CHAPTER 4
In It to Win It: Setting Objectives
It’s pretty difficult to score if you don’t have goals, yet many companies approach content and social media marketing as independent channels without clear business outcomes defined. Whether the goal is to acquire new customers and grow revenue or to facilitate public relations, recruiting, and customer service effectiveness, identifying tactical objectives and the steps to reach them is essential for success. This chapter covers setting goals specific to an SEO- and social media–focused content marketing strategy that seeks to increase traffic, leads, and sales as well as to improve media coverage, attract talented employees, and serve online customers more efficiently.
THE ROLE OF SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WITH CONTENT MARKETING
Content is the basis for search and often an outcome of social media engagement. Joe Pulizzi of the Content Marketing Institute offers this definition: “Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience—with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”1 Content marketing investments are often directed toward lead nurturing and prospect education with an ultimate goal to convert into a sale. As an independent tactic, content marketing goals can extend from key points in the buying cycle such as awareness and purchase to the entire customer life cycle, including customer ...
