Content marketing is the bread and butter of software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses. It allows them to gain more attention through the quality of work they produce, boosting their digital marketing to new heights.
If you’ve got insider knowledge of how an industry operates and want to share that with the world, content marketing is the way to go. It’s a fantastic way to solidify yourself as a thought leader, increasing your brand awareness while delivering solid advice that’s sure to boost your inbound marketing and get interested readers coming back for more.
With new startups and small businesses emerging all the time, many companies, agencies, and professional freelancers set their sights on helping others. These content marketing services offer packages, advice, and plans on how to grow as a company and market yourself correctly.
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in pursuing, then stick around. We’ve got a list of everything you’ll need to include in a great content marketing package.
The SaaS landscape can often be a confusing and ruthless place, but it doesn’t need to be. Helping others can lead to your own success. Let’s take a look.
What is a content marketing package?
Picture it like a meal delivery box: everything you need is brought right to your doorstep to create a fantastic dish. All of the produce and the recipes are conveniently provided, so all you have to do is put it together.
A content marketing package is very similar. It helps provide all the essentials for excellent content creation, whether that be a comprehensive package or more specialized, focusing on key areas such as keyword research and search engine optimization (SEO).
Packages can range anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars per month. So, if you’re looking to get some help, it’s a good idea to check how much budget you have and choose accordingly. Alternatively, if you’re providing a package, make sure your pricing is competitive, but don’t undervalue yourself. If you have good advice, people will want to hear it.
Here’s one such example from Macaw Digital – a digital marketing agency based out of south Florida.
A package doesn’t have to be an entirely remote operation. It can involve high-quality consultations between an agency and its client. This is an excellent way to align values and objectives so you can move forward with confidence.
What types of packages are there?
Content marketing is a vast field of interest – there are many components that make it up. Let’s have a look at some of the specific types of packages you can either develop or purchase, depending on your goals and objectives.
What goes into a great content marketing package?
Because each business is unique, your packages have to be unique as well. While there are many aspects of digital marketing which are a one-size-fits-all affair, it’s always worthwhile having individual aspects which help someone to stand out from the crowd.
Professional content marketers tailor their packages to suit the needs and wants of a business, including their ideal customer profile (ICP). This could include anything from developing a basic content marketing plan that gets someone from A to B, or taking over the whole of a company’s copywriting, scheduling, and distributing.
Here are certain elements that you can expect to find in a comprehensive package.
Analysis of existing strategies
It’s likely that a business will already have some sort of strategy in place, no matter how small. So this needs to be assessed first to see whether it can be built on, or if it needs to start over from scratch.
The overview can look at:
- The layout of your landing pages
- Current website traffic
- Existing costs
- Churn and bounce rates
This will help to paint a picture of how well the business is doing currently. From there, you can make informed decisions on how to proceed.
Content marketing strategy building
Once an initial overview has been conducted, a content marketing agency can begin to talk with their client about what they want to achieve.
Developing a good strategy is essential for any marketing plan. You need to have a sense of direction before you begin, so you know how to make the most of your decisions. Take a look at:
- Target audience: Knowing your audience will allow you to present yourself to them most effectively. Do you cater towards more formal or informal customers? What are their demographics? What problems do they have that you could offer solutions to?
- Competitor research: You need to understand who the other players are in a game before you proceed. Market and competitor research helps you to see what’s going well and what’s going wrong for those around you. It also helps identify niches or gaps for a company to exploit.
- Industry positioning: Depending on the industry a client is working in, you need to make sure that the choices made within a content package will be beneficial. Revolutionary ideas can either be amazing for a business, or disastrous. Striking a good balance between the status quo and unique ideas is the best way to go.
Content calendar management
When you have a lot of content to share, you need a reliable way to make sure it’s all posted on time. Packages that include content calendar management take the stress away of worrying whether or not you’ve missed an upload date, and can help keep things fresh.
