How To Create A Content Plan To Bring High Traffic

Planning and implementing your content marketing strategy is essential for ranking organically on Google. Simply put, if you don’t plan ahead of time, you won’t be able to consistently create and publish great content.

Every successful digital marketing strategy relies on excellent content planning. You need insightful content to achieve your goals, whether you want to build a strong online reputation or increase your social media reach. 

Regardless of the size or nature of your business, you require high-quality content to attract and convert your target audience into loyal customers by making them go through the funnel. 

See the image below:

This is exactly how a content strategy works, and you would require a content plan for that. 

However, creating and publishing high-quality content consistently is easier said than done. 

This is especially important given that more businesses are embracing content planning. As a result, there is an abundance of mediocre, generic, and promotional content floating around the internet.

So, let’s move further and understand more about how to plan content.

What Is A Content Plan?

A content plan includes all of the processes and workflows that will power your content marketing initiatives.

It looks something like this:

Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, content planning and content strategy are vastly different. 

A content strategy outlines high-level marketing objectives, whereas content planning is an operational document that assists you in meeting those objectives on time. 

Simply put, a content strategy defines the desired outcome, whereas a content plan lays out the road map for achieving those outcomes. 

Why Is Content Planning Important?

Content planning is an important component of your content marketing strategy. Without a content strategy, there is virtually no chance that your website will rank organically for your desired keywords. 

That’s how important a content strategy and plan are to your company.

Let’s Take A Look At Some Of The Other Advantages:

Enhancing Brand Awareness & Authority

Original, insightful, and relevant content assists you in capturing the attention of potential customers. 

If your audience connects with the content, they will most likely share it with their networks. This, in turn, allows you to reach a large audience that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Furthermore, when you consistently publish valuable content, your audience perceives you as a trustworthy source of information. It improves your online reputation and positions your brand as an authority in your industry. 

This, in turn, builds trust in your audience and leads them to see your product/service as the solution to their problems.

Effective Lead Generation

To sustain and grow your business, you need qualified leads. E-books, checklists, whitepapers, and other content assets are excellent tools for converting website visitors into email subscribers. This, in turn, aids in the growth of your mailing list. Active leads can be nurtured by providing them with more valuable content such as case studies, webinars, video tutorials, and so on.

Read More: SEO Lead Generation Tips To Boost Your Sales Funnel

Improved Customer Retention And Loyalty

Content marketing is more than just capturing the attention of potential customers. When done correctly, it can help you build long-term relationships with your current customers. Even after they’ve purchased your product, providing them with useful content makes them feel valued.

You can even create specialized content that helps them use your product and harness all its features. It ensures that your customers achieve their desired goals by using your product. This, in turn, helps retain the existing customers and convert them into loyal customers.

Read More: 10 Proven Customer Retention Strategies To Increase Your Revenue

Plan Content To Increase Conversions

You can use useful and relevant content to persuade your target audience to buy your products or use your services. 

For example, you could send a series of newsletters informing your subscribers about various product features and how they can benefit from them.

This makes positioning your product/service as the most effective solution to their problems/questions easier. They will most likely buy from you because you have already earned their trust and authority.

Read More: Learn 11 Conversion Rate Optimization Hacks & 6 Avoidable Mistakes to Skyrocket Your Sales

Long-Term Results

A timeless content asset is insightful, relevant, and valuable. 

For example, a comprehensive and ground-breaking e-book will continue to generate leads long after it has been published on your website. 

Similarly, an appealing infographic will be shared on various social media platforms if it is relevant. A well-researched and informative blog post will continue to draw visitors to your website even after you’ve published it.

When you’ve created a valuable content asset, you can repurpose it in a variety of formats. 

For example, you could compile your best-performing blog posts into an e-book or ultimate guide. It raises the ROI of your content marketing campaign, making it more cost-effective. 

Elements Of Content Planning

Till now, you have learned about what content planning is and why it is so important as per the aspects of SEO and marketing. Now it’s time to understand what the elements of content planning are.

Check the image below and you will get to know all the elements of content planning.

