People are slowly but surely waking up to the idea that content is valuable, and not just limited to keeping users engaged on social media platforms.

In the last few years, content marketing has evolved from being considered a “nice to have” to a necessity for any business, regardless of industry. Why? Content marketing gives you the opportunity to communicate with potential customers without relying on expensive ads or paying for pricey banner ads on websites. Businesses that utilize content marketing, also known as inbound marketing, attract and engage customers through valuable, relevant, and high-quality content that they can discover, consume, and share.

In today’s digital world, consumers are becoming more demanding and savvy, and they’re looking for businesses that can provide content that’s both relevant and valuable.

Choose Your Platforms

It’s important to establish a strong foundation with content creation platforms like HubSpot, Canva, and Google Docs, as these platforms make creating and distributing content easier and more efficient. You can use these tools to create anything you want, from business cards to website re-designs, and then easily distribute those creations to the masses through social media channels like Facebook and Twitter.

Since most people access Google and other search engines through mobile devices, it’s essential that your website is mobile friendly. If you’re lucky enough to have a tech-savvy consumer base, they may even explore your site on their mobile phones while en route to a purchase at your retail location. Creating a mobile-friendly site means taking into consideration all the small device details, from the size of the text to the color contrast and how images display on various devices.

Develop A Content Strategy

Now that you have your content platforms in place, you can start to develop a content strategy that will guide the rest of your content creation process. The goal is to have a consistent voice and approach across all media forms, whether that’s web pages, social media, or emails.

Your content strategy should include the following:

• A brand voice
• Content goals and objectives
• Target audience
• Key messaging
• Content creation process
• Measurement and analysis
• Evolution

The brand voice will become your guide for content creation, and it will dictate what kind of content you create and when you create it. For instance, if your brand voice is “fun and social”, you might decide that your content will revolve around these themes, and will be focused on creating content that’s both entertaining and informative.

Set Up A Content Calendar

Keeping up with content creation can be difficult, especially if you have a busy life outside of work. To make sure you don’t miss a beat, create and follow a content calendar. For example, you could set aside a week every month to create content for your website and social media channels. By establishing content schedules, you’ll ensure that you always have content to promote at the right time, and you won’t have to worry about rushing to create content just to have something to promote.

Identify The Right People To Invite On Board

Once you have a solid foundation in place, you can start to build your audience. The first step is to identify the right people to invite on board. You might consider reaching out to bloggers, journalists, and other content creators whose opinions and perspectives you respect. When you establish and communicate a clear value proposition and brand voice with your potential partners, they will be more likely to help you spread the word about your product or service.

Create A Social Media Plan

Once you have your content partners on board, you can start to set up social media platforms and the accounts that you’ll use to distribute your content. For example, if you’re a fashion brand that also sells luxury goods, you might decide to set up a Twitter account to disseminate style and fashion-related content. You could also create an Instagram account to showcase beauty and fashion-related content such as photos of your products or outfits.

Establishing a social media account doesn’t mean that you need to have every single platform under the sun in order to be effective. It just means that you’ll have a place where you can distribute your content, which helps drive traffic to your site and raises your brand profile.

Distribute Your Content

The last step in the content marketing process is to distribute your content. Since you’ve already started the process by creating valuable content, the next step is to share that content with as many people as possible. Don’t worry — this isn’t a step that requires you to be super-ambitious. Simply sharing your content on social media channels is enough to get the ball rolling. From there, you can delve into paid advertising or use other paid tools to promote your content.

Getting started with content marketing can be difficult. Even the most basic tasks such as selecting a platform and creating a schedule can feel overwhelming. That’s why we’ve gone ahead and compiled this entire roadmap to get you started quickly and easily. From creating a brand voice to setting up a content calendar and social media plan, to distributing and measuring your content, these steps will have you well on your way to a successful content marketing strategy in no time. And remember, there’s no rush to get started. Take your time and do it right.