By Brenna Lofquist, Senior Advertising and marketing Marketing consultant / Shopper Providers Operations at Heinz Advertising and marketing
There’s been quite a lot of discuss traits for 2023, which we all the time see at first of a brand new 12 months as a result of, duh. Folks need to know what the long run holds and what they may probably have to arrange for.
My colleague Mina not too long ago wrote a publish on traits particular to the Healthcare business and recognized that extra firms are transferring artistic studios in-house. I figured lets increase on that and discuss tips on how to develop a content material technique, particularly since transferring artistic in-house can appear daunting and costly, hopefully this places you comfy (at the least a little bit bit).
What’s a content material technique?
Another factor earlier than we dive in to the good 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 technique as a top level view of your key enterprise and buyer wants, plus an in depth plan for the way you’ll use content material to deal with them.
In my expertise, issues like content material methods, can look very totally different relying on who you discuss to. And that’s okay. There’s quite a lot of selection within the advertising business and the principle 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 must do first. In case you don’t have already got a content material stock, library, no matter you need to name it, that is the place you must begin. It’s nothing fancy. Create an excel sheet and stock all present content material. You need to embrace some necessary data for every content material asset equivalent to:
- Target market
- Funnel stage (prime, center, backside)
- Content material format
- Content material title
- Subject or focus space
When you’ve accomplished this, you’ll need to conduct an audit of the content material to see the place you might have gaps. This will simply be accomplished by creating just a few pivot tables to summarize the variety of content material belongings by the knowledge listed about. Those to essentially concentrate on are audience, funnel stage, and subject or focus space. When figuring out content material for healthcare campaigns or different advertising efforts, you need 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 need to be able to develop your healthcare content material technique.
The way to create a content material technique?
First, in the event you don’t have just a few core subjects or focus areas you’ll need to begin right here. It’s also possible to consider these as themes. To develop themes, I like to recommend doing analysis to determine what’s occurring within the business, therefore the Healthcare business traits publish.
When you’ve discovered just a few traits, try 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 pattern and the way your product or answer may also help or remedy the difficulty. A number of examples of healthcare themes are affected person consumerization and personalization of care, built-in applied sciences for a contemporary follow, and the chance of value-based care.
If you have already got core subjects or focus areas outlined, you’ll need to do the identical factor and determine traits that you would be able to 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. Normally a content material calendar is damaged down by quarter nevertheless, you may modify it primarily based in your targets and aims. Whereas going by means of this train you’ll need to hold the corporate’s targets in thoughts. Perhaps there’s a selected initiative to concentrate on equivalent to personalization of care. If that’s the case, you’ll need 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 might have for the subject and what number of items of content material fall wherein funnel stage and by audience. In some instances, personalization of care could be relevant to sure personas, not all, wherein case you’ll need to filter by the relevant personas. Do you might have any gaps? Or areas the place content material is missing?
Right here’s a state of affairs utilizing the personalization of care instance. Let’s say this subject is particularly necessary to your Champions (Apply managers) and Influencers (Physicians/medical doctors/suppliers) and when trying on the content material audit you discover many of the content material is for prime funnel, there’s a little bit little bit of content material for center and none for backside funnel. That is the place you’d need to focus your content material improvement efforts for the quarter. You could guarantee you might 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 might have every quarter stuffed 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 totally different kinds, as famous earlier within the publish, determine what works finest in your group. At Heinz Advertising and marketing when working with purchasers, we put collectively a desk of content material concepts. Concepts vary from internet new to repurposed belongings, specializing in filling the gaps recognized within the content material calendar. You need 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 purchasers know the place to begin when growing content material. The rating is normally primarily based on effort mixed with targets and/or the place the content material gaps are. If we proceed utilizing the personalization of care instance from above, you’d need to prioritize creation of a backside funnel asset over center funnel. You have already got just a few center funnel belongings 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 data. An instance of a repurposed asset could 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 knowledge into a distinct format that may act as a abstract and even lead-in to the longer type asset.
After you have your priorities so as, you can begin creating content material!
Now what?
You’ll need to revisit this train as soon as 1 / 4. Healthcare initiatives would possibly change which may influence the corporate’s aims; due to this fact you need to ensure that your content material technique can assist these adjustments. There’s nothing worse than all the pieces coming to a halt since you understand you don’t have usable content material. So, as you’re employed by means of every quarter, you’ll need to proceed growing future quarters within the content material calendar so content material improvement efforts proceed.
