Why You Need a Content Strategist to Grow Your Business

The Benefits of a Content Strategist

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‍Many business owners tend to view marketing as a short-term promotional tactic to drive sales. While this was true in the past, the world is over-saturated with promotional marketing messages everywhere. To stand out, you must show potential customers that you make either their life easier, solve a problem or save them money – which is why content marketing is so important. When you take this approach, you focus on the content first, and the self-promotion comes later.

The challenge of content marketing is managing the many moving parts because if it’s not done right, there’s a low ROI or worse yet, no sales growth. Corporate and larger businesses have a whole team of marketing experts working together across strategy, content, SEO, analytics, ads, website, email, social media, etc. While creating cost-effective content is easier when you have more resources, smaller businesses don’t need to be left behind. That’s where a content strategist can help.  

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Stop Wasting Time on Marketing That Doesn’t Work

One important benefit of a content strategist is not wasting time on the wrong marketing. Often, a business owner wants to jump right into creating “stuff”. As the name suggests, a strategist focuses on strategy. This means looking at the business to understand what makes you different, identify your ideal customers, understand what problems they have and how you solve them.

The next step is critical but often overlooked – review your analytics. The content strategist looks at the data to see the story it tells about your business. Learning where people are spending time on your website and where that traffic is coming from. If you’re running ads, your strategist looks at the metrics and optimization opportunities while also looking at your email and social media dynamics. A content strategist can quickly analyze key data and use these insights to create the right strategy that guides your content plan.

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Building a More Trustworthy Business Inside Your Tactical Campaigns

Content strategists also look at your business brand to create the standards for cohesive content. Many business owners hate to “waste time” on this part, saying “I’m never going to be Apple or Nike so why do we need all of that.” But your business needs a distinct look with consistent style, tone, and voice across everything you do. Otherwise, you may provide helpful information without the trust factor. A strategist ensures you’re not just educating potential customers who end up buying from your competitor because they have a warm and inviting website.

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Focusing on Your Owned Channels and Long-Term Growth

In addition to creating content pieces, a strategist looks at the best channels to get found and make lasting connections. While Facebook and YouTube can be excellent distribution channels, for long-term growth, a strategist focuses on your website or blog content, which are the platforms you own.

Another benefit of a content strategist is determining how to make sales now while building your long-term growth plan. That’s why strategists always measure and analyze every piece of content, every email, and every ad to improve your results. Wit ha strategist, it’s about evolving and strengthening your content, so it’s always growing your business. This approach ensures you never have to throw out all your old marketing and start over every few years. The focus is refreshing and building on your content to reach your long-term goals.  

With a Content Strategist, You Don’t Have to Go it Alone

Content-driven marketing campaigns can be overwhelming. Especially if you’re not familiar with the tactics and best practices that are working now. While there are many moving parts, most of the work is the planning, branding, and creating the initial campaign pieces. A good strategist will get everything up and running but will also show you (or your staff) what needs to be done to analyze and evolve. This way you have the option to bring your content campaign in-house or outsource components as needed.      

Business owners who recognize that successful marketing today is driven by long-term content campaigns are the ones who see the best results. Partnering with a content strategist ensures not only campaign success but also greater ROI to grow your business –today and tomorrow.

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