Content Strategy vs Tactics: When Do the Differences Matter?

When creating website content, do marketers follow a strategy or rely on tactics? A Las Vegas content strategy consultant can help businesses design engaging, valuable, and compelling materials considering the latest strategy and time-tested tactics.

This guide helps you learn the difference between content strategy and tactics on these topics:

• Description of content strategy and tactics
• Determine when it is necessary to distinguish between the two

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What Is Content Strategy?

Content strategy is the planning, creation, and management of content that fits with the goals and objectives of a business. It helps businesses create blogs, articles, videos, podcasts, and infographics that resonate with their target audience, build brand awareness, and drive conversions. 

This strategy includes the following:

• Conducting audience research to understand the target audience's needs, preferences, and behaviors.
• Developing a digital marketing plan that includes strategies for distinct types of content, topics, formats, and channels to be used.
• Creating high-quality, relevant, and engaging content.
• Determining the channels and platforms for distribution, such as social media or email marketing.
• Managing articles, blogs, videos, etc., by ensuring they are properly maintained, updated, and archived.

What Are Content Tactics?

Content tactics are actionable steps to create, distribute, and promote content. They are customized to fit a business's or organization's unique needs and goals, and they are executed by content creators, social media managers, search engine optimization (SEO) specialists, or digital marketers.

Here are examples of content creation tactics:

• Creating blog posts, articles, case studies, whitepapers, videos, infographics, or other visual materials
• Sharing relevant content with the audience through various channels, including social media, email, or other means
• Optimizing websites and content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs)
• Using social media channels to distribute, engage with the audience, and build brand awareness
• Sending newsletters and promotional emails to subscribers on the email list
• Running paid advertising campaigns on various platforms, such as social media or search engines, to promote content
• Partnering with influencers or industry experts to promote and expand reach to a broader audience, thus taking advantage of the growing value of influencer marketing

When Is It Necessary to Distinguish Between Content Strategy and Tactics?

Content strategy and content tactics are two related but distinct concepts in digital marketing. The former is the overall plan or framework, while the latter are the specific techniques used to execute that plan. Let us determine when these differences matter to creators, marketers, and businesses.

     1. Setting Content Goals

When setting content marketing goals, it is essential to consider strategies and tactics.

Content strategy is crucial to setting overall goals and objectives for marketing. It helps define the target audience, create a messaging framework, and determine the types of content to publish and distribute.

Content tactics are more focused on specific actions to achieve those goals. They help determine content creation, distribution, and promotion. They also provide ways to measure the marketing program's effectiveness and decide on any adjustments.

     2. Making Data-Driven Decisions

When making data-driven decisions, strategies identify the target audience, create a messaging framework, and determine the types of content to be created and distributed by analyzing data related to these elements.

Tactics also determine content creation, distribution, and promotion using data. By analyzing data related to strategy and tactics, marketers can identify what is working and what needs to be adjusted to improve the program's effectiveness.

     3. Creating Content Marketing Contingency Plans

Content strategies and tactics are essential when creating marketing contingency plans. For example, if an article, blog post, video, infographic, or social media post fails to perform as expected, adjusting the strategy to better align with the target audience might be necessary.

If a distribution channel is not delivering the expected results to reach the audience, adjusting the content tactics through a different channel may be needed. By considering both elements of strategies and tactics, content marketers can create more effective and adaptable contingency plans for their marketing programs.

     4. Minding Content Marketing Budgets

The cost of a content strategy can vary depending on the level of research and planning required to develop an effective one. For instance, conducting extensive audience research or hiring a strategist to help build a comprehensive strategy can be expensive. However, many resources are available online to guide the development of a content strategy for little to no cost.

Content tactics can also vary in cost depending on the channels and methods used to create and distribute content. For example, creating a simple blog post can be done cheaply, while creating a video or interactive content may require more resources and a larger budget.

Ultimately, the cost of these strategies and tactics depends on the specific goals and objectives of the marketing program and the available budget. Marketers have to consider the costs and benefits of different strategies and tactics before making decisions. They must also continually track and measure the program's performance to ensure that it provides a positive return on investment.

     5. Considering Business Size

Content strategy and tactics are essential for small businesses, but the strategy should come first. It helps clearly define content creation tactics based on the goals and objectives. Creators cross-check items to see what they have done and what remains to be done, ensuring that nothing gets missed.

Small businesses that lack a solid strategy and instead rely on tactics to achieve their goals risk wasting resources and efforts. 

Summing Up

Content strategy and tactics are essential to creating relevant, engaging, and valuable content. When setting goals, content strategies are related to the overall marketing goals, while content tactics involve specific actions to create the best content, such as a blog post, article, video, or infographic.

Marketers must consider both elements when creating data-driven decisions and contingency plans. Lastly, strategies and tactics matter whether a business has an unlimited or restricted budget, from small companies to large corporations.

Find out how a good strategy and tactics can help you improve your marketing campaigns. Contact Digital Authority Partners (DAP) today for expert advice.