Content Marketing Strategy Essentials – Podcast Interview with Ahava Leibtag

Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that content is vital to the success of any marketing campaign. In fact, businesses of all sizes are leveraging custom content to reach, engage, and convert their audiences.

According to a report by CMI, 92% of businesses are committed to content marketing. Even so, as many as 62% of businesses don’t have an actual content marketing strategy.

But, you should definitely have one.

Ahava Leibtag, my guest on this podcast episode, is an expert content strategist and the President of Aha Media Group. She is a true content ninja, who has joined us to help marketers like you to elevate your content game.

Ahava emphasizes that all businesses should formulate an effective content marketing strategy. It is crucial to the success of your business.

Here is how a content marketing strategy can help you elevate your content game.

Why You Need a Content Marketing Strategy

Brands that have a content marketing strategy are more likely to be successful. 72% of marketers also admitted that a well-planned content strategy contributed to the increased success of their marketing campaigns.

A well-formulated and documented content strategy can guide your marketing team to meet or exceed business goals. Without one, your marketing initiatives can get lost in the abyss.

An effective content strategy can help you:

• Create meaningful, engaging, high-quality content that attracts your target audience.
• Convey the right messages to the right consumers at the right times.
• Identify the best-performing content types and distribution channels for your audience.
• Build trust and credibility so that consumers remember and engage with your brand.
• Increase your brand’s visibility, authority, and overall growth.
• Identify and overcome major challenges.

Investing in a content strategy can get you where you want to go quicker, with less effort, and with far better results. That’s why both Ahava and I advise marketers to take the time to create a content marketing strategy for their brands.

Points to Remember When Creating a Content Marketing Strategy

During the podcast episode, Ahava Leibtag and I discussed a few key points that you should remember when creating a content strategy.

#1. Audience-First Approach

Ahava emphasizes that you should put your audience first.

After all, what’s the real motive behind any marketing initiative? It is to get your audience to trust and engage with your brand or products.

Your content strategy should focus on:

• What will your audience say about it?
• What are they looking for?
• What are the major issues they face?
• What is important to them?
• How can you help your prospects?

The majority of marketers would agree with Ahava, when she says that everything is about the audience, and not about the brand anymore.

In such a scenario, you should leverage audience insights to create a content strategy that can meet the evolving needs of both new and existing target audiences.

Ahava also mentioned that it is not just marketing that should be audience-centric. You should also design your products thinking about what the consumers want.

Everything from your products to marketing, brand values, and messaging should follow an audience-first approach.

#2. It’s All About Building a Good Reputation

Ahava wanted to tell brands and marketers that building a good reputation is essential for any business that wants to grow.

Regardless of the industry, you are in or the size of your business, you need to get people to see your brand as a reliable one.

You may have the best product in the industry or you may be providing the most quality customer service. But it won’t matter if people don’t trust you as a brand. So the idea is to build relationships with your target audience through great content.

You should create content that is useful to your audience. For instance, create free ebooks that provide your audience with valuable information.

With all of her experience, Ahava Leibtag said that the most effective way to market your brand is to make yourself available to answer your audience’s questions. If you are available to listen to their issues and provide them with effective solutions, it is likely to help you become a trusted advisor.

Once people trust your brand, they will be more likely to buy from you or hire you. That’s what makes a good brand reputation count.

#3. Storytelling is the Key

Stories are indeed the best way to connect people emotionally and personally.

Consumers today tend to engage with emotions more than reasons. You need to leverage compelling stories to create and nurture relationships. Tell your brand’s story in a way that it will help your audience experience and feel your story.

Ahava believes that, as a marketer, you should stay curious to learn more about the brand you are going to promote. You should discuss what the client wants, what their story is, what they want to achieve, and what makes them stand out from their competitors.

You should always stay hungry for more information and ideas. This will help you tell more stories and encourage the brand’s target audience to engage with them.

#4. Content as a Product

Content strategist, Ahava Leibtag, asks marketers to see content as a product and focus on delivering good customer experiences.

Successful content marketing is not only about great content, it is also about phenomenal content project management. It is essential to get your content team organized to ensure that they contribute to meeting your marketing goals.

Similarly, you need to streamline your content creation and distribution process. This includes all steps from strategizing, writing, and editing to approvals, publishing, and distribution.

Ahava also emphasized that you retain top talent by providing them with a meaningful life along with meaningful work. This will help you manage content projects more efficiently.

#5. Smart Marketing

Today, everyone prefers smart work over hard work.

As marketers, you should educate yourself about the latest technology and tools that can help you become more efficient. You should leverage data, analytics, and proven tactics to shape an effective content strategy for your brand.

Get Started!

I know it takes a lot of time and effort to develop a successful content marketing strategy. But the points that we discussed above will definitely help you build a solid foundation for your content plan.

Now that we have talked so much about why it is important to formulate a content strategy and the focus points, it’s your turn.

In case you need help or have any questions about how to proceed further, please feel free to connect with me to discuss.