The buzz in digital marketing is all around content marketing. Why? Because it works when executed properly (more on this later). While we’ve seen a lot of information out there about content marketing, there isn’t much information about the timing of a content strategy launch.
At Bop Design, we get a lot of clients asking: when is the best time to launch a B2C or B2B content marketing strategy? We thought we’d take a little time to address this question and examine what is the best time to launch a content strategy.
Ok, so you know that your B2B firm needs a content strategy, but when is the best time to launch a new strategy to get the best results? Generally, launching a content plan sooner rather than later is ideal. However, there are several points in time when it’s best to launch a B2B content strategy.
Post-Website Launch
The center stone of a digital marketing and content marketing strategy is a professional website. If you are in the process of redesigning your website or are about to launch a new B2B website, now is the time to plan for your content strategy. We recommend that our web design clients launch a content marketing strategy 1-2 months after launching a new website. Why wait 1-2 months? The simple answer is to make sure everything is functioning optimally on the website and management of the website is going smoothly.
A strong content marketing strategy should be implemented post-website-launch in order to promote the B2B website, drive traffic to the website, build trust as a thought leader in the industry, and get those leads into the sales funnel. We advise our web design clients to start planning their content marketing strategy before the website ever goes live to allow enough time for careful planning, review, approval, and resource allocation.
After a Rebrand
It’s not uncommon for companies to rebrand or shift their brand focus to adapt to the market or to gain a competitive advantage. If you don’t already have a content marketing plan in place, immediately after a rebrand is the ideal time to launch a content marketing strategy. Content pieces like blogs, brochures, white papers, case studies, email newsletters, social media posts, etc. are excellent ways to communicate and control the messaging about a company rebrand.
Before launching a new brand or a rebrand, it’s essential to have a clearly defined content strategy in place to ensure the rebrand is a success. Prior to flipping the switch on a rebrand, plan and put into place an actionable B2B content marketing strategy to address the rebrand, anticipate questions, and discuss why the rebrand was necessary. Launching a rebrand with these items in place ensures clarity and easy adoption for your audience.
Product or Service Launch Support
New product or service launches can be a very exciting time, but if you don’t have a content strategy in place to support the launch, you aren’t firing on all cylinders. During a new product or service launch, it’s essential to equip your sales team with the content tools they need to explain the benefits and features of the new product or service. Having well-designed and carefully crafted content pieces ensures the sales team is able to easily and clearly communicate how and why the prospect should be interested.
During the process of a product or service launch, design a B2B content strategy that includes helpful content resources for the sales and support team. Include things like blogs, press releases, FAQs, product sheets, case studies, testimonials, etc. to make sure you have a variety of material to address questions, concerns, and any client doubt.
New Lead Generation
Last, but not least, the best time to launch a content marketing strategy is when you want to garner new leads. Inbound marketing is a proven way to drive new traffic and garner new client leads. However, before you start blogging or creating press releases, it’s imperative you create a solid content marketing strategy.
Check out What a Successful Content Marketing Strategy Looks Like to learn more about creating a strategy.
How to Launch a Successful Content Strategy
Now that you know when to launch your B2B content strategy, let’s take a quick look at 3 steps for launching a successful content strategy.
1. SMART Goals + Clear Strategy
Start with defining SMART goals for your strategy. They must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. A smart goal for a content marketing strategy is to increase new traffic to the website by 10% in three months. Setting SMART goals ensures you are able to track and measure your efforts.
Set a clear strategy. The strategy should include a general plan of blogging, social media publication, client newsletter distribution, etc. Additionally, the plan should have specific details, such as how many blogs per month, when the newsletters will be sent, how often to publish on social media, etc.
2. Stakeholder Buy-in
The most effective content strategies are executed by multiple individuals across several departments. It’s important to get buy-in from not only the individuals who will be directly contributing to executing the strategy but to get buy-in from the management team and all others who can benefit from the strategy.
If the sales team doesn’t understand or support the content strategy, they won’t use the content tools effectively and the tools will be wasted. If management doesn’t understand the importance of the strategy and support it, they won’t prioritize content-related tasks for themselves or members of their team. It’s best to head off any of these issues by presenting the B2B content strategy and getting internal approval and support.
3. Just do it!
The most successful content marketing strategies are properly and consistently executed. Continually blogging, sending newsletters, and sharing on social media are key to an effective strategy. The biggest failure of a content marketing strategy is when a content strategy falls behind or blogging drops off or gets pushed back. Content marketing is like staying in shape, you’ve got to exercise consistently and often to get results.
Do you have questions about launching B2B content marketing strategy? Let us know in the comments below.
