In the article “How to Find and Close the Hidden Gaps in Your Content Strategy,” Kelsey Raymond discusses the importance of identifying and addressing gaps in your content marketing approach. These gaps can exist in various areas, such as target audience understanding and sales enablement. By neglecting to conduct keyword research, undertake social listening, and stay connected to your audience’s wants and needs, you risk missing out on valuable opportunities. Additionally, aligning content efforts across your sales and marketing teams is crucial for creating effective content that contributes to growing your client base. To address these gaps, Raymond outlines a four-step assessment process, including performing a content audit, conducting keyword research and social listening, identifying failed marketing goals, and crowdsourcing input. By implementing this approach, you can ensure a more comprehensive and successful content strategy.

Perform a content audit

A content audit is an essential step in understanding the current state of your website’s content and identifying areas for improvement. By taking an inventory of all the content on your website, you can gain valuable insights into which assets are performing well and which ones may need attention.

To begin the content audit, create a comprehensive list of all the content on your website. This can include blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, and any other content assets. Organize this list in a spreadsheet or document, making sure to include essential metrics such as page views, bounce rate, average visitor time on page, keyword rankings, and backlinks.

When analyzing these metrics, focus on those that connect directly to your business goals. For example, if your goal is to increase lead generation, pay attention to metrics like form conversions and click-through rates. By identifying the metrics that are most important to your goals, you can gain a deeper understanding of the success of each asset.

In addition to evaluating your own content, it’s also important to inventory your competitors’ content. This can help you identify what types of content are performing well in your industry and what topics are resonating with your target audience. By comparing your assets to those of your competitors, you can identify gaps in your own content strategy and opportunities for improvement.

Conduct keyword research and social listening

Keyword research and social listening are essential tools for understanding your audience and creating content that meets their needs. By using tools like Ahrefs or Moz’s Keyword Explorer, you can identify relevant keywords and topics that your audience is searching for.

Start by brainstorming a list of keywords that are relevant to your industry and expertise. Then, use a keyword research tool to expand on this list and identify additional keywords that may be valuable. Look for keywords that have high search volume and low competition, as these are the keywords that are most likely to drive traffic to your website.

In addition to keyword research, it’s also important to listen to your audience on social media. Tools like Sprout Social, HubSpot, and Hootsuite can help you analyze conversations and learn more about your audience. Pay attention to what your audience is talking about, their needs and goals, and their most common challenges related to your industry. This information can help guide your content creation and ensure that you are addressing the topics and questions that are most important to your audience.

Identify the failed marketing goals

To close the gaps in your content strategy, it’s important to first identify the areas where you have not achieved your marketing goals. Review your documented goals and quantify them within an achievable timeframe. This could include goals such as increasing website traffic, generating leads, or improving brand awareness.

Once you have identified your goals, take a close look at your performance in each area. Are you consistently falling short of your goals? Are there specific metrics or indicators that are not meeting expectations? By identifying these areas of failure, you can better understand the gaps in your content strategy and take steps to address them.

In addition to reviewing your own goals, it can also be helpful to analyze industry benchmarks and best practices. This can give you a better understanding of what is possible within your industry and help you identify areas where you may be falling behind.

Crowdsource your way to discovering what’s not there

Crowdsourcing can be a valuable tool for gathering feedback and ideas from your audience and employees. By surveying your followers and subscribers, you can gain insights into the types of content they are craving and identify any gaps in your current content strategy.

Send out a brief poll or survey to your audience via email or social media to gather their input. Ask them what topics they would like to learn more about and what types of content they find most valuable. This information can help you prioritize your content creation and ensure that you are addressing the needs and interests of your audience.

In addition to surveying your audience, it’s also important to gather feedback from your employees. They may have valuable insights into what is missing from your content or content marketing strategy. Formally or informally gather feedback from employees through polls, surveys, or face-to-face conversations. Ask them what they think is missing from your content and what topics or subjects they think you should cover.

Close the content gaps

Once you have identified the content gaps in your strategy, it’s time to take action to close them. This can involve a variety of steps, depending on the specific gaps you have identified.

Start by pinpointing the specific gaps that need to be addressed. This may involve revisiting your content marketing goals and identifying specific areas where you are falling short. Once you have identified these gaps, you can take steps to rectify them and gain a competitive edge in your industry.

Investigate and improve your content marketing strategies to address the identified gaps. This may involve creating new content assets, optimizing existing assets, or changing your approach to content creation and distribution. By focusing on the areas where you are falling short, you can ensure that your content marketing efforts are aligned with your business goals and deliver better returns on your investments.

In summary, performing a content audit, conducting keyword research and social listening, identifying failed marketing goals, and crowdsourcing feedback are all essential steps in closing the hidden gaps in your content strategy. By following these steps and taking action to address the identified gaps, you can improve your content marketing efforts and achieve better results.