Inbound Content

Chapter 4Planning a Long-Term Content Strategy

Why Long-Term Content Planning Is Important

Planning provides a road map for your content. You wouldn't get in a car and drive without an end destination; you'd be wasting gas. This is probably why 86% of highly effective organizations have someone steering the direction of their content strategy.¹

At this point, you know how important content is to your content marketing strategy, but it's important to remember that content has the important job of pulling people from one stage of the inbound methodology to another (see Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1

It plays an integral part in each and every stage of the buyer's journey.

When it Comes to Creating Content, You Want to Remain as Reactive and Agile as You Can to Make the Most of Your Time

Having a plan will give you and your team the ability to remain reactive to upcoming initiatives, to stay organized, and to proactively manage content required for your marketing tasks.

Think of your long-term content strategy like a savings account. If your goal is to retire someday, you need a plan, and you need to be consistent with your contributions. The more consistent you are, and the better you are with your contributions, the bigger your return on investment (ROI) will be. But in order to retire, you need to be consistent month after month; otherwise, you'll miss your goals and the ability ...