Any business without a marketing strategy risks its efforts going to waste. This is believed so because such an enterprise’s success is not always guaranteed as compared to those with a well-planned strategy. Claire Isimbi, a marketing officer with a consultancy company in town says with the internet growing into a powerful marketing tool, the impact of digital transformation on businesses varies and in most cases comes with increased revenue, decreased operating costs as well as improved customer satisfaction. For this reason, she says using the opportunity of this digital era to create a strong content marketing strategy is important as this can help your company reach potential customers. Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. According to the latest research from Content Marketing Institute (CMI), 63 percent of businesses don’t have a documented content marketing strategy. CMI is the leading global content marketing education and training organisation, teaching enterprise brands how to attract and retain customers through compelling, multichannel storytelling. Tips on how to achieve this Before one can come up with any content, it’s vital to first get to understand the targeted audience. To achieve this, Isimbi explains that one needs to come up with articles, blog posts, and graphics that engage their audience. “In order to do that, you need to understand what your potential customers want, what their interests are, or what they need help with. With this in mind, it’s easier to create content that will impact your business,” she adds. Alphonse Uworwabayeho, a lecturer of mathematics at University of Rwanda’s College of Education says it’s vital to also carry out some research on your competitors (those that provide the same services as you). He says this applies in almost all business enterprises, meaning that it will give such organisations an opportunity to see and get to know what other people (competitors) are creating. For instance, he says this could range from finding out what such enterprises are doing with their content strategies, the formats they are using, to which topics and ideas they are discussing as well as their audience feedback. Besides, the lecturer goes on to point out that to make a good content marketing strategy, it’s essential to get a unique approach to create the intended content. “By getting a unique approach, it means that one will avoid creating content that is similar to others. At the end of the day, what matters is providing your potential clients with vital information,” he adds. Backing up Uworwabayeho’s sentiments is Claude Uwizeyimana, a filmmaker and entrepreneur saying when emulating an idea from a competitor or anywhere else, seeing the topic as a starting point is important. He says that one can start by looking for ways that can aid in coming up with a unique and interesting angle, which will help you as a company stand out from the rest thus the audience will find it interesting. Another aspect, Uwizeyimana notes that it’s ideal to always make sure you make your audience your priority. “One should strive at informing their audience the priority in all of the content created. When it comes to marketing your product or services, inform your targeted audience of what you do, why it’s important, what the advantages are to your company, and how you can help potential customers,” he says. Additionally, he says before even thinking of coming up with any content, it’s vital to think of what your goals are and what you intend to achieve. According to him, this should always come as a priority so that it helps you figure it out ahead of time, which is the most important thing for your business. Monitoring your progress is also important adding that, one should utilise these content marketing tips and publish content on sites. Isimbi says it’s always vital to regularly monitor your progress against your goals. “It’s necessary to look at whether or not what you have been creating brought positive impact to your organisation. If things are going well, this can help you keep going in the same direction-and if not, finding another strategy is important,” she adds.
