Content Marketing Guide for 2024 (Post-AI and Helpful-Content Update)

Artificial intelligence is throwing content marketing on its head. On one end, you have unethical brands mass-producing bad content. And on the other end, you have Google disrupting search with its AI generative experience. 

This presents two problems:

1. It's harder to be seen because of all the noise in search results
2. It's harder to get traffic to your website because Google's AI offers a click-free way to get the answers you need

The good news is Google is weeding out the useless suggestions with its helpful content update that released in the fall of 2022. This aims to weed out any content (AI-generated or not) that isn't valuable to the end user. 

Isn't that what content marketers care about most? So let's explore how to build a content marketing strategy in 2024 that'll rank in Google and capture clicks. 

Content Marketing Guide for 2024 (Post-AI and Helpful-Content Update):

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a strategic approach to creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. The goal of content marketing is to drive profitable customer action by providing information that educates, entertains, or inspires the target audience.

It builds brand awareness, establishes thought leadership, and drives organic traffic to your website. 

Why care about content marketing in 2024?

There's a reason more than half (54%) of businesses will invest more into content marketing in 2024 than they did in 2023. Nearly half (47%) will spend between $5k and $25k monthly on content marketing alone. 

Based on a survey, those who spend more ($4K+ per post) on content (see higher success rates than those who spend less ($500 or lower per post). 

This year, 53% of brands will spend between $550 to $2,000 per piece of content. 

Here are some reasons they're happy to spend more on content this year:

• Higher return on investment (ROI). The more you invest in content, the better results. In Seige Media's survey, it found that businesses spending $4K or more per post see 2.6x better 
• Lower cost per campaign. Content marketing costs 62% less compared to other forms of marketing. 
• Increases lead generation. According to 74% of companies, content marketing drives leads to their businesses. 
• Competition isn't that great. Most companies invest $1,000 or less in content marketing, which means a great opportunity to get a leg up.
• Increases revenue and sales. Fifty-eight percent of B2B marketers say content helped to boost revenue/sales (up from 42% in 2023). 

These are all critical KPIs and results businesses and marketing teams seek. But you likely already know content marketing is a must-have to succeed in 2024. 

So let's go into the steps for building an effective content marketing strategy post-AI and post-helpful-content update.

How to Build a Content Marketing Strategy in 2024

Content has always been about the people reading it. Along the way, businesses learned to manipulate search engines to rank higher. Now that Google's algorithm is getting smarter and better at identifying useful content, it's time for the creatives to shine. 

This is the best time in history to be in content. Especially with the opportunity looming for lower DA and new websites to outrank the giants in the SERPs. 

If you can create content better than the big guys and gals, you can take the #1 position. Of course, you must meet certain criteria, which we'll get into below. 

Here's an overview of the steps to build a content strategy that ranks and converts:

Step 1: Set clear goals and KPIs

Why are you using content marketing for your business? If you can't answer the why, then you'll struggle to build a strategy that meets your goals. 

For most, the reason to use content is to build brand awareness, increase traffic, boost engagement, deliver leads, and generate sales. Others also use it to offer support and advice to increase loyalty with current customers to create brand ambassadors. 

So choose your reason (aka goal), then use that to decide on the KPIs you should track. 

To create a roadmap to achieve your goal, we recommend using the SMART framework:

• Specific: Clearly defined and focused
• Measurable: Quantifiable to track progress
• Achievable: Realistic given your resources and timeline
• Relevant: Aligned with your business objectives
• Time-bound: Have a specific deadline for completion

Let's review what this may look like in practice:

• Increase website traffic from the blog by 50% in the next 6 months
• Generate 100 marketing qualified leads from gated content in Q3
• Improve email open rates by 10% by the end of the year
• Grow YouTube subscribers by 25% in the next 90 days

How to set SMART goals

Here's how to set SMART goals for your content marketing strategy:

1. Start with your high-level business objectives
2. Break them down into specific, measurable content goals
3. Ensure goals are realistic and achievable
4. Align goals with your overall strategy and target audience needs
5. Set a clear timeline for completion

Note that content isn't just the written word. Nor should it only live on your blog. Find where your audience is and ways to engage them. Then create SMART goals for each channel like we did above.

