Three Ways to Mix Up Your Content Marketing Strategy in 2014

Let’s face it; creating and disseminating custom, attention-grabbing content can be difficult, especially if don’t have a comprehensive content marketing strategy in place. Failing to implement a fool-proof plan can significantly hinder the success of your efforts, as evidenced in a recent report titled “ B2B Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends North America” by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. In fact, 84 percent of marketers who say they are ineffective at content marketing said they have no documented strategy.

As 2013 quickly comes to a close, now is the perfect time to re-evaluate your current content strategy (or lack thereof) to get on the right track for 2014. Below are three tips and tricks to building a stronger content marketing strategy.

1. Implement a Content Calendar: Between creating, posting and updating content, things can get a little crazy, which is why implementing a well-organized content calendar is so important. The first step in creating a calendar is mapping out the important dates of major events such as tradeshows or product launches. Next, determine the best frequency, time of day, day of week, etc., for disseminating content and begin scheduling accordingly. Remember: the further you plan ahead, the better. Need a little help? Kapost, WordPress’s Editorial Calendar Plugin and Google Docs’ editorial calendar templates are all excellent and easy-to-use calendar tools
2. Mix it Up with Other Media: There are numerous platforms available for delivering content, from blogging to whitepapers to infographics to online video. So why not mix it up and try out something new for the New Year? 2014 is all about imagery. Boost brand awareness by launching a YouTube channel or sign up for an Instagram account. Make sure, however, that you stick to what resonates most with your target audience. For example, an Instagram account might not be the best idea for a financial firm, but a YouTube channel might.
3. Add Collaboration Tools: Chances are you have a number of team members from different departments contributing to content projects, which can sometimes make things difficult. Help simplify this process by implementing collaboration tools. For example, Basecamp and Team Gannt are two of the most popular collaboration tools. With Basecamp, users can collaborate, upload files, check off items that are completed and more from a single page. Meanwhile, Team Gantt uses a chart style of planning that features email reminders and other collaboration tools.

Tell us… what’s on your content marketing agenda for 2014?