If your head is spinning every time someone throws around terms like content strategy, content plan, content funnel, and content marketing, you are not alone.
These terms are all connected but they are not the same thing and they are definitely not interchangeable. At TaSa Creative Co. we work with business owners every day who are doing their best to navigate this stuff, and we find that a little clarity goes a long way.
So let’s break down exactly what each of these terms means, what you need to know, and how you can actually use them in your business without feeling overwhelmed.
Content Marketing
Content marketing describes any visual, written, or auditory content you create and share to promote your business online. It lives on social media, in emails, on blogs, in videos, in podcasts, and more.
When done well, content marketing builds trust with your audience, positions you as the go-to in your industry, drives traffic to your online spaces, and creates leads that have the potential to turn into sales. It is the foundation of showing up online with purpose.
Content Strategy
Strategy is the big picture. It is where you zoom out and look at the whole plan before you create a single piece of content.
A solid content strategy includes defining your goals, clarifying who your ideal client is, deciding which platforms you will show up on, setting your key performance indicators so you can track what is actually working, and mapping out how your content will be created, published, and repurposed over time.
At TaSa we build out a full content strategy for every new client during onboarding. It ensures that every piece of content we create has a clear intention and a clear connection to your business goals.
Content Plan
Your content strategy tells you where you are going. Your content plan tells you how you are going to get there.
A content plan covers all of your online content, not just what goes on social media. You can have an overarching plan and then platform specific sub-plans tailored to each channel you are active on. In fact optimising your content for different platforms is one of the best ways to get stronger results across the board.
A good content plan includes the topic, format, copy, visual assets, publish date, relevant links, and whoever is responsible for managing each piece. It keeps everything organised and gives you a clear view of what is going out so you can track what is resonating and what is not.
Content Formats
Content formats are simply the way your content is packaged and delivered for your audience to consume. Some of the most common formats include:
- Short form video and reels
- Long form video
- Single image graphics
- Carousels
- Branded photography
- Blog posts
- Email newsletters
- Memes and GIFs
- Text based social media posts
When deciding on your content formats the key is finding the intersection of what you enjoy creating, what your audience enjoys consuming, and what supports your overall strategy. Finding that sweet spot might take some testing but it is absolutely worth the effort.
Content Funnel
The content funnel is one of those terms that sounds more complicated than it actually is. All it describes is the connection between your content and the different stages of your customer’s buying journey.
Top of Funnel — Awareness. Your audience becomes aware that a problem exists and that you might be able to help.
Middle of Funnel — Consideration. They are interested in your services and are starting to explore their options.
Bottom of Funnel — Decision. They are ready to take action and make a purchase or booking.
Because you never know what stage someone is at when they land on your page, it is important to create content that speaks to all three stages regularly. That means content that educates, entertains, shows your brand personality, explains your process, highlights client results, and clearly communicates the transformation someone can expect from working with you.
Bringing It All Together
Content marketing, strategy, planning, formats, and funnels are not separate things to stress about one at a time. They work together as a system, and when that system is built well it makes showing up online feel a lot less overwhelming and a lot more intentional.
This is exactly the kind of foundation we build for every client at TaSa Creative Co. If you are ready to stop guessing and start creating content with a clear strategy behind it we would love to chat.
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