For example, your business goal is to increase online course sales by 20% this year. To support this, you set the following SMART content goals:

• Publish one new SEO-optimized blog post per week to increase organic traffic by 50% in 6 months
• Create one gated ebook per quarter to generate 500 leads
• Grow email list by 25% in Q3 through a weekly newsletter and content upgrades
• Increase YouTube subscribers by 30% in 6 months by publishing two new videos per month

These SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant to the larger business objective, and time-bound. They also span multiple content channels to drive impact across the funnel.

How to select KPIs to monitor your SMART goal progress

Next, decide on the KPIs to track based on your goals. The typical metrics based on content type are:

• Email: Open rates, click-through rates, conversions
• Blog: Traffic, engagement, backlinks, keyword rankings
• Guest Posts: Referral traffic, backlinks, brand mentions
• Social Media: Followers, engagement rate, reach, shares
• Video: Views, watch time, subscribers, comments
• Podcasts: Downloads, subscribers, reviews, sponsorships

Pro Tip: Regularly review and adjust your SMART goals based on performance data. Use tools like Google Analytics to track progress against your KPIs. Celebrate wins and learn from misses to continually optimize your content strategy.

Step 2: Identify and learn your customers

Been in business for at least a year? Then you may have enough data to learn everything you need to know about your customers. If not, don't worry — we have tactics you can use to gather data to analyze your target customers. 

Here are the options to learn everything you can about your target audience. 

Analyze your existing customer data

Look at data you already have about your customers from sources like website analytics, email lists, CRM, sales data, and social media followers. Identify common characteristics and trends.

You can do this by:

• Exporting data from your various systems into spreadsheets
• Looking for commonalities in demographics, location, interests, and behaviors
• Segmenting your customers into distinct groups based on shared attributes

For example, a B2B SaaS company uses customer data and finds its best customers are tech startups with 10-50 employees based in major U.S. cities and active founders on Twitter. The company uses these insights to target its content.

Pro Tip: Regularly update your customer data analysis as your audience evolves. Use a CDP (customer data platform like Salesforce or Insycle) to unify data from multiple sources for a holistic view.

Conduct surveys and interviews

If you're a startup or want to shift to another customer base, you can use surveys and interviews to learn about your target audience. 

Collect feedback directly from your target audience to better understand their needs, challenges, and content preferences. Surveys provide quantitative data, while interviews yield rich qualitative insights.

Here's an example of a B2B marketer gathering insights using a LinkedIn poll:

Source: linkedin.com

A few tips to keep in mind:

• Define the key questions you want to answer
• Choose a survey tool like SurveyMonkey, Typeform, or Google Forms
• Promote your survey to your audience via email, social, and website
• Analyze the data to identify trends and segments
• Conduct 1:1 interviews with customers and prospects for deeper insights

For example, a personal finance app surveys users about their top money challenges, favorite finance content creators, and preferred content formats. It finds that millennials want short-form video content about saving for big life goals.

Pro Tip: To boost completion rates, keep surveys short and offer an incentive. For interviews, ask open-ended follow-up questions to uncover hidden insights.

Research your competitors' audiences

Another option to learn a new target customer is to identify your top competitors. Then analyze their audience to find opportunities to differentiate your targeting. Look at who engages with their content and how.

Do this by:

• Identifying 3-5 key competitors
• Following them on social media and subscribing to their blogs/newsletters
• Using tools like BuzzSumo and Sparktoro to analyze their content performance
• Looking for gaps and opportunities to target overlooked segments

For example, an eco-friendly cleaning products brand analyzes its competitors' audiences and finds an untapped segment of millennial moms passionate about non-toxic living. It creates content specifically for this niche.

Pro Tip: Don't just copy competitors' audience targeting. Use competitive insights to spot whitespace opportunities and refine your own unique segments.

Use social listening tools

Monitor social media conversations relevant to your brand and industry to surface audience insights, trending topics, and engagement opportunities.

