I don’t know any marketer or business owner who invests in a digital campaign or asset without setting goals. But when it comes to content, the goals often seem to be… search engine results… lead gen… social media engagement… or what is every agency executive’s most vague nightmare… community building.
But what no one who is keen to win over your business will tell you is that these are not content goals. These are by-products of powerful content plans and assets. A content goal, like any other digital goal, must be sharp, distilled, and measurable. It must have a plan of action, timeline, and KPIs.
To help you get started, here are 5 content goals that can help you unlock maximum RoI on your content investment. To make it real simple, I am going to use a common example to elaborate on each one.
1. Influence
Contrary to what most content planners will have you believe, hiring “influencers” is not the most sustainable way to influence your audience. Sure, it can get you short-term eyeballs and clicks. So do what you must but don’t skip on creating owned content assets that make your business an influential brand.
In order to create content that delivers on your goal to influence customers, don’t shy of authenticity. Showcase your knowledge, exhibit the hard work and sweat in motion, and reinforce your vision and mission.
Example: To influence the distributor network as well as end buyers, a car manufacturer can invest in assets such as webinars and podcasts that offer a window into the company’s expertise, vision, processes, and model-wise performance.
Possible KPI: Social sentiment analysis
2. Inspire
Inspiration is easily the most underrated content goal; especially for businesses that don’t see themselves as iconic brands. This however, is ironic; customers across touchpoints are always looking for content that inspires them… gets them to think… perceive… and act differently, or better. It’s the reason they are always signing up for new content. So while you may have your immediate performance goals to meet, remember that you cannot enhance the lead experience without including inspiration as among your primary content goals.
Example: Imagine the car manufacturer launching its own version of the #TheIceBucketChallenge; raise awareness for children belonging to iron ore mining communities.
Possible KPI: Volume of UGC
3. Educate
In a fast-changing world, your customers struggle to stay on top of things. When you put out content that educates them in an honest and straight-forward manner, you win their trust. The good news is that the path to this goal often aligns with SEO recommendations. However, the big mistake companies make in this case is churn out thin, below average content just for the heck of it. Instead, take your time to educate customers with deeper answers.
Example: A car manufacturer could choose to educate customers on car maintenance by partnering with car enthusiasts for audiocasts. The content generated would be vastly unique and high-value as compared to relying on content farm-churned blogs on the topic.
Possible KPI: Social sentiment analysis
4. Help
This one is really the perfect crime. Content that helps customers and meets the moment for them at a particular touchpoint is unfortunately, forgotten while focusing on all goals fancy. Be it curating handy lists or publishing explainer videos, the right help at the right time can trigger powerful customer connect. So if you are pressed for time, budget or just ideas, make this your go-to-goal for results.
Example: A car maintenance cost calculator can be an extremely valuable content tool for a customer comparing their options days before a purchase. Such gated content could be marketed to hot leads across email campaigns, ads and native media.
Possible KPI: Lead engagement score
5. Entertain
Customers increasingly seek human connection with businesses. And that calls for content that is light-hearted, fun, and resonates with customer emotions. Of course, you have got to get the timing right. And that calls for astute editorial judgment. But once you have got that, a content strategy aims at customer relaxation is a sure-shot winner. It gets customers to lower their resistance barrier and interact with your content, creating long-term recall.
Example: Floor shop colleague banter, road trips featuring the car, and traffic trivia are just some of the content ideas that lend themselves to multi-format possibilities.
Possible KPI: Organic brand searches