Digitalization and modern technologies have brought us to a new reality, where classic marketing strategy isn’t enough. People become more advanced users of the global network and severe to the content given by different sites. So, for marketers and content creators, it’s easy to stumble and ruin the company image. 

Notwithstanding the difficulties and risks, Content Marketing Institute informs that 46% of companies want to increase their spending for content creation (Siegemedia).

There is no doubt that digital content marketing provides multiple benefits for businesses. However, to overcome the various issues and competitors, your team has to develop a well-thought-out strategy. 

The agile approach is gaining acknowledgment in this sphere as it gives valuable opportunities to create, share and manage content. It helps to overcome inconsistency and ensure the contingency of the published information.

In the article, we will review how to use the agile approach for digital content creation, the main steps for launching an agile digital content strategy, and the best practices for 2022.

How to Use Agile Approach in Digital Content Creation?

The simplest way to execute the content project is to implement one stage after another and deliver the unchangeable result in the end. It's the waterfall method that anticipates the non-repetition of steps.

However, it cannot bring you much value in the current atmosphere of constant changes. In 2022 people want updated content considering the novelties in technologies, methods, and thoughts. 

The agile approach foresees continuous improvement of the content outcome. Using this method, you cannot just publish the content and forget about it. You can work with it continuously: change the format, redesign, test, etc. It's a chance to give a new life to an old story and raise the domain rate with fewer efforts.

Agile digital content creation has multiple benefits. Firstly, it improves the process from different aspects due to its following features:

• audience-oriented story;
• content delivery prioritization;
• strong inter-teams collaboration.

Secondly, you can recognize mistakes, gaps, or issues in the middle of the project and fix them immediately. You won’t need to go back to the previous stage or start a new project to do the corrections, as with the waterfall technique.

Thirdly, the agile content creation process is more advanced, logical, and well-adjusted to modern requirements. So, it’s an instrument that can help you to win competitors.

The Main Steps to Launch Agile Digital Content Strategy

Notwithstanding the benefits of the agile approach, it will not work well without a clear and relevant strategy. The team should have a vision about what should be done at each stage and how it can be fixed and republished during further steps. Otherwise, there is a risk that the project will be confusing and sporadic for marketers and executed with low quality.

Digital content creation differs from the classic strategy.

The basic steps to execute for its launching are:

1. Set relevant goals. Define what you want to achieve with your content strategy: increase of brand awareness, promotion of new product or function of software, or higher sales, etc. The options are various, but having the exact target will give you a beacon of the content project.

2. Work out your audience. Knowing for whom you write, your readers' interest, and their expectations in terms of content is a key to success. Try to decide in advance into which groups you divide your audience and plan the content for each one.

3. Align with SEO best practices. Digital content lives when users can find it in search engines. To make it happen, you have to use SEO basics or even create your strategy to have the content visible and gain organic traffic.

4. Determine the format of your content. The audience will be bored with one content type. There are various formats you can use alternately. However, no matter which ones you choose, figure it out in advance to create a proper content plan. 

5. Create a content calendar. A schedule gives you clear visibility on topics and publishing timelines. Having a content calendar facilitates your further work and contains a commitment regarding its execution.

6. Choose the channels for content promotion. Not all channels are suitable for every content promotion. In some cases, reposting to Social Media may be a win, for the other a loss. So, this point requires a well-thought decision.

7. Define risks and issues. The best way to manage risks and issues is to be ready for them. Define what they can be and develop possible solutions.

8. Establish the targets and metrics to track. From the very beginning, you have to know the indicators of your content success. Set your goals, and based on them, create the targets and establish the metrics to check regularly.

You will probably need to change some parts of your strategy during the work, and it’s normal. However, to ensure a smooth way through the project, you’ll need three components: the roadmap for your digital content, a well-prepared enthusiastic team, and the proper software.

With the last, Agility CMS can help. This software easily becomes the single source of truth for your content. It includes the main functions required for agile digital content strategy implementation:

• Scheduling of the content;
• Multilingual capabilities;
• Modeling of the quality content;
• Previewing of the content and the webpage;
• Sharing and reuse of the content;
• Management of workflow, website page, module, and sitemap;
• Multi-site support;
• SEO.

Among the advantages of Agility CMS are its user-friendly interface, ease of appliance for non-technical teams, and cost-effectiveness. It means that the content manager can execute the project without the involvement of a software engineer or having specific technological knowledge.

 

The Best Practices for Agile Digital Content Strategy to Use in 2022

Developing the strategy in 2022, you have to consider that the digital world has significantly changed and requires more and more uniqueness. This year people value non-conventional ideas, brightness in combination with a style, usage of modern technologies for simple things. That is what can surprise your audience. 

Let’s deep dive into the topic and review 7 best practices for an agile digital content strategy to implement this year.

