Quick — let’s see your content marketing strategy.
If you have to search more than three folders to find it (or you don’t have one at all), you need to postpone your next blog post and work on it. Having a documented, well-thought-out content marketing strategy is the difference between content that converts and content that doesn’t.
In its report B2B Content Marketing 2019: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends, the Content Marketing Institute reveals that 65% of the most successful content campaigns have a written content marketing strategy, compared with just 14% of the least successful campaigns.
Researchers found that those who have a documented content marketing strategy:
- Are much more likely to rate themselves as being effective at content marketing
- Feel less challenged when it comes to creating content
- Spend a higher percentage of their marketing budget on content marketing (and feel justified doing it)
So, what should you include in your content marketing strategy? Consider the following three elements non-negotiable:
1. Mission Statement
The mission for your content is different than your hospital’s mission statement, and even the mission statement in your general marketing plan. This mission statement should focus on what you want your content to do, and answer the question, “Why are we creating content?”
Your content mission statement should contain three parts:
- Your core audience
- What you’re going to deliver them
- The desired outcome for the audience
Notice that this list doesn’t include anything about what your content will do for you. It’s all about what it can do for your audience. Here’s an example:
Healthy Hospital aims to provide physicians with the information, advice and insights needed to advance their clinical research efforts.
Craft your content mission first. It will act as the guiding light for everything else you do.
2. Goals
Now that you have a why, it’s time to start thinking about the what(s). What do you want your audience to get out of your content? What do you want them to do after they absorb it? What will be your measure of success?
Content marketing is a long game. You can’t push out a few blog posts and expect physicians to come knocking on your door. But it’s a myth that content marketing can’t be measured. It absolutely can — and should — be. But first, you need goals.
Your content goals should be realistic and concrete. Perhaps you’re more focused on recruitment. Or maybe you want to strengthen relationships with your hospital’s employed physicians. Whatever it is, write it down.
3. Physician Journey Map
No matter your goals, you should create a visual journey map that outlines the path you want your audience to take before performing whatever action you consider a conversion (e.g., becoming a referring provider).
How do they first hear of you? What is their first interaction with your brand? What kind of comparison research do they do? A journey map answers these questions and more.
And don’t presume to guess your physicians’ journeys. Ask them. It sounds like a lot of work, and it can be. But the physician journey is extremely useful in helping you identify pain points and creating content that will resonate with your audience.
Having a solid handle on your physician journey is more useful than having personas. After spending copious amounts of time crafting personas (or recruiting a third party to create them for you), it’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming all physicians fall into these types, which can lead to ignoring those who don’t. The physician journey, on the other hand, is more inclusive and empowers you to speak to the needs of individuals based on their actions rather than stereotypes.
With a great content strategy, your physician marketing goals are in reach. How can we help?
