Recently, we had the pleasure of working on a client project that involved the creation of both a brand strategy and content marketing strategy. It is extremely exciting to witness how strongly a well-defined brand strategy works to focus the creation of a knowledge-driven content marketing plan.
The first step in the process was the creation of a winning brand strategy. We took the client through our Distility 1day1brand workshop in which the audience, competition, brand promise, brand personality and brand position of the client were all resolved, defined and committed to. With the client’s new brand strategy in mind, the team worked to map out a content marketing strategy aimed at generating new B2B customers.
What is a Brand Strategy?
As covered in our post, Pragmatic Brand Strategy, having a brand strategy means playing in the right customer’s mind, and winning in their mind with a brand promise, position and personality that are compelling, credible and competitive.
What is a Content Marketing Strategy?
A content marketing strategy is also about playing in the mind of the right potential customer, but with the immediate goal of transforming that prospect into a hard lead through content that brands the content provider as a trusted authority. A good content marketing strategy should also work to frame the content provider as a desirable candidate for fulfilling the customer’s buying need.
Effective content marketing leverages the knowledge that an organization possesses to connect with what the audience needs to know. In good content marketing, there is no telling the customer what they should want to find out. Rather, an organization should make its content about the customer, looking at the buying process from the customer’s point of view.
How a Brand Strategy and Content Marketing Strategy Work Together
Content marketing can succeed only if the goals and knowledge of an organization truly click with the need of the target customer. Brand strategy is all about defining that audience, and tailoring a brand’s promise, personality and position to that need, in relation to what the competition is doing. With a clear brand strategy, it will be far simpler to create a content marketing strategy that really resonates with the customer experience.
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