By Priti Juneja | February 8th, 2018
A Content Marketing Strategist understands that B2B content marketing is unique, thriving on long-term, audience-focused campaigns rather than just boosting keyword traffic. A significant data point to consider is that 70% of B2B marketers prioritize creating more engaging content over simply increasing traffic, highlighting the importance of sustained, quality-driven strategies tailored to specific audiences.
The challenge lies in how to create, plan, and monitor campaigns that effectively align B2B offerings with target audience interests in a consistent, effective, and efficient manner. This encompasses the job description of a content marketing strategist—a term often misused to cover various roles, from senior content writers and domain specialists to social media planners and operations managers responsible for efficient content production.
When creating content at scale, having a dedicated role for content ideation is crucial. The content ideator ensures that ideas align with overall campaigns, target specific personas, and incorporate relevant keywords. This role is essential for maintaining consistency and effectiveness in content strategy.
Content Marketing Campaign Prioritization
In a marketing strategy, prioritizing campaigns is crucial for effective resource management and achieving business objectives. A content marketing strategist must navigate multiple products, services, target audiences, and channels to determine which content initiatives should be prioritized. This involves assessing which campaigns will best support the overall business plan and how to allocate resources and time effectively.
- Identify Key Offerings: Determine which products or services should be promoted based on their importance to the business strategy.
- Define Campaign Objectives: Establish clear goals for each campaign, such as lead generation, brand awareness, or customer engagement.
- Allocate Resources: Decide how much time, budget, and personnel should be dedicated to each campaign.
- Set Performance Metrics: Develop criteria for measuring the success of each campaign to ensure alignment with business goals.
Governance Around Content Ideation
Effective governance in content ideation ensures that content ideas are not only creative but also aligned with strategic goals. Content marketing strategists need to establish processes to evaluate and manage ideas from various sources, ensuring they meet campaign objectives and maintain overall coherence.
- Establish Review Processes: Implement procedures for reviewing and approving content ideas to ensure they align with campaign goals.
- Encourage Creativity with Structure: Allow creativity to thrive while providing guidelines to keep ideas focused on strategic objectives.
- Organize Ideas: Develop a system to categorize and prioritize content ideas based on their relevance and potential impact.
- Monitor Alignment: Continuously assess whether content ideas support the overall strategy and adjust as needed.
Streamlined Content Production
As the volume, velocity, and variety of content increases, so does the complexity of managing the whole production process. Numerous considerations come into play including but not limited to
- Formats: Define the types of content to be used.
- Content Themes: Identify and activate key themes for content.
- Theme Details: Clarify what each theme includes with examples.
- Content Workflows: Outline workflows for each content format.
- Workflow Control: Implement processes to manage content creation, approval, and reporting.
- Efficiency: Prioritize re-purposed content to reduce costs and streamline production.
Content promotion tactics
Identifying the right channels for B2B content promotion presents a significant challenge. The complexity of a company’s service portfolio and the specific nature of each campaign add layers of difficulty. Strategists must carefully consider which channels to prioritize, how to balance curated versus organic content, and the appropriate split between paid and organic promotions. Additionally, they must develop promotional tactics that align with corporate communication guidelines. Here are key factors the strategist needs to address:
- Channel Prioritization: Determine which channels are best suited for promoting specific content campaigns based on target audience and campaign goals.
- Content Balance: Decide the right mix of curated versus organic content to maximize engagement and reach.
- Promotion Split: Establish the optimal ratio of paid versus organic promotions to achieve the best results.
- Promotional Tactics: Develop and implement tactics that comply with corporate communication standards, ensuring consistency and effectiveness in promotions.
Analytics and Optimization
Effectively leveraging analytics is key to transforming content marketing from a reactive effort into a strategic, results-driven approach. The strategist ensures that content marketing not only meets but exceeds its goals by integrating analytics throughout the content lifecycle.
Moreover, this involves setting up and monitoring reports, defining key performance indicators (KPIs), and incorporating feedback for continuous improvement. Key tasks include:
- Reporting Requirements
Define tracking needs for productivity, compliance, and costs with Content Operations. - Metrics for Business Outcomes
Set and implement metrics with marketing leads to measure business impact. - Content Tagging and Taxonomy
Ensure correct use of tagging and taxonomy, with approval checks before finalizing content.
Critical Role of a Content Marketing Strategist in B2B Success
Among all roles in content marketing, the strategist is arguably the most crucial for achieving business goals. This is especially true in B2B marketing, where sustained efforts are necessary and content is vital for both acquisition and retention.
Merely increasing content volume, even if it’s high-quality, isn’t a scalable strategy and can lead to failure. Instead, brands need a long-term approach to content marketing. This means clearly defining the strategist’s roles and responsibilities and empowering them to navigate complex inter-departmental dynamics and constraints effectively.
