Nowadays, brands that work for a social cause or initiative must treat them as serious engagement.
Of course, it was never a good idea to follow an ad hoc approach to cause marketing. In an ARBOR Day Blog article, the brand's social media profile was used in an Arbor Day Blog article for a month and a hashtag of climate change.
But now the act of supporting or supporting a hot topic contains so many elements and can trigger more answers from stakeholders (and non-stakeholders) that it requires a detailed strategy.
What if the content marketing team leads to the development of this strategy and could be at the top of the brand's ongoing effort in this important topic?
You will increase the role of content marketing in the organization (and maybe even get the busy seat on the top tour table).
But how do you do it with a healthy, sustainable approach? Follow this three-stage plan for a content marketing strategy related to content.
1. Start above
Many brands say that they are committed to one thing, but have problems with proof of this commitment.
Why? The Cause discussion never meets what needs to be done to ensure that the organization focuses on the public face on these topics.
A documented content marketing strategy for a cause enables all teams to create content to work on the same side. Its development can also serve as a starting point for other departments or as the entire organization to develop a long -term strategy for the relevant mission of the brand.
Your strategy preparation does not begin with content marketing, but with the business operations of the company:
This first step will probably take most of the time – it contains many elements that you probably have no control over. But do this research. The questioning of the most important stakeholders provides everything they do next. Your investigation will help people in the entire organization to recognize the depth of the brand's commitment and to better understand the goals for the commitment of the matter.
Their actions also communicate the leadership that their priority is to ensure that content marketing corresponds to the business objectives.
When this research is complete, you will probably be one of two conclusions:
- Clear cause-specific business goals and metrics or
- A blurred picture of what leadership would like to happen (although you do not fully formulate a plan or have set goals)
Regardless of the result you can achieve, you can still advance to the next step. It could be more difficult if you are in the vague amount of image.
2. Bring the audience in
After thinking about the business, it is time to take your audience into account.
In most causes, initiatives forget that marketers have a target group and simply decide to create content in connection with the cause. This is a positive step, but it's just the beginning.
Ask audience -specific questions, such as B.:
- Who is most interested in this content in the target group?
- Why?
- What do you want from this content?
With this information you can probably narrow down your larger target group or renew your commitment to an existing person or niche. This is the group that aims with its content marketing strategy for content marketing.
3 .. focus on business and audience
If you know your business goals and your audience, you can find out the goals for content marketing.
Which content marketing goals correspond to both the business goals and the interests of the audience? Are you concrete and measurable?
For example, with an integrative content marketing strategy, the benchmarks for images, accessible content, language presentation in content, etc. are important. However, they concentrate on tactics and do not really integrate the audience.
What do you want from your readers, spectators and listeners? Your answer will probably fall into these three broad goals:
The three goals act together as steps or as funnel. Brand awareness leads to an audience to act and this campaign ultimately contributes to the fidelity of the brand.
An election season analogy could help:
- A voter learns something about a candidate (consciousness).
- The voter decides to support the candidate (action).
- The voter puts the candidate's shield in the garden (loyalty).
In the case of causes -oriented content, most marketers make up for the brand awareness phase. You can change the social profile picture to present the named month. They publish an article from the CEO in which the brand's commitment to the causes and review metrics in relation to social media engagement, increased traffic or time on the page are explained.
However, you should also work to bring the audience into the second stage – action. You can invite readers to subscribe to a series of articles on the obligation and activities of your brand. You can ask you to register for a webinar to find out more. Success metrics would include registrations.
Press the audience on to achieve the third goal in the sequence – loyalty. Publish regular and authentic content regarding the mission of the matter. You will convince the audience that your brand has the conversation.
You will continue to consume your content. You could buy your products. And you could tell others why you like your brand (whether you buy from you or not). Success metrics may include returning visitors, the number of pages visited, purchase activities and brand expectations.
TIP: If you determine your initiative-specific content marketing goals, you must also discuss the content plans. Which formats will you use? How often will you publish? These two factors enable them to set relevant and realistic goals.
Follow your obligations of your cause
The support or promotion of a social cause or initiative requires a serious obligation. Instead of celebrating a single day or month, they pursue a long-term strategy for content marketing for the matter. Your audience will recognize that your brand does not jump on the train – she is really committed. This differentiation means that you are more involved with your content and ultimately develop a stronger connection to your brand.
And that is a great way to improve the role of your contents team when achieving the business goals.
Updated from an article in October 2022.
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Cover picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
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