What is a content strategy?

Also called editorial strategy, content plan.

A content strategy is a plan for what content a business creates, who it is for and why, and how it will be made, published and measured across social media, its website, email and anywhere else it publishes.

Why it matters

Content takes time to make, so it should earn its keep. A content strategy makes sure each piece answers a real customer question, supports a business goal and gets used in more than one place. It also stops the common pattern of a burst of blog posts or videos followed by months of silence.

Example

A garden centre decides its content will help beginner gardeners succeed through the seasons. Each month it writes one seasonal guide for its website, turns it into a carousel and a short video for Instagram and Facebook, adds a tip to its email newsletter, and links everything to the plants it sells that month.

What a content strategy covers

A useful content strategy answers six questions:

Who is it for? The audience and the problems they want solved.
What will we make? Topics, content pillars and formats, such as guides, videos, carousels or emails.
Why? The business goal each type of content supports, from awareness to sales.
Where will it go? The channels, and how each piece will be adapted for them.
How will it be made? Who writes, designs, edits and approves, and how often.
How will we know it works? The few numbers you will check.

How to build a content strategy in an afternoon

Start small. You can always add channels later.

List the ten questions customers ask most often, from emails, calls, reviews and comments.
Group them into three to five themes. These become your content pillars.
Choose one main format you can make well, such as a short guide, a video or a carousel.
Decide how each main piece will be reused: a guide becomes a carousel, a short video and an email tip.
Set a realistic rhythm, such as one main piece a month and three social posts a week.
Pick what you will measure, such as website visits from social, enquiries and saves.

Content strategy vs social media strategy

A content strategy covers everything a business publishes. A social media strategy covers the social channels, including things that aren't content in the usual sense, such as replying to comments, community management and paid ads. Small businesses often combine the two into one document, which is fine as long as it says clearly what goes where.

Common mistakes

These are the traps most first content strategies fall into.

Writing about what you want to say instead of what customers want to know.
Making every piece from scratch instead of repurposing.
Planning more than you can produce, then stopping.
Measuring only views, when the goal was enquiries or sales.
Copying a competitor's topics without asking whether your customers care about them.
No owner: nobody is responsible for keeping the plan going each month.

Common questions

Does a small business need a content strategy?

Yes, but it can be short. A page that lists your audience, your pillars, your formats and your rhythm is enough to keep content focused and consistent.

What is the difference between content strategy and content marketing?

Content marketing is the activity of publishing useful content to attract customers. Content strategy is the plan behind it: what to make, for whom, and how to measure it.

How do I know if my content strategy is working?

Check the numbers tied to your goal, not just views. If the goal is enquiries, count enquiries that came from content. Look monthly for patterns: which pillars and formats bring results, and which take effort without return, then shift your time towards what works.