Be SMART: Set Business Goals for Content Marketing

Be SMART: Set Business Goals for Content Marketing

If you work for or own a business, you are familiar with content marketing. It’s a major part of any business, large or small, for profit or not. You know it’s a crucial business element. But where do you start?

The 5 Goals to Set

Every business, whether it is B2B or B2C, should set five major content marketing goals. Failure to set and strive toward each of these risks limited exposure, a shortage of leads, and a swift demise.

Goal #1: Brand Awareness

84 percent of B2B companies say that brand awareness is the ultimate, most critical goal of their content marketing strategy. Why is brand awareness so vital? There are two reasons:

1. A nameless, faceless business does not generate leads.
2. People trust brands.

Was your mother a die-hard buyer of Jif Peanut Butter? Dare we say the great majority of mothers chose Jif because “choosy moms” only bought the best? It was this brand’s content marketing goal to build brand awareness. As a result, some twenty years later,  grown adults who still buy Jif because our mothers trusted the brand. This is what brand awareness can do for you.

Goal #2: Lead Generation

The second most important content marketing goal is lead generation. In fact, 83 percent of B2B companies set this goal.

Lead generation is all about landing leads. You can accomplish this goal in numerous ways, but one of the most popular (and successful) is through content. People love meaty, informative, and useful content. If a blog provides this, they’ll subscribe. Chances are they’ll jump onto any other available subscriber lists, too. But you have to be ready.

Are you leveraging the power of a blog? Are you building subscriber lists via giveaways and incentives?

Goal #3: Engagement

Brand awareness and lead generation tactics mean nothing without engagement. You can present your audience with the most useful information in the world. It will do nothing if they don’t find it engaging.

Engagement starts within content, and it grows outward. You’ll need to monitor your social media channels. Take every opportunity to engage. The more active your engagement factor, the faster you’ll generate the fourth goal.

Goal #4: Sales

75 percent of B2B companies know sales are the fourth most important content marketing goal. Sales create the pulse of your business. You must continually monitor and modify your sales goals.

Set a sales goal to reach. Take steps through your content and campaigns to reach the goal. Analyze the results. You’ll quickly see what works versus what doesn’t, and it will be your goal to adjust.

Goal #5: Lead Nurturing

Leads need TLC, whether new or old. How do brands foster longstanding and returning clientele? They nurture, continuously, through their evergreen stream of content.

withContent marketing goals can make the difference between a $250,000 a year business or a $10 billion a year business. Which do you want to be? If you’re ready to be the later, start down the right path by getting SMART.

Start The New Year with SMART Marketing Goals

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