10 Steps to a Successful Content Marketing Plan

You’re using content marketing, right? I’m sure all your content marketing pals are hard at work, as well. In fact, according to the latest Content Marketing Institute research, 86 percent of B2B marketers and 77 percent of B2C marketers use content marketing. Great! Everyone is successful and happy, right?

Well, maybe not exactly.

It seems that, according to the same studies, only slightly more than a third of all content marketers think content marketing is actually effective. But only 35 percent of B2B and 27 percent of B2C marketers actually have a documented plan. See the connection? The group that doesn’t think it’s so effective is a STRIKINGLY similar in size to the group that does not have a plan. Coincidence? I think not.

Planning, and documenting that effort, is critical to the success of your mission, Mr. or Ms. Marketer. But it’s hard. We know this. We have talked to lots of marketing leaders who have the notion that they need some kind of a plan but have no idea where to begin… so they just don’t. Or worse, companies that want to run before they walk — they start churning out content with no plan in place. Both can spell disaster in the end.

Enter: the new Right Source Marketing eBook.

We created it with the anti-planner, wannabe planner, or procrastinating planner in mind. It doesn’t make content marketing planning easy — we won’t mislead you — but it will guide you, step by step, through the essential points of building a content marketing plan.

Topics covered include:

• Setting goals
• Budgeting
• Research
• Benchmarking competition
• Fine-tuning ideas, messages, and themes
• Establishing process, team and tools
• Measurement and reporting, and more

As we lead you through the 10 steps of the content marketing planning process, we include detail on how to get started, tips for success, and pitfalls to avoid.

Make your 2015 goal to enter the group of content marketers that actually finds content marketing effective. Download our new eBook, “Build Your Content Marketing Plan: A 10-Step Guide” or contact us for help getting started.

About Yvonne Lyons:

Yvonne Lyons is Right Source’s vice president of creative services, overseeing content and design for all of our clients. She ensures that all creative produced at Right Source is of the highest quality and is aligned with our clients’ business strategy and goals. Yvonne received a bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University in writing and literature and has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, branding, and communications.