“Thought leadership” is an overused phrase, but it remains a very valuable goal. A content marketing campaign is often a better – and less expensive – tool to achieve it than advertising or attending trade shows.
The problem is that when a content initiative begins, there’s often a tendency to “shoot first and aim later.” To establish a real position as a thought leader, some planning and discipline are absolute requirements. Drawing a crystal clear picture of who your target readers are and what you have to say that will truly engage them are the foundational steps. But the most successful content marketers have a more robust planning process.
I came across this blog post by Liz Alton, an excellent writer and content strategist. It offers a very complete outline for planning an effective content marketing campaign from soup to nuts. Key concepts like writing style, timeline, content velocity and a solid production process are all covered. I highly recommend it as a template for making your content campaigns more effective. Read the post here.