Do this by:

• Identifying key topics and hashtags to track
• Using social listening tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Brandwatch and Mention
• Monitoring conversations, sentiment, and influential voices
• Jumping into relevant discussions to connect with your audience

For example, a vegan food brand tracks conversations around #MeatlessMonday and finds a highly engaged audience segment looking for easy plant-based recipes. It shares quick vegan meal ideas and engages with the community.

Pro Tip: Look beyond mentions of your brand name to broader industry topics and adjacent conversations to find new audience niches to target.

Step 3: Map out your customer journey

The customer journey varies from brand to brand, but the following is the most consistent path for customers:

1. Awareness: The buyer realizes they have a problem or need and is looking for high-level educational content to help them better understand their issue.
2. Consideration: The buyer has clearly defined their problem and is now considering potential solutions. They want to learn about different approaches and evaluate providers.
3. Conversion: The buyer is ready to make a purchase decision. They’re comparing specific offerings and looking for validation that they’re making the right choice.
4. Loyalty: The buyer has made a purchase and is now a customer. They want maximum value from the product/service through tutorials and may be open to cross-sells, upsells, and advocacy opportunities.

Planning content across the funnel and marketing channels

With the buyer's journey stages defined, you can map relevant content types and distribution channels to each stage:

 Awareness Stage

• Content types: Blog posts, social media posts, infographics, videos, podcasts
• Channels: SEO, social media, paid social ads, influencer marketing, PR

Awareness stage content should be educational, not promotional. Focus on the buyer's pain points and provide helpful information to guide them. Use SEO to target relevant top-of-funnel keywords. Then amplify reach with paid social ads and influencer partnerships.

Consideration Stage

• Content types: Ebooks, webinars, case studies, product comparisons, expert guides
• Channels: Email marketing, retargeting, paid search, communities/forums

Consideration stage content helps buyers evaluate their options. Gate top-performing content behind landing pages to generate leads. Use email nurture campaigns to educate prospects. Invest in paid search to capture high-intent keywords. Be active in online communities where buyers seek advice.

Conversion Stage

• Content types: Free trials, live demos, customer testimonials, ROI calculators
• Channels: Email marketing, paid search, sales outreach, review sites

Conversion stage content aims to remove purchase barriers. So offer free trials or demos for buyers to experience your product. Showcase customer success stories as social proof. Optimize for commercial-intent keywords in paid search. And encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews.

Loyalty Stage

• Content types: Onboarding guides, product tips, user community, exclusive perks
• Channels: Email marketing, customer support, user forums, account management

Loyalty stage content helps customers get continuous value. Create an onboarding email series to drive activation. Offer tips to help customers use advanced product features. Build a user community for peer-to-peer support. And provide exclusive benefits to high-value customers.

Step 4: Develop a content strategy that fits the journey

With objectives set, craft your multi-channel battle plan. Conduct in-depth keyword research to uncover the topics your audience craves. Do this using SEO tools like Semrush, Frase, and Ahrefs.

Analyze competitor content across channels to identify gaps and opportunities to differentiate.

Then create a comprehensive content calendar covering:

• Email newsletters and nurture sequences
• Blog articles and pillar pages
• Guest posting targets and pitch angles
• Social media posts and campaigns
• Video topics and formats (tutorials, interviews, etc.)
• Podcast episodes and series themes

Map content to the buyer's journey, addressing pain points and providing value at each stage. Ensure consistent messaging and branding across touchpoints.

Let's say you're a B2B SaaS company targeting HR professionals. Your keyword research uncovers topics like "employee engagement," "remote onboarding," and "performance management." Your competitive analysis reveals most competitors focus on blog content but lack video and podcasts.

So, you create a content calendar that includes:

• A weekly newsletter featuring curated HR tips and resources
• Two blog posts per week on employee engagement and remote work topics
• Guest posts on industry sites like SHRM and HR Dive
• Daily LinkedIn posts and weekly Twitter chats on #HRTech
• A bi-weekly video series interviewing HR leaders on best practices
• A monthly podcast diving deep into performance management strategies

You map this content to the buyer's journey:

• Awareness: Blog posts, social media, guest posts to attract new audiences
• Consideration: Newsletters, videos, and podcasts to educate and engage
• Decision: Case studies, product demos, and testimonials to convert leads
• Loyalty: Exclusive content and resources for customers to drive retention

Pro Tip: Use a content planning tool like Airtable or CoSchedule to visualize your editorial calendar across channels. This ensures a consistent publishing cadence and balance of topics — also, color-code items by customer stage to maintain a full-funnel approach.

