Content Marketing: Think Like a Publisher—How to Use Content to Market Online and in Social Media

21. How to Analyze Content Needs

“Knowing you need content is not unlike moving into a new, completely empty house and knowing you need furniture.”

We discussed content auditing back in Chapter 20, “How to Conduct a Content Audit.” Part of the content auditing process involves performing a gap analysis, a rather fancy-pants way of saying, “Figure out what isn’t there, and then figure out how to get it in there.”

Easier said than done. Knowing you need content is not unlike moving into a new, completely empty house and knowing you need furniture. Of course, you do. But what kind? What style? What color? What pieces for what rooms? How much do you require to be functional and practical, and how much would make things cluttered and impractical? ...