By Brenna Lofquist, Senior Advertising and marketing Advisor / Shopper Providers Operations at Heinz Advertising and marketing
There’s been a variety of speak about developments for 2023, which we all the time see originally of a brand new yr as a result of, duh. Individuals wish to know what the longer term holds and what they may probably have to arrange for.
My colleague Mina just lately wrote a put up on developments particular to the Healthcare trade and recognized that extra corporations are shifting inventive studios in-house. I figured lets broaden on that and speak about the way to develop a content material technique, particularly since shifting inventive in-house can appear daunting and costly, hopefully this places you comfortable (at the very least somewhat bit).
What’s a content material technique?
Another factor earlier than we dive in to the great things. What’s a content material technique? To place it merely it’s the planning, improvement, and administration of content material. The Content material Advertising and marketing Institute says consider a content material advertising and marketing technique as a top level view of your key enterprise and buyer wants, plus an in depth plan for a way you’ll use content material to handle them.
In my expertise, issues like content material methods, can look very completely different relying on who you speak to. And that’s okay. There’s a variety of selection within the advertising and marketing trade and the primary level is to find out which content material technique works finest in your group. Okay, now lets get into it.
First issues first
Earlier than you may even start to consider a content material technique there’s one thing you need to do first. In case you don’t have already got a content material stock, library, no matter you wish to name it, that is the place you need to begin. It’s nothing fancy. Create an excel sheet and stock all current content material. You wish to embody some necessary info for every content material asset resembling:
- Audience
- Funnel stage (high, center, backside)
- Content material format
- Content material title
- Subject or focus space
When you’ve accomplished this, you’ll wish to conduct an audit of the content material to see the place you may have gaps. This could simply be completed by creating a number of pivot tables to summarize the variety of content material property by the data listed about. Those to essentially concentrate on are target market, funnel stage, and matter or focus space. When figuring out content material for healthcare campaigns or different advertising and marketing efforts, you wish to ensure you have choices throughout the board so that you aren’t delayed since you don’t have content material obtainable.
After finishing these two steps, you ought to be able to develop your healthcare content material technique.
Easy methods to create a content material technique?
First, in the event you don’t have a number of core matters or focus areas you’ll wish to begin right here. You may also consider these as themes. To develop themes, I like to recommend doing analysis to determine what’s occurring within the trade, therefore the Healthcare trade developments put up.
When you’ve discovered a number of developments, attempt to hyperlink them again to problem messages out of your messaging framework. That is necessary as a result of it robotically creates a connection between the development and the way your product or resolution will help or clear up the difficulty. Just a few examples of healthcare themes are affected person consumerization and personalization of care, built-in applied sciences for a contemporary apply, and the danger of value-based care.
If you have already got core matters or focus areas outlined, you’ll wish to do the identical factor and determine developments which you can map to these problem messages. When you’ve accomplished this step, transfer on to the content material (or editorial) calendar.
Content material calendar
The content material calendar goes to take all of those items (content material audit and themes) and mix them to find out which content material to create when. Often a content material calendar is damaged down by quarter nevertheless, you may alter it primarily based in your objectives and aims. Whereas going via this train you’ll wish to maintain the corporate’s objectives in thoughts. Possibly there’s a selected initiative to concentrate on resembling personalization of care. If that’s the case, you’ll wish to prioritize improvement of content material in that space if it’s wanted.
That is the place the content material audit comes into play. Check out the audit and see what number of items of content material you may have for the subject and what number of items of content material fall during which funnel stage and by target market. In some instances, personalization of care is likely to be relevant to sure personas, not all, during which case you’ll wish to filter by the relevant personas. Do you may have any gaps? Or areas the place content material is missing?
Right here’s a situation utilizing the personalization of care instance. Let’s say this matter is particularly necessary to your Champions (Apply managers) and Influencers (Physicians/docs/suppliers) and when wanting on the content material audit you discover many of the content material is for high funnel, there’s somewhat little bit of content material for center and none for backside funnel. That is the place you’d wish to focus your content material improvement efforts for the quarter. That you must guarantee you may have content material obtainable to assist the businesses’ initiatives.
Beneath is an instance template of an editorial or content material calendar. It’s fairly easy, simply fill within the blanks!
You’ll undergo the identical course of till you may have every quarter crammed in and perceive which content material must be developed when. After everyone seems to be aligned, you may transfer on to content material improvement.
Content material improvement
This step can take completely different types, as famous earlier within the put up, determine what works finest in your group. At Heinz Advertising and marketing when working with shoppers, we put collectively a desk of content material concepts. Concepts vary from internet new to repurposed property, specializing in filling the gaps recognized within the content material calendar. You wish to concentrate on the quarter that’s arising, relying on the place you’re at within the present quarter. Content material improvement can take time, so ensure you’re giving your self and your group sufficient time.
We use a precedence rating to assist shoppers know the place to start out when creating content material. The rating is normally primarily based on effort mixed with objectives and/or the place the content material gaps are. If we proceed utilizing the personalization of care instance from above, you’d wish to prioritize creation of a backside funnel asset over center funnel. You have already got a number of center funnel property however none for backside funnel, so begin there.
Effort relies upon if the asset is internet new or repurposed. Repurposed content material is simpler to create as a result of you have already got many of the info. An instance of a repurposed asset is likely to be taking a long-form whitepaper and taking the important thing sections and turning it right into a guidelines or infographic. You’re distilling the data into a unique format that may act as a abstract and even lead-in to the longer type asset.
After getting your priorities so as, you can begin creating content material!
Now what?
You’ll wish to revisit this train as soon as 1 / 4. Healthcare initiatives would possibly change which may impression the corporate’s aims; due to this fact you wish to make certain your content material technique can assist these modifications. There’s nothing worse than all the things coming to a halt since you understand you don’t have usable content material. So, as you’re employed via every quarter, you’ll wish to proceed creating future quarters within the content material calendar so content material improvement efforts proceed.