By developing a comprehensive, multi-channel content strategy aligned with your audience's needs and journey, you can create a cohesive content experience that moves prospects closer to purchase. The key is to focus on the most impactful topics and formats for your unique audience while differentiating from competitors.

Step 5: Design high-quality, E-E-A-T content

We should always approach our content by crafting helpful, people-first content. And it’s especially important now that Google uses E-E-A-T signals to determine search rankings. 

So prioritize creating original, in-depth content that shows your brand's expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness by:

• Showcasing your credentials, experience, and "about us" info
• Highlighting customer testimonials, case studies, awards
• Linking to and citing expert sources and data
• Providing author bylines and bios demonstrating E--E-A-T
• Investing in professional graphics, design, and UI/UX
• Ensuring content is factual, current, and edited

Incorporate engaging elements like visuals, interactivity, and storytelling to boost content quality.

 For example:

• Email: Personalized content, quizzes, polls, GIFs
• Blog: Unique research, expert interviews, case studies
• Guest Posts: Proprietary frameworks, infographics, stories
• Social: Short videos, carousels, polls, UGC, live Q&As
• Video: Animations, walkthroughs, expert interviews
• Podcasts: Narrative storytelling, guest experts, listener Q&A

Say you're a financial planning firm targeting millennial professionals. To demonstrate your E-E-A-T and create engaging content, you can:

• Show your CFP certifications and years of experience on your "About" page
• Feature testimonials from successful clients in your email newsletters
• Publish a data-driven blog post on "The State of Millennial Retirement Savings"
• Create an infographic on "10 Steps to Paying Off Student Loans" for guest posts
• Share short videos on Instagram with weekly budgeting tips
• Host a live Q&A on Twitter with your lead financial advisor
• Interview expert guests on your podcast about investing strategies
• Develop an interactive quiz on your website to help users determine their risk tolerance

Cite reputable data sources, provide author bios, and ensure the information is accurate and up-to-date across all content pieces. Use professional graphics and engaging UX to keep readers engaged.

Pro Tip: Conduct an E-E-A-T audit of your content to identify gaps and opportunities. Evaluate each piece against Google's E-E-A-T criteria:

• Expertise: Does the content show deep knowledge and skill?
• Experience: Does it reflect the author's real-world experience with the topic?
• Authoritativeness: Is the author and brand considered a go-to source on the subject?
• Trustworthiness: Is the content accurate, reliable, and transparent?

Use these insights to prioritize content updates and new content creation to improve your E-E-A-T signals. The goal is to become your target audience's most trusted, authoritative resource.

Step 6: Optimize content for search engines

While creating human-centric content, optimize for search algorithms. Target relevant keywords in your content, metadata, and tags across channels.

Follow SEO best practices like:

• Optimizing titles, meta descriptions, and header tags
• Improving site speed and mobile-friendliness
• Creating search-optimized landing pages
• Developing a linking strategy for blogs and guest posts
• Optimizing video titles, descriptions, and transcripts
• Improving podcast show notes and timestamps

Build high-quality backlinks organically to boost authority — guest post on relevant, high-domain sites. Promote linkable assets like original research and infographics. And use broken link building to earn links (where you look for sites with broken links to articles that you want to write as a guest post in exchange for a backlink)..

For example, if you're an eCommerce brand selling sustainable fashion, do the following to optimize your content for search engines:

• Conduct keyword research to identify high-volume, relevant terms like "eco-friendly clothing" and "sustainable fashion brands"
• Optimize your blog post titles, meta descriptions, and H1-H2 tags with these keywords
• Improve your site speed by compressing images and minimizing redirects
• Ensure your site is mobile-responsive and loads quickly on all devices
• Create a search-optimized landing page for each main product category (e.g., "Sustainable Dresses," "Organic Cotton T-Shirts")
• Develop a linking strategy to link between blog posts and product pages internally
• Optimize your YouTube video titles, descriptions, and transcripts with relevant keywords
• Include detailed show notes and timestamps for each podcast episode to help search engines understand the content

To build backlinks, write guest posts on relevant fashion and sustainability blogs. Promote linkable assets like an infographic on "The Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion" or a research study on "Consumer Attitudes Towards Sustainable Apparel." Reach out to websites linking to outdated resources and offer your content as a replacement.

