Sunday, January 16, 2011

3 Signs That A Content Strategy Is Needed For Investment Attraction

Published by Ian Smith on January 12, 2011

Marketing a product or service efficiently requires a strategy in order to communicate the right message to the right audience. The strategy ensures that organizations are focused on objectives and are using the best marketing tools available.

Although many economic development agencies have a marketing strategy for investment attraction for their region, social media marketing campaigns are fueled by a content strategy. Agencies looking for a sustainable presence on Facebook, Twitter and or YouTube must have a content strategy.

Here are three signs that you may want to keep mind to see if your agency is in need of a content strategy.

1. You must substantiate your marketing budget for social media.

Once a budget has been set aside for your social media initiative, your efforts must be accounted. The content strategy can be your reference in terms of what actions will be taken in future. For example, will a YouTube Channel be needed? If so, what will it say, who will created it and how much will it cost? The answers to these questions will be clearly stated in a content strategy.

2. You are looking for a way to bridge the gap between branding efforts and planned Web 2.0 initiatives.

Chances are that your agency has an existing branding strategy that you wish to have transferred on a Facebook Page or through Twitter. Well, it is easier said that done. A content strategy can define a region’s brand by positioning the region as a location that will appeal to investors and site selectors. A region which attempts to brand itself as THE place for manufacturing-driven sectors to relocate should have a coherent content strategy that demonstrate that it has the best business environment to attract companies. This might result in having a blog branded, “Investing In Manufacturing” where success stories can be read or a YouTube Channel profiling existing companies.

3. You are running out of things to say to engage your audience.

At its core, a content strategy helps organizations avoid “content block”. Similar to writers’ block, “content block is defined as the inability to provide content on a frequent basis on social media platforms.

So often, economic development agencies quickly establish their Facebook Page without a content strategy just to end up with a page ihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn a few months that will not be updated with new and engaging content. (Tip: Browse through a number of Facebook Pages dealing with “economic development” and see how many of these pages are updated with content specifically targeting potential investors?)

A content strategy can help direct organizations create content by using existing information that could be found offline and on the web and establish schedule when content will be posted.

Does your economic development agency have a content strategy that is fueling your social media marketing campaign? If so, what makes it successful?

See the original post here.

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