How To Plan Content

A content plan is required if you want to successfully execute your content marketing campaign.

A content marketing strategy establishes the foundation for your campaign, a content plan governs its execution. It enables you to create relevant and useful content that addresses your audience’s problems or pain points. 

This, in turn, brings you one step closer to achieving your ultimate goals.

Here is a step-by-step guide to how to plan content:

Identify Your Target Market

To achieve your marketing goals, you must create content that educates, inspires, or entertains your target audience. However, you can’t create engaging content unless you know who it’s for. Your content will not resonate with your audience unless you have a thoroughly understand their needs and pain points. And you won’t be able to reach them through the appropriate channels at the appropriate time.

That is why it is critical to delve deeper into the minds of your target audience and identify who they are. Start by defining demographic parameters such as age, gender, ethnicity, location, relationship status, profession, academic background, and so on. You should also find out what social media platforms and communication channels they prefer. 

For this purpose, you can use Google Analytics and social media analytics. 

The next step is to learn more about your target audience’s hopes, dreams, struggles, and pain points. It is also critical to identify the events or triggers that cause them to seek information about your brand, product, or niche. You can gather this information by hosting social media polls, AMAs, and live sessions. 

It’s also critical to keep an eye on the comments on your social media and blog posts. In their comments, your audience will frequently express their needs and preferences. It will also provide you with insight into the type of content they anticipate from you.

Then, segment their needs and pain points based on the stages of the buyer’s journey. This is especially important because each stage will require a different type of content. 

Someone in the awareness stage, for example, is most likely looking for general information about your product or niche. Blog posts, infographics, podcasts, and other media can be used to capture their attention.

After you’ve identified your target audience, create individual buyer personas. Based on audience research, it is a detailed but fictional representation of your ideal customer. It’s critical because your target audience includes a variety of consumers.

The following are examples of content planning. If you own a home decor brand, your target audience will most likely include the following:

• Architects,
• interior designers, and
• homeowners

Each segment will have its own set of problems and questions. Creating distinct personas for each segment will allow you to address their needs more effectively. 

To make your buyer personas more realistic, assign age, gender, name, profession, hobbies, interests, and so on. It’s also a good idea to create buyer personas for each stage of the buyer’s journey. 

Determine Relevant Keywords In Your Content Strategy

Keywords are terms or phrases that potential customers use in search queries to find information about your brand, product, or niche. They assist you in identifying the topics and themes that will pique your audience’s interest. 

Furthermore, when you optimize your blog posts with the right keywords, they are more likely to appear near the top of relevant search results. These keywords also assist you in identifying popular and relevant hashtags to help you increase the reach of your social media posts.

As a result, keyword research is one of the most important steps in content planning. There are some of the best keyword research tools that you can use. The first step is to compile a list of key terms that represent your brand or niche. 

For example, if you run a travel blog, you can use the following key phrases:

• Solo travel
• Backpacking
• Hiking
• Camping
• Adventure travel

Following that, broaden these core terms by entering each term into Google and reviewing the keyword suggestions. It’s also a good idea to do a Google search and look at the “Searches related to” section.

For example, I search for “how to do keyword research,” 

And when I checked the “Searches related to” section, I received keywords related to my query.

It will assist you in identifying long-tail keywords related to your main terms. You can also add modifiers like “best,” “top,” and so on to broaden your core terms. 

You can also use the Google Keyword Planner to find relevant and popular keywords in your niche. It provides you with a list of possible keywords as well as the associated search volume, cost, and level of competition.

You can also use SEMrush, Ahrefs Keyword Explorer, and Moz Keyword Explorer for this purpose. It’s also critical to use Google Search Console to identify the keywords for which you already rank.

Once you’ve compiled a list of target keywords, you must analyze and validate them. Examine the search volume associated with a keyword to see if it’s worth targeting. Additionally, conduct a Google search for each keyword and see if the top search results include any well-known brands. 

