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Marketing is a big umbrella term for one of the (hopefully) most powerful revenue and sales generating functions of a business.
It has many marketing types under it that form a diverse range of different initiatives – from advertising to digital, direct, mobile and SEM, to one of the most popular: content marketing.
However, one element that unites them all is the need for planning ahead to get the best results.
Fortunately, smart businesses recognise both the importance of marketing and having a strategic marketing plan to guide their marketing projects throughout the year and over the longer term.
But with the rise of content creation, content marketing plans are also becoming more commonplace today.
To shed some light on how businesses can get the most out of their marketing plan and content marketing plan, let’s look at the differences between the two and determine when each should be used.
What is a marketing plan?
A marketing plan is an entire roadmap that dictates the framework of all of a business’ marketing practises and principles, in response to the objectives and goals set out by the business plan.
In other words, a marketing plan defines the marketing structure of an organisation and the actions that will be taken to contribute toward achieving the overarching business goals.
Every business must have a marketing plan to guide its initiatives and map out its direction.
It’s absolutely critical due to the essential nature of marketing. After all, if people don’t know about your brand and aren’t given context about your products or services in relation to their needs, then they won’t choose you.
It’s as simple as that.
The other reality is that there isn’t one standard marketing plan – you can use whatever structure works for you, so long as it serves its purpose.
In Melotti Media’s Marketing Plan Development service, where we create your marketing plan on your behalf, the structure we use is:
- Vision, Mission and Purpose
- Goals
- Target Customers
- Your Niche and Difference
- Potential Price Points
- KPI Targets
- Marketing Plan Summary
- Detailed Marketing Plan and Strategies
– Phase 1 – Planning
– Phase 2 – Execution
– Phase 3 – Promotion
– Phase 4 – Measure Results - Test and Measure
- 12-Month Marketing Calendar
This kind of marketing plan can be quite extensive – however, that’s exactly the point.
The goal of a marketing plan is to set up the boundaries and framework of how your business will market your brand to reach your target audience and drive successful results.
Do you have your marketing plan in place? If not, our team can help you build a marketing plan.
We have Marketing Plan Development and Marketing Mentor services to enable you to implement your marketing initiatives and reach your business’ goals.
What is a content marketing plan?
A content marketing plan is similar to a marketing plan, but specifically about the content component of the initiatives. It provides a specific guide toward content objectives, goals and types, so that a business like yours has an effective blueprint as to how it will approach the creation, publishing and monitoring of the brand’s content.
In the Melotti Media’s Content Marketing Plan Development service, we create your content marketing plan on your behalf and equip you with:
- Content Marketing Overview
- 12-Month Content Marketing Calendar
- Monthly Content Marketing To-Do List
- Initial Strategy Workshop
- Strategic Marketing Review
- Per Quarter Check-ins
A content marketing plan is an effective blueprint to approach the creation, publishing and monitoring of your brand’s content.
With a content marketing plan that covers what specific content ideas, topics, themes and channels to utilise, your team will no longer guess their way through in producing regular content. They will have a clearer direction going forward, allowing them to unlock the full potential of content marketing to drive your business’ success.
Want to know more? Have a read of Content Marketing Planning and Strategy.
What is the difference between a marketing plan and a content marketing plan?
Without a marketing plan and a content marketing plan in place, it’s hard for your business to stand out and engage with target audiences.
In today’s competitive business landscape, these essential plans are the building blocks to producing value-adding content, establishing a brand’s unique identity and enhancing overall marketing direction. They also unite your team by outlining effective courses of action to enable your team to easily transform goals into excellent results for the business.
But what distinguishes a marketing plan from a content marketing one? When is it best to use one from the other?
We’ve prepared some guide questions to help you:
1. Marketing Plan VS Content Marketing Plan: What is the purpose or the goal you’re trying to achieve with the plan?
Marketing Plan
- To bridge the gap between where you currently are as a business to where you want to be in the future, you need a marketing plan that allows you to identify your mission, vision, goals, core values and overall marketing strategies.
- To position your brand as better than competitors, it’s also crucial to have a marketing plan that highlights your unique selling proposition through different marketing initiatives.