Pro Tip: Use schema markup to help search engines better understand and display your content in rich results.

For example:

• Article schema for blog posts to show the headline, author, and publish date
• Product schema for eCommerce pages to display price, availability, and reviews
• Video schema to show video thumbnails, duration, and description in search results
• FAQ schema to display a list of frequently asked questions and answers

Tools like Google's Structured Data Markup Helper and Schema.org can generate and test schema markup for your content. By providing search engines more context about your content, you can improve your chances of ranking for relevant queries and earning rich snippets, like this one for the search term “how much does content marketing cost”:

Remember, while SEO is important, it should never come at the expense of content quality and user experience. Always prioritize creating valuable, engaging content for your human audience first, and then optimize for search engines in a natural, non-spammy way. By striking this balance, you'll be well-positioned to rank for your target keywords and drive organic traffic in 2024.

Step 7: Distribute and promote your content

You built some amazing E-E-A-T content, but it’ll take some time for it to rank in search engines. The best way to get it on the screens of your target audience is to promote and distribute it across earned, owned, and paid channels:

• Email: Segment lists, A/B test, optimize send times
• Blog: Share on social, email, communities like Reddit
• Guest posts: Promote to email list and social followers
• Social: Post consistently, run contests, engage in groups
• Video: Optimize for YouTube SEO, embed in blogs, share clips
• Podcasts: Distribute on iTunes, Spotify, and share on social

Atomize content into multiple formats to maximize mileage. For instance, repurpose a blog post into a video script, podcast outline, social posts, and newsletter. And update and refresh evergreen content periodically.

Also, invest in paid promotion to boost top-performing content:

• Social ads to target lookalike audiences
• Google Ads for commercial keywords
• Sponsored email placements in industry newsletters
• Influencer partnerships for social/video/podcast promos

For example, imagine you're a marketing agency that published a comprehensive guide to "The Future of Social Media Marketing." To distribute and promote this piece:

• Email the guide to your segmented list of subscribers interested in social media marketing
• Share the guide on your social media profiles and relevant LinkedIn/Facebook groups
• Publish a guest post on a top marketing blog summarizing the key takeaways and linking back to the full guide
• Create a series of short video clips highlighting each section of the guide and share them on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
• Record a podcast episode diving deeper into the guide's insights with a guest expert
• Run a contest on social media encouraging followers to share the guide for a chance to win a free social media audit
• Invest in paid social ads targeting lookalike audiences similar to your current customers
• Partner with influencers in the marketing space to promote the guide to their followers

Then repurpose the guide into multiple formats:

• Create an infographic visualizing the key statistics and trends
• Turn each chapter into a standalone blog post or email newsletter
• Use the content as a script for a webinar or video tutorial
• Break up the insights into bite-sized social media posts

Keep the guide evergreen by periodically updating it with new data, examples, and best practices.

Pro Tip: Use UTM parameters to track the performance of your content distribution efforts. UTM parameters are tags added to the end of a URL that help you identify the source, medium, and campaign driving traffic to your content.

For example, you might use:

• (utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social_media_guide) to track clicks from Twitter
• (utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=social_media_guide) to track clicks from your email newsletter

By appending these tags to your content URLs, you can see which channels and campaigns drive the most traffic, engagement, and conversions in Google Analytics. This data can help you optimize your distribution strategy and allocate resources to the most effective channels.

Remember, promoting your content is just as important as creating it. By using a mix of earned, owned and paid channels, and atomizing your content into multiple formats, you can reach a wider audience, drive more traffic, and maximize the ROI of your content marketing efforts.

