Mother's Day, the start of fall, and so on. You may also want to list events specific to your industry. A great source for this is daysoftheyear.com. You can find all kinds of inspiring dates if you're looking for content ideas. Then just add a column for content topics, and columns for each channel you'll actively be posting. Now you're ready for your more granular planning, and I like to plan week by week so I try to have content scheduled for the next two weeks in advance. You can even use a tool that lets you pre-schedule and program any social posts such as CoSchedule, Sprout Social, or Hootsuite. They make is possible for you to manage everything from one place, letting you create and schedule posts from one dashboard in their tool. Creating and managing your content calendar is an essential part of a small business marketing strategy. With a systematic approach and the right tools you'll set yourself up for success.

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