Novo Writing: The 3 Critical Phases of a Content Marketing Program

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. - Sept. 13, 2013 - PRLog -- Developing an effective content marketing program is a critical aspect of any marketing strategy. As you write, optimize, and publish articles as part of this program, you will progress through the following three-phases.

1. Research
You will need to consider a few areas of research that need to be conducted before you can even think about writing:
•   Perform keyword research to discover the keywords your target audience is searching to find the type of products and services you offer. Since this can be a rather involved process, we’ll dedicate a separate article to the intricacies of keyword research. As a basic example, if you run a homecare agency you might find that your primary keyword phrase should be “Omaha homecare services” instead of “Omaha homecare company.”
•   Do industry research to see what prospects and customers are talking about, what they’re interested in, what similar businesses are publishing, and industry trends. You can accomplish this in many different ways, including doing a basic Google search on the type of service you provide, joining and participating in one or more of your industry’s LinkedIn groups, and subscribing to influential industry blogs.
•   Of course, you will also want to thoroughly investigate the specific topic for each article so you can be sure you know it inside and out.

2. Content
The content phase is the second part of the process. You want to create an editorial calendar to make sure the topics for your articles are aligned with your goals, key events, selling seasons, and products/services. An editorial calendar also ensures that you stay on schedule every week to consistently produce high-quality articles. Generally speaking, you want to write 500-600 word articles that are optimized for a primary keyword phrase.

3. Distribution
The distribution phase is a critical part of the process, and it’s the area where most businesses fail to effectively leverage their content. They don’t take the extra step to kick-start the republishing process so the reach of their great content can increase exponentially.

After you publish an article on your blog and it is indexed by the search engines—which ensures you get credit for being the original publisher of the content—you want to strategically push it out to other key distribution channels. If you do it right, you may be pleasantly surprised by the amount and quality of traffic, rankings, leads, and positive customer engagement you can achieve.

It’s also always a good idea to repurpose your articles as email newsletters to send to your mailing list. You can stay in touch with prospects and customers without having to spend extra time and money creating additional content.

What’s Your Plan?
Keep these three phases in mind as you write, optimize, and publish valuable content on your company’s blog. Remember that the content you distribute will live forever online, so it’s crucial that you only publish high-quality articles. It can be the difference between building or damaging your brand and reputation.

If you need assistance with your content marketing strategy—or you are interested in learning more about working with an expert to handle your entire content marketing program for you—call Novo Writing at 310.792.8888 or visit http://www.ContentMarketingProgram.com.