Organizations that are thriving online at differentiating themselves from their competition recognize the importance of having a solid content development strategy. Not only does your content significantly influence how your products, services, culture, and values are perceived by your intended audience, your content also has a direct impact on your conversions as well. One approach that is key to achieving success online is to leverage the expert knowledge of your team members and users to assist you with your strategic content goals.
Content Development Strategy
Content creation is a strategic marketing approach. And as with anything that is strategic in nature, you need the right plan and the right people in place to accomplish your goals.
Traditionally, the onus of content creation has fallen within the scope of marketing departments. However, what successful organizations have figured out is that the creation of compelling content reaches beyond the capacities of conventional marketing specialists. They understand that to best relate to the diversity of the audience in which they serve, content development processes must extend to non-marketing employees and users as well.
Bringing the Internal Team to Develop Buyer Personas
First, but not least is the absolute necessity in creating buyer personas to guide all of the sales and marketing strategies that are necessary for engaging your users. Your internal team observes, interacts, and has informed perceptions about customer beliefs and behaviors and should be included in the initial evaluation of your customers.
Roles and Departments Involved in Creating Content
To earn your audience’s attention and drive conversions, the content you provide must be consistent, valuable and relevant to your audience. Since your audience is inherently segmented based on interests and experiences (prospects, customers, candidates, influencers, etc.), your content needs to be diverse to best relate to these segments at the stages they are at in their journey.
One of the most effective and efficient ways to produce content that is most relevant to the diversity of these subsets is to engage the efforts of your people that have expertise in these subsets. After all, who better to intuitively create content about engineering protocols and capabilities, than someone from engineering? Who better to describe the features and benefits of products and/or services, then someone from sales? Who better to showcase employment opportunities and benefits, than someone from human resources?
To better illustrate our point, following are some of the key benefits that are inherent in utilizing different roles within your organization in your content creation processes.
Marketing
Serving as the hub of your content creation activities, your marketing specialists are essential to the execution of your overall content strategy. Additionally not only are they your best source for identifying your subject matter experts (SMEs) but they are also best for recognizing and delivering relevant content tailored to where your customers are at in their buying journeys to move them through the funnel.
Sales
Content that provides value increases your engagement and feedback audience metrics. Enlisting your sales professionals in the creation of both sales-specific and thought leadership content will not only better position your organization as an industry authority, but it also fosters audience participation.
Science, Engineering, and Technical Services
Your engineering professionals are your SMEs for developing content on new trends, involved industry topics, and turnkey solutions. Utilizing your engineering SMEs in content creation helps you to relate complicated, industry-specific ideas, words and phrases clearly and helps to identify your organization as a leading expert on the subjects at hand.
Account Services
Account service professionals are the front line to your customer base. Not only do they have the best knowledge of customers’ questions, suggestions, complaints, etc., they also have insights on solutions for increasing customer satisfaction. Involving service in content creation is vital to providing exceptional service at all times.
The C-Suite
Delivering consistent, valuable and relevant content to your targeted audience takes resources. In order for your efforts to be a success, each department involved in your content marketing process must be fully aligned with your content marketing goals. Attaining C-level commitment and support is critical to ensuring sufficient prioritization and reducing obstacles.
Human Resources
As more and more candidates seek out information online about potential opportunities, the higher the need is for relevant content about your organization. Including HR in your content creating processes helps to feature your organization’s work environments, cultures, values, and goals to prospective candidates favorably.
Your Audience’s Input.
It is important to note that your end game with your content creation process should always be focused on addressing your user’s needs. Audience’s participation and feedback on the content that you create is essential to the overall success of your content strategy. Their perceptions are critical to ensuring that the content that you deliver is relevant and rooted in real customers’ needs and beliefs. By including your users in your content creation processes, you will be better able to effectively and efficiently create content that provides value to your audience.
The Bottom Line.
The best portrayal of your organization’s full capabilities is one that includes the diverse point of views from marketing, sales, engineering, service, human resources, executives and users as well. Not only will it help you to leverage your business as an industry leader, but it will also assist you in meeting and exceeding your strategic goals.
