Content planning is the process of creating a content production plan of what content you’ll create, how it will be created, when it will be created, and where you’ll publish and distribute it.
The entire process can be broken down into 12 content planning tips.
4. Conduct Competitor Analysis
Since the dawn of commerce, companies have been curious about what their competitors are doing. Before the digital age, a business might have sent someone to a competitor’s store to see how they attract customers.
Now, there are lots of online tools to accomplish the same feat. Competitor analysis lets you kind of leapfrog ahead so you can quickly assess what others are doing and decide if you want to do something similar.
5. Create a Content Calendar
Next, create a content calendar. You can do this in Excel or on a sheet of paper. A content calendar is just a list of future content that you are thinking of publishing. It’s not written in stone.
You can edit it as you go along and learn more about which kinds of content your readers are most engaged with. Content calendars help you stay organized and in control.
6. Research Keywords
Keywords offer insights into your readers, offering crucial information such as what they desire and why they desire it.
Typically used for search engine optimization (SEO) or general marketing, including the right keywords in your content may have a significant impact on your business’s performance.
The keywords in your content tell search engines about your content, which influences how your content appears in search results.
Three very good keyword research tools are:
7. Assemble Tools
Content planning can be a complex process. This guide will help you with each step, but you will also want to assemble some tools to make things easier. One of them addresses the question of where you’re going to get the content. For high-quality written content, you can consider WriterAccess.
On this platform, you can order as much content as you need, using content briefs that you design yourself. Other tools you’ll need include:
- stock photo images
- photo editing software
- website SEO tools
Something worth mentioning here—don’t underestimate the value of a good brainstorming session. Sometimes, all those tools and calendars can’t replace just sitting down and tossing ideas around with a couple of other humans. Grab coffee, ramble through what’s on your mind, or even play devil’s advocate about your own content strategy. Honestly, a lot of my sharpest angles for content have come from random, slightly chaotic Slack threads rather than some perfect content brief.
And if you get stuck, give yourself permission to step away and let your brain marinate for a bit. Inspiration kind of hates forcing, and you’ll usually find the best solutions when you stop wrestling with the problem so tightly. Let the plan breathe as much as the work itself—there’s usually more flexibility in timelines than your project management software lets on.
8. Organize Workflows
A workflow is like an operating manual. It lays out what will happen, when it will happen, and in what order it will happen.
It’s worth spending time organizing your workflows so that you don’t have to think about it every time.
Here’s an example of a simple workflow:
- Order content from WriterAccess
- Review and approve content
- Publish content to blog
- Monitor content performance
9. Build a Content Distribution Plan
Once you’ve published your awesome content, you want to make sure it gets the attention it deserves. This is where your content distribution plan comes into play.
Ideas for distributing your content include posting it to LinkedIn, sharing it on Pinterest and Instagram, making videos about it on TikTok and YouTube, and mentioning it on forums.
10. Measure The Results
After you’ve published and distributed your content, you’ll want to measure results to see how much traction it’s getting online.
An easy way to do this is with Google Analytics, a free tool. With this, you can see what the bounce rate is on the content page, where visitors are located, and what behaviors they took on your site, among many other useful features.
11. Be Flexible
Based on what you learn about your content’s performance on Google Analytics, you should be flexible about your content in the future. Possible adjustments might be to publish longer-form content, content written from a different angle, or content using different keywords.
As audiences change, you need to be changing right along with them. A content plan is never set in stone. It should grow and change according to the changing needs.
12. Be Consistent
Finally, be consistent with your content in terms of your publishing schedule. For instance, if you have a newsletter that you send to your subscribers, send it on a consistent basis. Avoid posting sporadically. Both your readers and search engines look for consistency with new content.
The more you do content planning, the easier it will become.
In the end, these content planning tips are all about turning content creation into an actionable process.