Analyze and refine your content and strategy

Is your content really as amazing as you believe it to be? Only one way to find out. Regularly review content performance using analytics and reporting tools to see performance highs and lows using:

• Google Analytics for web and blog metrics
• Email marketing reports for engagement KPIs
• Social media analytics for reach and engagement
• YouTube Analytics for video retention and CTR
• Podcast hosting metrics for downloads and drop-off rates

Identify top content across each format and double down on what resonates. Also, run regular A/B tests to optimize email subject lines, blog titles, meta descriptions, video thumbnails, etc. Then monitor SEO performance and adjust targeting based on keyword rankings, impressions, and organic traffic. 

We recommend conducting full content audits annually to prune underperforming assets.

To complement quantitative data, you can also gather qualitative feedback via social listening, surveys, and user testing. Involve key stakeholders in quarterly content planning sessions to align priorities and performance.

For example, you're a fitness app conducting your quarterly content performance review. In Google Analytics, you notice a blog post on "10 Minute Morning Yoga Routines," driving significant organic traffic and ranking on page 1 for several keywords.

On Instagram, you see Reels featuring quick workout tips generating high reach and engagement. But on YouTube, your long-form workout videos have high drop-off rates.

Based on this data, you decide to:

• Create more blog content around quick, beginner-friendly workouts
• Double down on short-form video content for Instagram
• Break your YouTube videos into shorter segments with timestamps
• A/B test headlines and thumbnails to improve click-through rates
• Survey your email list about their biggest fitness challenges and content preferences
• Retire old blog posts with low traffic and high bounce rates

In your next planning session, you align with stakeholders on a content strategy focused on snackable, habit-building workouts, with priority on blog and Instagram content.

Pro Tip: Set up automated reports and dashboards to easily monitor content performance across channels.

For example:

• Create Google Analytics dashboards for key content metrics like page views, avg. time on page, and bounce rate
• Set up recurring email reports in your marketing platform to track opens, clicks, and conversions
• Use a social media management tool like Hootsuite or Sprout Social to track post-level engagement
• Integrate data sources into a business intelligence tool like Tableau or Google Data Studio for a unified view

By automating reporting, you can quickly identify trends and outliers without manual data pulls. This frees up time for higher-value analysis and strategy. Regularly reviewing content analytics, gathering audience feedback, and aligning with stakeholders are critical for a data-driven content marketing strategy.

Real-World Examples of Multi-Channel Content Marketing that Works

So how do successful content marketing strategies look across channels? Here are several real-world examples of brands effectively using different types of content in their marketing strategies:

Blogs:

• Lick (home decor brand) has an editorial-style "Magazine" blog with useful articles like "How to," "Best of" lists, and inspirational home content that appeals to its millennial audience. This type of content not only inspires readers but also positions Lick as a helpful and trustworthy resource in home decor, enhancing brand loyalty and engagement.

Source: Lick

• Mad Happy (mental health apparel brand) runs a dedicated blog called The Local Optimist, which features interviews, podcasts, playlists, and mental health resources that align with its mission.
• Shopify (eCommerce platform) publishes helpful guides, business tips, and success stories on their blog to educate entrepreneurs.

Source: Shopify

Guest Posts:

•  Ahrefs (SEO tool) writes data-driven SEO guest posts on popular marketing blogs like Moz and Search Engine Journal to reach new audiences and build backlinks.
• Pipedrive (sales CRM) contributes sales strategy guest posts to relevant sites like Selling Power, Sales Hacker, and HubSpot to demonstrate their expertise.

Video:

• Moz (SEO software) produces the highly popular Whiteboard Friday educational video series featuring actionable SEO and marketing advice.
• Beardbrand (men's grooming) creates engaging how-to videos, product demos, and tutorials on YouTube to help men groom better.

Source: Beardbrand

• Vogue (fashion magazine) publishes behind-the-scenes videos, celebrity interviews, and fashion trend guides on its YouTube channel.