Depending on the time of year, you’ll probably need to change up your content marketing approach. For example, seasonal events like Christmas can influence what you post to help keep you relevant. Having a calendar in place allows you to anticipate these events and plan for them accordingly.
With this comes the option of content syndication. This is where you post one piece of content across several sites, such as LinkedIn or third-party websites, in order to reach the most amount of people.
A variety of content types
Variety is the spice of life. So it’s important that a good content package includes the option to create a range of different types of content. This can include:
- Videos: Videos are a great way to deliver information which can be watched on the go and easily shared across the internet. With the increased usage of AI, it’s become easier than ever before to develop high-quality videos which are both narrated and designed by AI.
- Infographics: Other forms of visual media like infographics can condense entire paragraphs of information into digestible, visually stimulating chunks. Teams of graphic designers can create gorgeous displays which fit nicely on any platform you post your content to.
- Blog posts: Basic blog posts which provide interesting information are essential when it comes to content writing. Specialized copywriters can take care of this within an agency’s package, delivering you fresh content to publish on your website.
- Industry news articles: Articles help keep your customers up to date on what’s going on in the world around them. It’s a great way to introduce people to new concepts and technologies.
- Case studies: For companies with real-world success, case studies can be a fantastic way to show your capabilities and reliability as a business. Content marketing package designers can investigate you and devise perfect case studies that will highlight your best features, such as your ability to problem solve and work to briefs.
SEO
Even when it’s not the entire focus of a package, every business needs a good understanding of SEO when it comes to their content marketing campaign.
SEO is a brilliant way to boost organic traffic and draw in relevant users to your site. But it can be one of the most difficult elements to get the hang of. It’s a tool every content writer and marketing strategist needs under their belt, so a package which includes SEO advice, approaches, and specially written content will do wonders for a client’s business.
SEO looks at:
- Meta-data and tags
- Keyword density and richness
- Backlinks and link building
These techniques are applicable across all platforms, whether it be your website’s content or what you post on social media. Understanding SEO can greatly improve your marketing efforts, so it’s essential that any content marketing package includes an excellent SEO section.
Social media optimization
Your client will likely want any new content to be shown as far and wide as possible. A great way to do so is by leveraging their social media platforms.
Not only does social media allow businesses to engage on a far more personal level with their consumer base, it also provides a fantastic way to promote their content. Whether they have hosted podcasts and webinars, written an excellent ebook or whitepaper, or simply want to add a Tweet about a trending topic, social media can be an invaluable asset for brand reach.
If there’s a piece of long-form content you wish to promote, you can take an extract and post it to build interest. Or you can summarize it. Then this can be easily shared, commented about, and discovered by more people.
Dedicated account manager
There are expectations that come with buying an expensive, high-quality content marketing package, including the expectation of help. A dedicated account manager is there to support the client and guide them through any decisions and ideas that are presented.
They take the brunt of the organization, which gives a client more time to work on their product growth and own industry knowledge.
An account manager is also there to answer any questions and can act like a customer support desk in case anything goes wrong.
Monthly reports
If someone’s invested money into a product, they’ll want to be reassured that it’s working. Reports, whether weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly, can provide updates on:
- Lead generation
- Conversion rates
- New edits
- Upcoming strategies
- Industry news
It doesn’t take a lot of effort in the grand scheme of things, but a little extra information never goes amiss.
Effective communication and support are often overlooked aspects of content marketing packages. Ensuring that a client has access to both a responsive team/individual for help, as well as a comprehensive report on current metrics and customer satisfaction levels, can have a huge impact on positive client-agency relations.
Wrapping up
Developing high-quality content isn’t a walk in the park – it takes time, dedication, and effort. But it’s well worth it when you think about all the fabulous benefits that can come your way.
Investing in a marketing package is a great way to get a head start on things. And, for those of you with years of industry knowledge looking to share it, developing your own packages is a sure-fire way to gain valuable clients.
When looking around at packages, make sure to check testimonials, both on a company’s website and on third-party review sites. This can give you a good idea of what to expect and the overall value for money.