1. Create Audience-Targeted Content

Your audience satisfaction should be your main goal. Once you reach it, you’ll reach all the other purposes you have. That’s why you need to ensure that your content suits your audience and is accessible to every part. For instance, if you have customers from different countries, consider the global content strategy and website localization.

The majority of sites used to publish content preferably for the new customers' attraction. However, in 2022 it becomes a significant error of the marketing team. Buyers that are already with you may also require some help and information. Moreover, they are open to knowing more about your product or the sphere you work in.

So, during the content planning and creation process, you should remember about different groups of your readers. Define targeted segments of your audience, for example: 

• newcomers;
• people who have become your customer or agreed with SLA with you less than a year ago;
• people who have been with you for a long time already. 

Then, find out what information will be interesting for each of them and how you can impact their engagement with your content. 

2. Make Video a Must-Have Part of a Content

The pandemic reality that started in 2020 has made video content a driving component of eCommerce and SaaS content marketing.

Adding video to your website brings multiple benefits:

• improves the audience engagement;
• makes your site look reliable;
• opens your content for people who can’t accept readable one;
• increases organic traffic;
• heats the audience to make a purchase. 

Furthermore, today people don’t wait for complex long video films with special effects. They value simple real-life stories, which are easy to shoot, and short videos, which will be suitable for social media as well. So, this content type creation will not take a huge budget or endeavor. 

3. Automate Content with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

For sure, you have super-professionals to create and manage your content. However, don’t neglect the opportunity to use automation here. It significantly reduces the amount of manual work and human involvement, saves the team time, and boosts creativity.

Artificial intelligence (AI) includes the algorithms that allow ostending content components for reaching the highest conversion rate. AI can help with writing content (AI writing assistants), proofreading, personalization, SEO adaptation and makes the articles perfect for your audience.

4. Use Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented reality fills in the different spheres of our lives, including content marketing. It doesn’t replace the real world with the digital one as virtual reality does, e.g., for online team buildings. However, AR projects some digital elements to the real-world environment and allows you to create new experiences for your customers. It shows your product in 3D, gives your customers a chance to try it on and engages them with your brand.

There are multiple fabulous examples of AR used for new customer experience. 

Augmented reality isn’t already a wonder of technology, but it also isn’t a common detail used by marketers. So, adding AR to the marketing strategy will give you a lot of preferences.  

5. Add Data-Based Details

Digital content may have various forms and contain different elements. However, everyone knows that the main part composes a written or recited text. Even if you have only a few words, they should be expedient.

For instance, when recruiters contact applicants, they give various information about the position they’re offering. However, usually one or a few points of all those data are enough to convince the desired candidate. The same in marketing: you have to know what people want to hear to engage them.

Marketers have to remember that no audience is interested in an inane text as it doesn’t bring value. Before an article creation or a video recording, think carefully about what to write or tell. 

In 2022, data-based information is what the people require. The Internet is full of statements without proof of their reliability. To make your text sound more professional, mention statistics or facts. They show that you’ve researched the topic and evoke credibility. In addition, fact-based information has a higher rate of sharing and linking. So, it also gives benefits for the page and website SEO.

6. Purge and Order Digital Content 

Usually, new content creation is the main focus of content marketers. However, the existing pieces also need revision and management. 

Dedicate the time to check the relevance of your published content and to purge it: 

• delete irrelevant content;
• modify outdated content;
• merge duplicated or related articles;
• order relevant content.

This audit will provide you the visibility on the available and missing content and give you new ideas for the strategy. 

Besides, each piece of content takes the electrical power to be saved on the data centers. So, digital content optimization is also a reflection of the nature protection strategy, which is going to become stronger in 2022.

7. Consider Mobile Device As a Primary Content Access Source

Marketers cannot accept a mobile device as a second source for Internet access anymore. 90% of the global network users connect via cell phones (according to Statista). That is why you not only should make your content mobile-friendly but look for new opportunities the mobile devices can provide. 

Among them are podcasts, which give a possibility to repurpose the information to another format. They open the content you want to share for super-busy people or the ones who cannot accept a readable format.

Also, social media channels, e.g., Instagram, provides various creative opportunities for the content, inapplicable on computers. For instance, Starbucks actively uses different AR effects to make unusual stories.

Final Words

The marketing tendencies of 2022 considerably differ from the reality existing a couple of years ago. People expect to have high-quality content with its unusual, surprising serving. 

Moreover, today the demand is constantly changing. That’s why with an agile approach to your digital content, you’ll always be ahead of competitors that don’t have it. Using this method allows you to easily change your strategy, according to the new requirements of the audience.

So, make your digital content strategy agile, add the best practices mentioned above to your marketing to-do list, and be as creative as you can. These pieces of advice may help to gain a new audience and maintain the engagement of present customers.

Good luck!