Part 3 puts us right in the middle of this 5-part series and you should feel some momentum building at this point. If you’re just jumping in, be sure to jump back to Part 1 and Part 2.
Did you start your planning process with Part 1 of this series? If not, let’s review how important this is to your success in 2020. Your marketing team knows they need to execute a plan for distributing all the great content they’re hoping to create in 2020. However, without a plan in place, it’s just a dream. And a dream doesn’t move the sales needle.
Part 3: Identify Your Content and Create a Calendar
What type of content will influence your prospective customer? We’ve hit on this topic before, however it’s worth reviewing things from your customer’s perspective. It’s important to create your content and the calendar with your customer’s needs and timing in mind. Here are just a few things to consider:
- What problems are your customers facing today that they didn’t face yesterday?
- What solutions will benefit them?
- Are there seasonal influences that change which content will resonate?
- What ongoing programs do you offer that solve your customer’s financial situation?
- What new technologies are available today that may now solve older problems?
- Do your customers have a similar fiscal calendar by which they create and spend their budgets?
Now, once your thoughts are aligned with the needs and challenges your customers face, it’s time to identify which content you have ready to promote throughout the year. As you go through this process, you’ll likely find new content ideas along the way. Be sure to consider content types such as:
- Awareness of brand or solutions
- Interest in new technologies, integrations, and cloud services
- Consideration of new challenges due to legislation, economics, and threat levels
- Decision making can be tough – walk your customer through the process and make it easy
Bonus Tip: Evergreen content (webinars, explainer videos) will last a longer time than content based on seasons, dates, or specific events. These require ongoing content editing. Evergreen content, while longer lasting, will still need to be updated periodically. However, it’s much faster and easier to modify evergreen content, keeping it fresh, so that it can support ongoing campaigns that are part of your core offering.
Next up is Part 4 of the series: We’ll discuss how to distribute Your content
Enable Your Sales Team
Now is the time to plan, act, and execute these exciting, new plans. The year is barely underway and there’s time to implement these 5 steps necessary to launch your marketing strategy and impact your sales for 2020.
Get started today by contacting our team for advice.