Check Your Competitors

When it comes to content planning, your competitors have a lot of information already. If a specific topic, keyword, or content format has worked for a competitor, it will likely work for you as well. Begin by conducting a quick Google search for one of your desired keywords. The top organic listings are deserving of your attention.

Examine their website and blogs to learn about the topics and themes they work with. Check their content strategy for gaps. 

It’s also a good idea to look at their social media profiles to see how they’re repurposing content across different channels. It will also show you which topics and formats have received the most attention. 

Brainstorm Content Ideas While You’re Planning Content

The goal of developing a content strategy is to consistently create content that strikes a chord with your target audience. You must be certain that your content meets their expectations, responds to their questions, and solves their problems. 

Furthermore, different types of content are required for each stage of the buyer’s journey.

This is how content changes at each stage of the buyer’s journey. Check the image below:

As a result, it is critical to identify topics that will immediately resonate with your audience. 

Create a list of potential topics based on your buyer personas (customer profiling), focus keywords, and goals. The key is to ensure that these topics address the needs and pain points of your audience at various stages of the buyer’s journey. Furthermore, each topic should bring you closer to your ultimate goal.

It’s also critical at this point to review your top-performing content assets. Examine whether these assets are still relevant to your objectives and how they can be repurposed. You can also use Answer The Public to discover the most frequently asked questions by your target audience.

Consider The Following Results For The Term “Backpacking”:

• You can also use Google Trends and Google Alerts to find popular and trending topics.
• When you’ve accumulated a large number of topics and ideas, it’s time to make a list in Google Sheets.
• Add more columns to the sheet, such as Author, Category, Format, Status, and so on.
• You should also include a “Rating” column to indicate whether or not a topic is ready for production.

This is how you are done with content ideas.

Create An Overarching Content Plan

This is the stage at which you must decide on the broad themes and subjects on which you will work. You’ll also need to decide on the best publishing frequency. Examine your target audience’s online behavior to see when they’re most likely to be online. This, in turn, assists you in determining when and how frequently you should publish new content.

Next, decide which themes and topic categories will appeal to your target audience. 

For example, let’s assume you own a digital marketing agency. Here are a few topics that may be of interest to your audience:

• Blogging
• SEO
• Influencer marketing
• Podcasting
• Instagram marketing

It is just an example, but what you need to do is to find the topics that might excite your target audience as per your niche. 

Next, create a rough long-term content schedule that touches on each subject frequently and add it to Google Calendar. You can even repeat a particular content format or style. This step is critical to creating a strong content strategy. 

Create A Short-Term Strategy

After you’ve created an overarching plan, it’s time to narrow down the specific topics you’ll work on. 

Create a content calendar that displays your content publishing timeline and assigns various responsibilities to team members. 

Let me show you what a content calendar looks like and how you can make it on your own: 

You can also create such a content calendar with the help of the above content calendar.  

Return to the spreadsheet I asked you to create in step 4 and examine how each topic fits into the overall schedule. 

First, determine which topics are ready for production and assign individual publication dates to each. It is also critical at this stage to choose the appropriate format for each topic. 

Then, determine the most engaging formats based on your buyer personas and goals. 

Next, ensure that the format is appropriate for the topic. This is also a good time to look for topics that can be repurposed in different formats.

Typically, You Can Use The Following Formats:

• Blog posts
• Infographics
• Podcasts
• Memes
• Images
• Animations
• Videos
• E-books
• Case studies
• Whitepapers
• Checklists
• Newsletters

Blog posts, podcasts, and infographics help you attract people in the buyer’s journey’s awareness stage. Newsletters and case studies can aid in the conversion of leads at the decision stage. Similarly, videos can be used to attract, engage, and delight your audience at various stages of the buyer’s journey. 

Identify Topic Clusters When Content Planning

HubSpot’s topic cluster model, introduced in 2017, can help you streamline your content strategy. This is especially important if you intend to publish several blog posts. 

Typically, a pillar page that covers a broad topic and several cluster pages that cover individual aspects or subtopics are created. The cluster pages are then linked to the pillar pages, and vice versa.

