How are you starting your content marketing strategy for 2015?

You’re going back to your desk in the New Year, full of energy for new marketing initiatives, one of which is your content strategy. Here are some pointers and resources to get started with your planning.

The essential plan

Understand the purpose of your content plan. Your content should be helping achieve your organization’s business goals, not your content goals. So be very clear and get agreement on this from the start. Your business goal may be selling products or services; creating leads for sales teams; encouraging engagement and frequent visits; helping users find what they need; or driving awareness, engagement or loyalty.

Your planning framework might, therefore, begin with a content mission statement, or a business case. For example: ‘Build multi-channel content that establishes/underscores my organization as the leader in the ABC economy/market/space.’ Or ‘Build multi-channel content that delivers qualified leads to the sales channel.’ Very different statements, requiring very different tactical plans. With your defined goal, you must also be looking at where your customers are appearing, and what message you want them to hear, with your content, at whatever point in the experience.

The customer is at the center of this at all times.

A good plan must:
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10 favorite podcasts that you might just find addictive

podcastEvery day, I walk. I walk to keep fit. I walk because I have two dogs. I walk because I love to walk. I walk because I have a #FitBit, and I must reach my 10,000 steps a day — I just must. That’s all. But I also walk because I love listening to podcasts. Podcasts of books. Podcasts of news shows. Podcasts of comedy. Podcasts of drama. Podcasts of documentaries. I’ve been listening to podcasts for years and years. Over the past few years, the choices are so much greater. It’s so much easier to subscribe. And the quality is so excellent.

Here’s my top 10 list. As you can see, they skew heavily in favor of the BBC, because, well, I’m still a Brit. And the podcasts they produce are that good.

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Do your social posts survive the re-share test?

artofsmOn my weekend walk, I listened to this Jay Baer podcast of an interview with Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist at Canva and author along with Peg Fitzpatrick, Head of Social Strategy at Canva.

The podcast is part of Guy and Peg’s book tour to promote their new book ‘The Art of Social Media,’ a book they have filled with power tips for power social media users.

Here my five key takeaways from this podcast:

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