For more, read: 5 Ways Message Marketing Gets You Way Ahead Of Your Competitors
Content Marketing Plan
- On the other hand, a content marketing plan is geared to unite all of your content marketing efforts and empower you to achieve brand consistency.
- If you aim to supercharge conversions, you must also be equipped with a content marketing plan. It determines the best approach to capture your audience’s attention, including the ways to connect effectively with them through pieces of content delivered at every stage of their buying journey.
2. Marketing Plan VS Content Marketing Plan: When do you need to optimise the plan?
Marketing Plan
- You need a marketing plan if you want to streamline your marketing activities and align them with your overall goals as a business.
- A marketing plan is also helpful if you need an all-encompassing step-by-step strategy to efficiently implement your marketing initiatives, making sure your brand is reaching the intended target market and generating leads.
- In addition, a marketing plan enables you to identify opportunities and threats, so you can effectively manage and allocate your marketing resources.
Content Marketing Plan
- Having a content marketing plan is essential when you need to make key decisions about the core messaging, tone of voice, target audience, frequency, timings, goals and calls to action of your branded content.
- A content marketing plan is also useful when you want to assess your content’s performance, allowing you to compare actual results from targets.
- Furthermore, you can utilise a content marketing plan to give your team clearer direction on how to consistently streamline the production of fresh, engaging and relevant content.
Now that you know what sets them apart – can they also go together?
The answer is yes!
Effective marketing and content marketing, which engages your audience and establishes your thought leadership, always begins with the creation of comprehensive marketing and content marketing plans.
While they accomplish different purposes and have their own areas of priority, having both a marketing plan and content marketing plan enables you to amplify brand relevance and earn the sales your business deserves.
These plans are meant to be integrated to refine your overall marketing, allowing you to deliver value-adding content and cast a wider net out into the ocean of customers.
At Melotti Media, you can rely on our marketing professionals and message marketers to get the best from both your marketing plan and your content marketing plan.
Both marketing plan and content marketing plan enable you to amplify brand relevance and earn the sales your business deserves.
We take the time to understand your brand, what’s important for you and who your target customers are, and then develop strong, well-thought-out marketing strategies and content that create an impact and highlight your trustworthiness as a business.
Aside from providing a comprehensive action list, our team guides you through periodic check-in meetings, strategy sessions and consultations to ensure you’re on track.
Learn more about our Marketing Plan and Content Marketing Plan Development services today!
6 ways to utilise marketing and content marketing plans
In these times of volatility and uncertainty, your marketing and content marketing plans play a crucial role in helping your brand survive and thrive.
So, here are more ways you can take full advantage of these marketing and content marketing plans to achieve your goals:
- Gain more insights into your target market and the best ways to connect with them through content
- Select the right channel mix of platforms for each marketing campaign promotion
- Personalise your brand messaging to suit certain demographics
- Identify the right marketing tools and solutions to make the production of content seamless
- Uncover insights into pricing, targeting and distribution decisions
- Evaluate new opportunities in the market to check if they will drive a positive marketing ROI
As you have probably observed by now, marketing and content marketing plans offer so many benefits. However, preparing them requires creativity, a flair for writing and marketing expertise.
Fortunately, you can trust us at Melotti Media to develop these plans for you. We build your marketing and content marketing plans, so you don’t have to.
With us, you don’t just get copywriters – you get reliable content marketing consultants, too.
Check out some of our client success stories here!
How can Melotti Media help you?
We understand that you want to achieve business success through marketing and content marketing planning.
But you may find that you’re time-poor and spread thin or you still have a lot of unanswered questions.
You don’t need to worry!
At Melotti Media, we can assist with all your copywriting and content marketing needs while you focus on what matters most to you – growing your business.
Let’s start earning the results your business deserves!
To speak to your trusted message marketers and copywriters, email us at enquire@melottimedia.com.au or phone 1800 663 342
We can sharpen your words to achieve your goals today!
The Melotti Media Team
Melotti Media | Copywriting & Message Marketing Bureau
www.melottimedia.com.au