I hope this image is enough to tell you about topic clusters. It is something like, interlink your cluster content with pillar content. The black circle that you are looking at symbolizes pillar content and the other shape icons symbolizes cluster content and it is joined with internal links which is symbolizes by blue line. 

For example, let me show you my website. I have also worked with such strategy.

Here is a link of one of my page from website: https://www.incrementors.com/learn-seo/

In this page, I have added lots of links to the blogs and made this page for people who are eager to learn SEO. You can also check it now to learn SEO.

The most significant advantage of the topic cluster model is that it aids in the organization of your website architecture. It also improves internal linking and assists search engine spiders in indexing important web pages. It also aids in the development of authority on a specific topic.

If you’ve done a lot of keyword research, you’ve already laid the groundwork for topic clusters. Analyze the search intent behind each keyword and cluster keywords with similar search intent. As a result, you can target multiple keywords at the same time.

After you’ve identified a cluster, choose specific topics that represent different aspects of the cluster. Choose an overarching topic for the pillar page next. 

Return to the content calendar and see how the cluster fits into your immediate schedule. It will allow you to create an optimal publishing schedule. When you’re ready to publish, make sure you create the cluster pages before the pillar content. 

Identify A Channel To Promote Your Content

It’s pointless to create fantastic content and expect it to find its way to your target audience. If you don’t promote your content through the appropriate channels, it will become lost during mediocre content. That is why it is critical to creating a strategy for distributing and promoting your content assets.

The first step is to determine which communication channels your target audience uses the most. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Spotify, email, push notifications, search engines, and so on are examples.

Next, determine which formats will be popular on each channel. Images and short videos, for example, work well on Instagram. Blog posts and checklists, on the other hand, will receive more engagement on LinkedIn.

Following that, determine when your target audience is most likely to use the chosen channels during the day. Next, choose a topic that has been scheduled for publication and determine the best distribution channels for it. Finally, look for ways to repurpose a content asset in different formats across multiple channels. 

Start Your Content

It’s almost time to start creating content now that your content strategy is complete. Begin by delegating a topic to a team member and setting a deadline before your intended publication date.

It’s worth noting that each topic goes through several stages before it’s ready for publication. 

A blog post, for example, must be proofread for spelling and grammatical errors. 

Before it can be published, the writer may need to revise it several times. 

Similarly, before a podcast episode can be uploaded, it must be scripted, recorded, and edited. Furthermore, once the episode has been published, you may want to repurpose it as a blog post or infographic.

That is why, to track the progress of various content assets and topics, you should use a project management tool such as Trello. You can make separate cards for each topic and move them between stages. It keeps your team members on the same page and ensures that your content is always ready for publication before the deadline.

Content Planning Examples

I have classified the different types of content plans based on the platform and the format of the content. Let’s go over the two most common types of content plans and examples of each.

Blog Content Plan

Regardless of your blogging objectives, the content plan for a blog must always include several critical elements. Blog titles, categories, content format, publish date, content owner, target customer, and content brief are typically included in the blog content plan. 

A basic or more detailed content plan can be used, depending on your content strategy and business needs. 

The structure of your blog content plan is also determined by the size of your content team—whether it is a large department or a small group of individuals.

The keywords that help your blog article connect with your target audience are usually included in the blog title. A content owner is a person who is in charge of creating and publishing a post. 

A writer, editor, or content manager could fill this role. The content brief could include useful information needed to create the article, such as an outline, relevant references, word count, related topics, and other data. 

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) relies heavily on well-balanced categories. If you include the categories section in your blog content plan, you can ensure that each category has an equal number of blog posts. 

Conclusion

There’s a lot more to content planning than writing a great blog or making a cool video. It necessitates a comprehensive strategy that addresses the creation of the content, how and where it will be promoted, and the intended outcomes. It necessitates meticulous planning, precise execution, and incredible attention to detail, as well as the involvement of numerous stakeholders within the organization. 

A good content strategy does not happen overnight; however, the sooner you begin, the sooner you will have an effective content strategy in place and meet those KPIs.