There’s no rule book or history to rely on that tells us where our content marketing efforts during COVID-19 will take us in future endeavors. Data from HubSpot’s 70,000 global customer base supports business slowdown predictions; however both sales and marketing metrics are rapidly changing.
Businesses are being researched more online, average monthly website traffic has increased, and online research has led to customer-initiated conversations with sales reps. There’s no question of whether or not quality content still generates leads.
With constantly changing data, a new normal, and an uncertain economic landscape, what should your content marketing strategy look like?
To survive an unprecedented health crisis, you must adapt by finding new ways to operate, add value, and find, engage, and sell to new customers. Content marketing plays a vital role in these efforts.
We’ve received several questions about what to do, what to say, what to publish, and what not to. From balancing sensitivity and optimism to measuring metrics, here are a few suggestions—aside from blogging and email marketing—on what you should include in your content marketing strategy right now:
Crafting a short-term content marketing strategy will help you address current needs-rather than pre-pandemic needs. If you struggle to find relevant content ideas for these pieces, take a look at tips from our experts on how to generate content ideas.
Part of creating solid documentation for a strategy are key performance indicators (KPIs). And like most everything in marketing, sales, and business, content marketing metrics have also shifted. Essentials like consumption, retention, sharing, and engagement metrics are relatively the same, but during this time, it’s important to set expectations internally or with clients. Since you’re adjusting your continent marketing strategy, you also need to adjust your metrics. Ask questions such as:
Answering these questions before adjusting your content marketing strategy will help set clear expectations, let everyone involved know what they’re trying to achieve, and help identify more content marketing opportunities as the economy revamps.
As a B2B business, providing value, building relationships, communicating consistently, and standing out among the competition is essential. To do all of these effectively, you must produce consistent quality content for both your prospects and existing clients.