Happy New Year!
So you’ve decided that content marketing can help your business in 2024, now let’s discuss how to make the most out of your content.
It is crucial to develop a well-defined content strategy that aligns with your marketing objectives to help guide your content creation efforts. Without a well-defined strategy, it might be difficult to create cohesive and consistent content that resonates with your target audience and aligns with their buyer journey.
To start, we need to define your goals. What are you hoping to achieve through content?
Once you’ve determined what you hope to get out of your content campaign, it’s time to flip the script. What does your audience want? In content, it’s important to give more than you take, so you need to consider: what value can you give to your audience? What conversations is your audience already having and what questions do they have that you are well positioned to answer?
When you consider your goals, your expertise and your audience’s interests, you’ll find the sweet spot for your content.
By aligning what you’re an expert in with a question or curiosity that your target audience has about your business, you can quickly determine the ideal story to share through sponsored content.
Every month, we work with advertisers across Canada to create impactful content that combines our expert storytelling with their marketing goals to create content that resonates with readers. Here’s a selection of the best content partnerships we created with brands last month.
For more examples and to learn about working with Postmedia Content Works, visit www.postmediasolutions.com/solutions/content/
Edmonton Community Foundation
This campaign aimed to address the alarming increase in food insecurity in Alberta households, which has surged over the past decade. The main approach of the campaign was to raise awareness about the underlying causes of food insecurity in the region, particularly the disparity between wages and rapidly rising food prices. It emphasized that a significant portion of those affected by food insecurity were not homeless individuals but working people, including adults in their 30s and single parents with children, who were struggling to make ends meet due to inadequate wages. It also highlighted the challenges faced by newcomers to Canada, who not only had to contend with low wages but also unequal access to ethnocultural foods, making it difficult for them to afford culturally familiar food items. Ultimately, the campaign aimed to foster a dialogue with policymakers to address the root causes of food insecurity, advocate for fair wages and promote equitable access to nutritious food, emphasizing the importance of quality of life for all Albertans.
Read the content here: Edmonton Journal x Edmonton Community Journal
Novavax
The goal of this campaign was to educate the Canadian public on the new COVID-19 vaccine options available to them in 2024. The journalist featured quotes from an interview with an infectious diseases physician to get the health-care provider’s perspective on vaccination and the benefit of having options. Not only does this piece of sponsored content explain the difference between mRNA and protein-based vaccines, but it does so in a fair and balanced manner that doesn’t imply that one technology is superior to the other – one of the client’s primary goals. This article also aligns with the Government of Canada’s messaging around the continued importance of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters while recognizing that the public values the ability to choose which vaccine they receive. It provides readers with the information needed to make an educated decision.
Read the content here: Healthing x Novavax
Montreal International Auto Show
Postmedia Content Works worked with the Montreal International Auto Show to build anticipation for the event, highlight the best of the show and encourage readers to buy tickets. We created three 400-word stories that published throughout January in order to keep the show top of mind for Montreal Gazette readers. The first story was a brief introduction to the show, the second featured an interview with staff to showcase different aspects of the event, and the final article focused on an interview with Luc Poirier about his Ferrari collection, which is a highlight of the auto show. Through this strategy, readers were able to learn more about the event as opening day approached.
Read the content here: Montreal Gazette x Montreal International Auto Show
Tourism PEI
While Prince Edward Island is well known as a wonderful summer vacation destination, it’s a magical place to visit during the winter too. The goal of this campaign was to encourage Canadians to think outside the box for their winter vacation and explore everything that PEI has to offer, by highlighting some of the exciting activities to enjoy in the cooler months. Readers could also explore the included interactive map which showcased where to eat, first class trails, experiences, retreats and events. This engaging addition to the article is a great example of content that gives more than it takes – we provided readers with a useful, easy to navigate resource to help them plan their vacation.
Read the content here: Ottawa Citizen x Tourism PEI
Universities Canada
This story is part of a nationwide sponsored content campaign to create awareness around the importance of funding university research to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges in modern times. The approach for each of the stories in this campaign was to highlight initiatives and research taking place in our country’s universities coast to coast. This story featured advancements in combatting forest fires and climate change, thanks to research being done at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Forestry, a timely topic after 2023 became a record year for forest fires in B.C. and across the country.
Read the content here: Vancouver Sun x Universities Canada
To learn more about content marketing and working with Postmedia Content Works, book a consultation.