Source: Vogue

Social Media:

• • Wendy's (fast food) is known for its witty, snarky tweets and funny exchanges with followers and other brands on Twitter, like this dig at McDonald's. 

same energy https://t.co/wzhLgoMNMN pic.twitter.com/piNJhbGVin

— Wendy’s (@Wendys) May 7, 2024

• • Glossier (beauty brand) showcases their products in creative ways and reposts a lot of user-generated content on Instagram to build a strong community. Here's one example of the type of UGC content they publish on Instagram. 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Glossier (@glossier)

• • Steak-umm (frozen meat brand) shares funny memes, inspirational quotes, and offbeat content on Twitter to engage younger audiences. They sometimes can even get philosophical.

the fabric of society is complex but the fabric of meat sheets is just beef pic.twitter.com/2Z2MGPH0of

— Steak-umm (@steak_umm) May 15, 2024

Podcasts:

• McDonald's created a 3-episode investigative podcast on YouTube called "The Sauce" to address the scarcity of their coveted Szechuan sauce and the ensuing customer backlash.

Source: McDonald's

• Sephora (beauty retailer) collaborated with Girlboss Radio on the #LIPSTORIES podcast featuring interviews with inspiring female founders and creators.

Source: Girlboss Radio and Sephora

Top Content Marketing Tools for 2024

Now that you know the steps to content marketing success, let's talk about the tools that'll help you execute your plan. 

• AI writing and optimization tools: AI is no longer just a buzzword — it's a content marketer's best friend. Tools like Jasper.ai, Frase, and MarketMuse can help with content ideation, creation, personalization, and optimization. But remember, AI is a tool, not a replacement for human creativity.
• Interactive content creation software: Want to create quizzes, calculators, and assessments that engage your audience? Use tools like Ion Interactive and Outgrow. These platforms make it easy to create interactive content with no need to code.
• Content research and SEO tools: To dominate the search rankings, you need to know what your audience is searching for and what your competitors are doing. Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and BuzzSumo can help with keyword research, topic ideation, and competitor analysis.
• Content management systems (CMS): A CMS is like the command center of your content marketing operation. It's where you create, publish, and distribute your content. WordPress, HubSpot, and Adobe Experience Manager are the most popular options.
• Analytics and reporting dashboards: To prove the ROI of your content marketing efforts, you need data. Tools like Google Analytics, Databox, and Tableau can help you track and visualize your content performance metrics.
• AI-generated images and graphics: With tools like DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, you can generate high-quality images and graphics from textual descriptions. This can save time and resources on custom visual content creation. However, use these tools ethically and ensure the generated images align with your brand guidelines.

Start Building a Content Marketing Plan that Engages and Converts

We've covered a lot of ground in this guide to content marketing in 2024. What should you do now? Your first step should be to gather your marketing, sales, product, and customer service teams to learn everything you can about your audience and the needs of each department. 

Then brainstorm topics that would benefit your audience at each stage (from marketing to sales to customer support). Incorporate benefits/features from the product team and answer questions your salespeople get the most. And solve problems customer support teams see tickets for frequently. 

Building a content marketing plan isn't a one-time occasion. Revisit your strategy quarterly to see if there's a shift needed to accommodate what your teams and the industry is seeing. 

Also, don't forget to build a tech stack that streamlines everyone's jobs (planning, writing, editing, publishing, organizing). 

This is the year you take your brand's content marketing to new heights. If you need additional help, check out our other guides on content marketing:

• What Is a Content House? (+ Content House Examples!) 
• The Ultimate Influencer Marketing Strategy Guide  
• How to Build a Content Strategy Framework | The Ultimate Guide 
• 23 Types of Content Marketing Material to Help Your Business Grow 

About the Author and Expert Reviewer

Saphia Lanier

Writer

Saphia Lanier combines her talents as a marketer, journalist, and strategist to create impactful content for B2B SaaS brands. With 15 years of experience in digital marketing and writing for magazines and newspapers, she specializes in developing long-form content that educates, entertains, and prompts action. Saphia partners with leading brands in MarTech, eCommerce, Fintech, HR Tech, AI & ML, and has worked with notable names like HubSpot, Zapier, and Shopify.

Djanan Kasumovic

Expert Reviewer

Trusting our digital marketing content is easy; Djanan Kasumovic rigorously tests and analyzes various solutions to ensure we recommend only the best options. Whether we're reviewing hands-on or compiling insights for educational articles, our goal is to provide you with informed choices based on our extensive experience and testing.