For Successful Content Marketers, 2019’s Content Strategy Starts Now

The dog days of summer are behind us and pumpkin spice everything is rolling out to stores, which means Quarter 4 (Q4) is upon us. While most B2B companies are focused on boosting the year-end bottom line, committed content marketers know that Q4 is what sets up 2019’s content strategy for success or failure.

It’s no secret that content marketing has great return on investment. Unlike other marketing methods, the value of your digital content compounds over time like a savings account. Blog content provides companies with 434% more indexed pages on Google, which translates into 67% more leads than non-bloggers. Those leads are over 8x more likely to close a deal compared to direct mail or print ads.

But, according to the 2018 B2B Content Marketing Report, only 37% of content marketers have a documented content marketing strategy to guide their efforts. Without a strategy in place to yield maximum value from your content, you’re simply throwing out content pieces to get swallowed up by the mountains of other content that companies are pushing out daily.

Invest in Your Content Strategy

Whether you had a content strategy plan this year or not, Q4 is the best time for most marketing departments to tackle next year’s plan. There are three reasons for this:

1. The end of the year provides a chance to reflect on what worked and what floundered in 2018.
2. For many marketing departments, Q4 is slower, providing an opportunity to make those strategic plans and lay out next year’s content calendar.
3. Many companies find that they have leftover budget to spend.

If your goal for 2019 is to increase the number and quality of leads and close more deals, then planning content and putting together the right team needs to start in Q4.

Close more deals in 2019 with a solid content marketing strategy

But wait, you say, I can’t do that. My team is too small, and we don’t have the time.

If you feel this way, you’re not alone. According to the same 2018 Content Marketing Report, 67% of companies don’t invest in a content marketing strategy because they think their team is too small, and 44% don’t invest because they lack the time.

Don’t let these concerns hold you back from creating a winning content strategy before the end of the year. 56% of marketing departments outsource at least one content marketing activity because the cost is much lower than a full-time hire and you can find highly experienced help.

ContentWorm offers customized content strategy consulting, perfect for new businesses and small-to-midsize companies looking to spur growth. We’ll work with you to evaluate and improve your current messaging and strategy, review your competitor activity and target market(s), and develop a long-term, winning content strategy complete with a content calendar and all the high-level guidance you need to hit the ground running come January 1.

Get in touch today to get moving on your 2019 content strategy and start the new year off on the right foot.