Content Strategy, why having one is so important!

Having "content" and having a content strategy are two very different things!

Welcome, for those who have never been here before i will introduce myself again. My name is Brandie Peters. I am a content marketing strategist located in Medicine Hat, Alberta Canada - I work with clients all over the world helping them tell their story online.

I recently started blogging again on the topic of content marketing to help increase the visibility of my new venture Brandie Peters, Content Marketing Strategies. 

I also wanted to use this as an oppurtunity to experiment with Google's Blogger and demonstrate first hand the benefits of using a keyword strategized blog to share information and tell a story. This post, is the third blog in what will be 48 blog campaign. Eventually, I will be able to break down and demonstrate EXACTLY how I created and implement this simple content strategy.

I will then begin a secondary experiment to analyze the ranking and visibility growth.

Ugh, I know for some of you this all sounds rather geeky and technical but, I assure you that content marketing and SEO can actually be quite fun. The reason why I run these experiments as a strategist is because I want to be able to demonstrate to my clients, proof that these methods actually work.

Over the last few years I have worked online as a content writer and social media marketer. These days I combine those skills and provide people with full content strategy development services and one-on-one coaching.

So, What is The Difference Between Having "Content" and Having A Content Strategy?

Well, I am glad you asked. 

These days most businesses have "content" - because content simply means any media materials that were created for their brand. We are talking about:

• written copy
• videos
• photos
• graphics
• social media posts

These days even businesses without a sophisticated marketing strategy will likely produce these medias on a regular basis and share them online.

In 2016 it is important for business who wish to be visible online to produce content - if they aren't then they are going to be missing out on a HUGE oppurtunity to market themselves at a remarkably low cost.

However, simply having masses of content isn't enough...

Anyone, can produce content at will and publish it on the web. There really isn't anything particularly difficult about it and for this reason we are seeing an over-saturation of content on most platforms. Because of this having your content seen is becoming increasingly difficult. Creating content that actually generates new leads and sales has also become a huge challenge.

What I am saying is that, when you don't know anything about content strategies you can produce content until the cows come home and fail to see any results.

And under the belief that "time is money" your process of producing content aimlessly could actually be costing you money, instead of making it for you. How frustrating is that.

This brings up the primary difference between creating content and having that "strategy" in place to produce content to be shared and networked very intentionally.

A strategy helps you to plan and schedule the production of your content in a way that eliminates guessing. It allows you to focus on objectives and achieving specific goals with each piece of content that you produce. 

When you use a content strategy, all of your content is planned beforehand with either a long-term "content calendar" - or intermittently with campaigns. 

Content marketing strategists, like myself, develop these strategies and help business owners produce the media and then implement the strategy over a period of time. We also analyze results and report back to the marketer. In some instances the strategist is also responsible for assisting with PR and content networking. 

For fresh strategies brand development is also a big part of the content strategy process.

In some cases when a business already has a solid brand and existing content, the strategist comes in and weeds through the materials in order to come up with new ways to utilize existing media - 

Yeah it is a tough job, but somebody has to do it!

In all honesty, I really enjoy what I do as a strategist and I find content strategy development to be the perfect combination of technical and creative work.

To summarize, content is just one part of the equation when it comes to digital marketing. A "content strategy" is really what you need if you want to save yourself time and money. Because content marketing is more complex than simply "making" content, sometimes you need to hire a strategist who can help you optimize your media and get it seen by the right people.

Alright, if this sounds like a service you are looking for, then I might be your girl.

My website brandiepeters.com further explains some of things that i do as a strategist.

If you are more of a do-it-yourself type of person, then consider joining my FREE coaching group.

This is a free community where I share resources for entrepreneurs who want to learn how to use a content strategy to grow their business on the web. 

Thanks for reading

Stay Cool!
⭐✊😝⭐ 

- Brandie

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