Why You Need a Content Strategy and How to Make in Notion

In a recent survey, it was unveiled that almost 80% of B2B marketers reported that they don’t have a content marketing strategy in place. Of the companies asked, only 31% classed their organization as extremely or very successful.

It is no coincidence that these two statistics go hand in hand. One of the simplest ways to improve your marketing strategy efforts is through the use of a content calendar.

Without a strategy in place, it can be difficult for members of your team to know where to focus their efforts, in terms of what they are creating, who it’s aimed at, and how it’s going to be distributed.

Our digital marketing agency, based in glorious Palm Coast, Florida, has put together this step-by-step article, explaining exactly how to create a successful content strategy to help boost your company's success. Read on, and we’ll tell you everything.

Why You Need a Content Strategy

We’ve all heard the phrase, “If You Fail to Plan, You Are Planning to Fail” by Benjamin Franklin. A content strategy is exactly for this reason. Without a plan in place, it’s nearly impossible for you and your team to see what the goals are and how you’re going to get there.

A content strategy will cover everything from planning topics to write about, and products to sell, to what images you might use, as well as marketing ideas to get your business seen. Think of your content strategy as your road map to success.

The Benefits of Creating a Content Calendar

If you’re one of the businesses that doesn’t have a content strategy, you certainly fall in the "planning to fail" category. You’re missing out on valuable traffic and business. Here’s a list of some of the reasons you need to establish a strategy.

It Keeps Your Team Organized and on Track

If your method of planning is by scribbling down incoherent reminders and ideas in notebooks, on scraps of paper and post-it notes, then what you probably have is a disorganized mess. Or perhaps it makes sense to you, but what about your team?

By having no system in place to keep your ideas in order, it can be difficult to know what to prioritize and where to focus efforts. Gathering all these notes together in a content calendar will give your team much better insight into what the goals are, the story behind your brand, and what needs to be done to get there.

It’s also a great way to collaborate on ideas, delegate tasks, and see where the gaps are in your content marketing strategy.

It Helps to Maintain Consistency

A large part of a company's success is consistency. Using a content calendar is a visual reminder of the jobs that need doing and any deadlines associated with them. People have short attention spans, so if your current strategy is a bit sporadic, your audience will most likely move on to the next best thing.

A content calendar is an easy visual way to plan when something goes live, so you can ensure there's a constant feed of new material to keep your followers interested.

You Can Hit Important Dates

Ideally, you want to plan your content calendar at least a month in advance. This will give everyone in your team enough time to create the content, check, and schedule without it being a last-minute dash to rustle something up.

This will also allow you to plan and curate data-focused content and plan promotions based on these events.

It Provides Transparency Across Departments

One of the key elements of a successful company is that they work collaboratively across departments. Using a content calendar that’s available to all staff will help the different departments align their efforts.

By being transparent about your company's goals, it becomes easier to access information and delegate certain jobs to the right people. It improves communication by saving time having to explain a task if all the information is held in a central content calendar. It also gives other teams a chance to plan their workload to ensure everything is completed on time.

Your Social Media Marketing Strategy Is Established

Having a content calendar acts twofold as your social media calendar. The content you’re producing on your site is inherently connected to what’s going to go out across your social platforms. This streamlines the need to have a separate social media marketing calendar.

By combining the two, you can ensure you hit the best times to publish on each platform to get under the eyes of your audience.

Easily Track Your Progress and Performance

Having a visual track record of everything that’s been published can be a great way of seeing how much progress your team is making. Add to this some metrics, and you’ll be able to correlate what’s working or not working.

You can then use these analytics to tweak and change your content strategy for the coming months

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How to Create a Free Content Strategy with Notion

So you’ve learned why it’s important to have a content calendar and strategy in place, but what’s the easiest way to do it? In the past, this would probably have been a whiteboard, somewhere in the office, covered in scribbles and arrows. It sort of works, but it’s not ideal.

What is Notion?

The Notion app is a fully customizable online workspace. It’s the ideal place for the team to collaborate, share information, and track progress. What's more, you can create your free content strategy there right now.

You can connect different teams and projects all in one space, keeping everyone in the loop. One of the great features of Notion is that you can share meeting notes and files, which saves time trying to locate files and documents in emails.

There are various setups on the screen including a drag-and-drop Kanban-style progress tracker which shows a clear road map of what the goal is, what needs attention, and what tasks have been completed.

Download Your Free Notion Template

To create your free content calendar in Notion, first, sign up and download the app. Follow the instructions on the screen and then log in.

1. Create a New Top-Level Page

From the menu on the left-hand side, scroll down "Getting Started;" this brings up a sub-menu. Click on "Add a page."

2. Select “Table”

You’ll then see a series of options. In theory, you can choose whichever style of database you like.

We’re going to use "Table" for the example here. You can change your mind later.

3. Add Some Properties

Right now you’ll have an empty database. So you’ll need to add some content. Click "add a property." At the top of each field, there are some predetermined titles; you can change these to whatever is most useful.

I would always stick with a task, a deadline, publish date, and platform as a minimum. You can add and change these columns later.

4. Add Your Content

Once you’ve created your properties, then start to add content. To add a new item, click “New” in the top right-hand corner box of the database. This will add a new item. To add something else, click the next box down.

5. Filter Your Views

This option is great if you don't want to see all your data at once. To add a filter, click “Add new view” in the top left-hand corner. Then choose which view type you want. Then click on Filter and Add a Filter and choose how you want your data to be sorted.

6. Create Templates

When you've finished setting up your table, you’re ready to start creating some post templates.

This option streamlines the creation process and saves you a ton of time.

7. Save and Share

Save your templates, and give them a useful name. Then share with your team.

Talk to the Top Digital Marketing Agency in Palm Coast, Florida

So how's your content strategy looking? Did you try out the free Notion content calendar template?

If you’re at a loss on where to start with creating and maintaining your content strategy, then Chasing Creative can help. We are a marketing, photography, and artisan creative house that focuses on building the best customer relationships.

Located in stunning Palm Coast, Florida, our digital marketing agency is made up of a team of multi-talented contributors who deliver timely services and outstanding results. Our company covers everything from the initial concept of your website design, right through to creating your social media strategy. Our goal is to help you grow.

We work with solo entrepreneurs right through to larger and established companies, working with you to build a plan around Influencer Marketing. Drop us a message, and speak with one of our knowledgeable team members today.

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