Properly executed content marketing plans will increase your brand’s reach, demonstrate credibility, advance your subject matter expertise, educate your audience, and so much more. But only if you learn how to set clearly defined content marketing goals so that you can avoid busywork that slows productivity and tricks you into thinking your ideas are bad.
Define the Purpose for the Content
Some potential purposes for any content you create include earning more links to your site, ranking higher in the search engine results, educating your audience, driving social engagement, building your list, or something else.
Determine Where the Content Will Live
One thing you need to know when you define goals for content is, based on the purpose of the content, where will you place the content for maximum attraction and views.
Know the Format the Content Needs to Be In
When you know the purpose and where the content will live, then it’s easier to determine the format the content should initially appear in. For example, if you’re going to put the content on YouTube, it should, of course, be a video, but if you put content on your blog, it can still be a video along with a transcript of the video and so forth.
Define Exactly How You’ll Promote the Content You Publish
It helps to know the purpose of the content, where the content is going to live, and what format it is before you decide how to promote it. You’ll probably want to use a combination approach, but it does depend on who the content is for how you’re going to do things, and you can only know that if you have taken the time to set clear goals.
Use SMART Goal Setting Techniques
Anytime you need to set goals for anything, using the SMART goal setting techniques helps you create actionable goals. SMART is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. When you ensure that your goals cover those areas, you’ll also ensure that they are clearly defined so that you can easily follow them because the process creates clarity.
Transfer Your Goals to a Real Schedule
If you don’t schedule the work that you need to do in order to reach the goals you’ve set, then the goals aren’t really that clear. Put the information into a calendar, giving yourself enough time to get it done in a timely manner.
Like most things in life, if you create clearly defined goals, you’ll end up with much better results. Setting relevant goals for content marketing will ensure that you aren’t just creating content for the sake of creating content. That doesn’t work and will just frustrate you. Every single piece of content that you create must have a purpose, and you should define that purpose prior to even starting to develop it. When you do that, you will experience so much success.