How Do I Grow My Business With Strategic Marketing Content?

As a business owner, you already know the importance of good marketing content. While social media often comes to mind first, budgeting for overall marketing initiatives is complex. It requires a good content marketing strategy. Getting it right takes upfront work to maximise your return on investment.

Marketing content can make or break your success. This makes it essential to carefully calculate and allocate your budget across online and offline activities. We’ll walk you through popular methods for establishing your marketing budget and share tips to get the most from every dollar.

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Table Of Contents

• Calculating Your Marketing Budget: Tried and True Methods
  • The Percentage of Revenue Method
    • Pros of Using This Method
    • Cons of This Method
  • The Competitive Parity Method
    • Cons of This Method
  • The Objective-Based Budgeting Method
    • Pros of Using This Method
    • Cons of This Method
  • The Zero-Based Budgeting Method
    • Pros of This Method
    • Cons of This Method
• Allocate Marketing Content Funds for Maximum ROI
  • Focus on the Channels That Align With Your Brand
  • Create Compelling Marketing Content for Better Customer Acquisition
  • Consistently Track (and Optimise) Your Campaigns
  • Focus on the Entire Customer Journey
  • Budget for Retaining the Customers You Have
• Marketing Content: Best Practices to Budget Effectively
  • • Align Spending With Goals
  • • Marketing Is More Effective With a Mix of Strategies
  • • Your Marketing Efforts Work Best With Consistent Monitoring
  • • Decide Whether to Hire an Agency (or Do It All Yourself.)
• Conclusion
• FAQs

Calculating Your Marketing Budget: Tried and True Methods

Finding the right marketing budget for any business or content marketers can feel overwhelming, but breaking it down makes it easier.

Consider these common methods:

1. The Percentage of Revenue Method

A simple way to budget involves allocating a fixed percentage of your company’s revenue to marketing efforts. This percentage can range from as little as 5% to as much as 15% (or more) depending on your industry, business size, and revenue goals.

For example, a newer, high-growth tech company may opt for a larger percentage. More marketing is usually required to build brand awareness. However, a company in a well-established industry with less competition may find that a lower percentage is more sustainable.

Pros of Using This Method

• It is usually the easiest method to calculate and manage.
• It ties your marketing budget directly into your revenue making it easier to scale up (or down) as your business grows.

Cons of This Method

• May not factor in unforeseen market changes or the level of competition.
• Can result in spending fluctuations which may not reflect your marketing needs.

2. The Competitive Parity Method

With so many brands vying for attention online, how do you know what others in your niche are spending?

Assuming you have similar goals and target audiences, look at your top competitors and allocate a comparable amount to your marketing spend. This makes their spending a good reflection of your potential needs. It’s important to use industry benchmarks and data to make sure you’re on track.

Pros of This Method

• Helps ensure you remain competitive in the marketplace.
• It can be a starting point for establishing your budget, allowing you to adapt as needed.

Cons of This Method

• Each business is unique, this strategy fails to consider the differences in individual business models.
• Focusing on what your competitors are doing can distract you from discovering new marketing strategies. Use data, not emotions, when making these budgetary decisions.

3. The Objective-Based Budgeting Method

The objective-based approach is very targeted. It’s about defining your unique goals for each campaign and allocating a suitable portion of your budget. If your product or service is complex and requires in-depth content marketing, factor this in as you’re doing your research. .

To be effective, you must deeply understand your short-term and long-term marketing goals and measuring success

Pros of Using This Method

• This approach forces you to look at where your budget is going. Every dollar has a purpose.
• You must rely on data (rather than guessing) to back up their marketing decisions.

Cons of This Method

• Without a baseline understanding of marketing metrics and benchmarks, you’ll struggle to use this method effectively.
• This approach tends to be more resource-intensive upfront. Because each marketing dollar must be tracked, setting (and analysing) all your individual marketing initiatives is essential.

4. The Zero-Based Budgeting Method

The aptly named zero-based method means you begin at zero. Rather than basing it on previous periods or industry standards, every marketing expense (big and small) must be independently justified.

Although this may feel intimidating for new business owners, it can be incredibly eye-opening. It requires taking a hard look at every activity you spend money on in your business, identifying waste along the way. Over time, it gives you a deeper understanding of which efforts make the most sense for your individual marketing goals.

Pros of This Method

• If implemented consistently, this strategy makes it easier to cut unnecessary costs and avoid budget creep. Regularly scrutinising every expense makes you less likely to allow unprofitable campaigns to continue without adjustments.

Cons of This Method

• This approach will take a bit more time (especially at first).
• A potential downside is the limitation of looking solely at present data rather than evaluating previous trends. It can fail to take into account the ongoing impact (good and bad) of earlier marketing decisions.

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Allocate Marketing Content Funds for Maximum ROI

After setting your budget, you’ll want to put it to good use and decide how to best allocate your resources.

Consider these simple strategies:

Focus on the Channels That Align With Your Brand

No two audiences are the same. This means your top-performing channel will look different than mine. The key to maximising every marketing dollar is identifying and investing in channels that increase traffic, conversions, and revenue.

Are your target customers younger and more active on Instagram and TikTok? Or are they seasoned professionals using LinkedIn to build authority? Where are your competitors seeing the most interaction and brand engagement?

Using data-driven insights, dedicate most of your marketing budget to 1-2 channels that make the most sense for your unique products or services. Generating leads through digital marketing content, like video content marketing, can be highly effective in reaching your target audience.

Create Compelling Marketing Content for Better Customer Acquisition

Landing page copy is a great example of compelling content. Attracting leads requires showing them how you solve their problem.

