Content marketing is consistently evolving.

There is hard work that has to be put so that your strategy works in order to get the results that you are looking for.

WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING?

Content marketing is the process of planning, creating, publishing, curating and distributing content to reach a specific target audience. It involves sharing online material such blogs, infographics, videos, podcasts and social media posts to achieve a desired outcome. 

WHAT ARE THE 5 STAGES OF THE CONTENT MARKETING PROCESS?

A content marketing process that we often recommend consists of 5 key stages:

1. Research & Goal Setting– Develop a plan to guide your content marketing strategy.

2. Content Strategy & Content Creation – Turn key messages, SEO and keywords into weapons to attract your buyer.

3. Publishing & Distribution – Use a variety of platforms to promote your content.

4. Analyse the Engagement – Track and optimise the results with data analytics to assess your leads.

5. Convert and Attract New Customers – Repeat the same process to find your winning formula.

Here is everything that you need to know about the 5 stages of the content marketing process:

Stage 1: Research & Goal Setting

Analyse and gather data with a clear structure. Build your marketing plan with defined goals.

Establish a realistic budget. 

Your content should be:

• Fun and engaging
• Reach different target audience and market
• Structured in the following way: Top of the funnel (Tofu), middle of the funnel (Mofu) and bottom of the funnel (Bofu)

Stage 2: Content Strategy & Content Creation

Start planning your content to achieve your desired outcome. 

Have a keyword list, call to action (CTA) buttons with search optimised copywriting.

Talk to all your internal and external stakeholders for information.

Establish a simple workflow or framework that sources raw material from your experts.

Don't forget to source and curate your content.

Focus on demand and lead generation.

Stage 3: Publishing & Distribution

You should have a stable working process.

Focus on the buyer’s journey and their needs.

Publish at the right time.

Distribute your content in multiple channels according to your target audience.

Stage 4: Analyse the Engagement

Identify and track important metrics.

Tie content marketing to more strategic business objectives such as brand equity, revenue, customer engagement, and traffic.

Optimise your content based on topics, types and channels that work best for your target market.

Assess your SEO strategy, blog posts, infographics, pictures, videos, podcasts, books, webpages and reviews. 

Stage 5: Convert and Attract New Customers

Improve your content marketing process by gaining experience and insights about your target markets.

Ensure your quality and metrics get better and better.

Now get into some action.

Which step have you have tried and perfected? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.