Whether it’s well-crafted blog articles, thought leadership pieces, attention-grabbing paid ads, or effective email campaigns, the key here is consistency. Content marketing works by giving your audience a compelling reason to give you their attention.

Consistently Track (and Optimise) Your Campaigns

Once your content is live, closely monitor its performance. It’s easy to skip over this simple yet critical step. Without data showing how your audience responds to specific types of marketing content, you are merely throwing things at a wall hoping they stick.

Focus on the Entire Customer Journey

Customers are more discerning than ever. Think about it – are you more likely to purchase something after a single viewing, or are you more drawn to familiar brands?

When creating content, don’t just focus on lead generation. Today’s digital marketplace makes it critical to invest resources in campaigns that speak to different stages of a customer’s purchasing journey.

Consider dividing your efforts into these distinct phases:

• The Awareness Phase: The initial phase involves running campaigns to familiarise new leads with your company. Video content can be impactful during this stage. You want to be remembered.
• The Consideration Phase: As your audience grows, the consideration phase aims to nurture relationships. Email campaigns and in-depth blog content are both excellent choices.
• The Conversion Phase: Now it’s time to seal the deal. Having consistently provided value and warmed them up in the earlier stages, offer your audience different (yet irresistible) ways to become paying customers. Ensure you have clear Call-To-Action.

Budget for Retaining the Customers You Have

While acquiring new customers is often prioritised, set aside a percentage to maintain relationships with your current buyers.

If someone already enjoys using your product or service, marketing content focused on rewarding that loyalty can lead to more brand ambassadors (and organic growth) down the road.

Think long term.

Several ways to incentivise your loyal customer base could include:

• Free shipping on a certain amount
• Early bird discounts and special sales for email subscribers
• Implementing a well-structured customer loyalty program with increasing levels of rewards and recognition

Marketing Content: Best Practices to Budget Effectively

Allocating your revenue can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are several things to remember:

Align Spending With Goals

Having a clearly defined list of what you want to achieve before spending a dollar will make you more likely to make wise budget allocation choices.

Think about your target customers. Where do they like to hang out? Are they busy mums trying to run their businesses between school drop-off lines, or are they high-level corporate executives? This understanding helps you decide how to craft irresistible offers that resonate.

Creating high-quality content that caters to their interests is essential for engagement and lead generation.

Infographic content marketing can effectively present information in a visually appealing and easily digestible format, particularly for social media content marketing.

Podcast content marketing could be a good option if your target audience frequently listens to podcasts and is always on the run.

Marketing Is More Effective With a Mix of Strategies

Whether it’s online videos, podcasts, or in-person meet-and-greets, consider investing in online and offline marketing strategies to expand your reach. Social media marketing and media marketing are integral aspects of a comprehensive content strategy.

You never want to put all of your eggs in one basket. What if your favourite social media platform shuts you down tomorrow? How will you connect with those already engaged and familiar with your brand messaging?

Ensure you can connect with your customers without the social media platform. Having backup strategies for connecting with your ideal client in multiple places feels more stable and makes your marketing more likely to withstand market shifts.

Don’t be afraid to try new platforms (and see what resonates), but never get complacent with putting all your efforts in one place.

Your Marketing Efforts Work Best With Consistent Monitoring

Creating and distributing well-written content that resonates is critical. However, simply pressing publish is the tip of the iceberg.

Treat each piece of marketing as a work in progress that will improve with consistent monitoring, data collection, and the courage to try different strategies. A/B testing can be a valuable technique for optimising your content marketing efforts and improving conversions.

Decide Whether to Hire an Agency (or Do It All Yourself.)

You’re the expert in your company, but you don’t have to wear all the hats all the time. If tasks that bring in the most revenue excite you but handling your website and analysing conversion funnels fills you with dread, outsource it.

Consider the pros and cons of having an internal team and tapping into the experience of a reputable content marketing agency to help your content hit its mark.

By creating valuable and relevant content, you can establish your brand as a trusted source of information and improve brand trust. This, in turn, can lead to increased brand awareness content marketing and, ultimately, drive more sales.

Conclusion

Creating impactful and engaging marketing content takes time, so stay consistent and enjoy the process.

Remember that determining and distributing your marketing content will require careful analysis. But don’t let that scare you.

Knowing how to effectively budget ensures every dollar invested in marketing contributes to real growth. If done consistently, marketing can create massive visibility for years.

FAQs

What are the 7 steps of content marketing?

Creating content is more than pushing “Publish.” The seven steps for impactful content include:

1. Knowing your goals
2. Defining your target customer
3. Choosing the best content format
4. Creating.
5. Optimising for conversions
6. Distributing consistently
7. Analysing and tweaking

What is the best marketing content?

The best marketing content solves a problem and resonates with your people. In doing so, it can help to position your brand as an expert.

What are the 4 pillars of content marketing?

The four pillars to keep in mind as you’re creating marketing content are:

1. Content Strategy: Who are you talking to?
2. Content Experience: Is it easy (and fun.) to read?
3. Content Technology: Make it accessible with intuitive tech integration
4. Content Measurement: Without analysis, it’s hard to know what works.

What are the types of marketing content?

With so many social media platforms, you can get creative. From ebooks to catchy social media memes, to audio files, don’t be afraid to experiment to keep your content varied and fresh. Here are a few you can try:

Blogs	Videos	Social Media	Paid Ads	Email
Educational	Behind-the-scenes	Interactive polls	Retargeting ads	Newsletters
Entertaining	Tutorials and how-tos	Quotes	Limited-time offers	Product Launches
	Live streams	Client testimonials	Giveaways and contests	Welcome Sequences

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