Content Gap Analysis: A Guide

Feb 09, 2021

“Content is King” was a very popular marketing catchphrase 10+ years ago. In his book, Duct Tape Marketing , our friend and colleague John Jantsch disrupted that thinking with his insight that content is more like air. Every business needs content to thrive.

Given how important content is to your marketing plan, it’s always smart to make sure your content strategy doesn’t have any holes. We call that a content gap analysis. The purpose of performing a content gap analysis is pretty self-explanatory; this strategy gives you a birds-eye view of topics and keywords that you’re missing in your content even though they are relevant to your target demographic. If you don’t have this content on your website or within your digital marketing assets and your competitors do, guess who they’ll end up shopping with.

Why Does a Content Gap Analysis Matter?

If you’re not seeing the conversions and engagement you’d hoped for from your content marketing, the type of content you think your customers want is probably much different than what they actually want. There’s no shortage of jargon, tips, tricks, and best practices floating around there when it comes to creating content that truly speaks to your customers, and many of them work, and when implemented correctly, they work well. That said, there are only a handful of those strategies that use quantifiable data to help guide content creation.

A content gap analysis will bridge the gap between your idea and your customers’ idea of content. Now more than ever, consumers are looking to be educated, and want brands and businesses to solve their pain points. When you give them those solutions, you empower them to make a purchase decision that ends at your bottom line. Additionally, a content gap analysis can uncover niche, underserved sub-demographics within your target audience. 

Performing a Content Gap Analysis

The good news is that a content gap analysis can be an easy, replicable process that you can perform consistently to keep tweaking your content strategy in real-time.

  1. Establish a buyer’s journey: It’s common knowledge that personalized content is more effective than generic content. Typically, the buyer’s journey exists in three distinct phases — awareness, consideration, and decision — but really depends on the type of products and services your business offers. Think about what questions shoppers are asking, where they’re looking, and how they finally decide to make a purchase. 
  2. Get feedback: Contact your loyal customers and interview them to see what you’re doing well, and where your business might be failing to meet their needs. Graft a Google survey with the interview questions and offer an incentive like a discount or gift card for participating. You can also tap into your professional networks to connect with industry experts to pick their brains about insight into the buyer’s journey.
  3. Research and establish keywords: Once you have the results of customer and industry expert feedback, you’ll be able to pinpoint the most common keywords and phrases that searchers are typing in when looking for businesses like yours. There are plenty of different ways to perform keyword research with countless tools available, so it doesn’t matter exactly how you do it, but it needs to be done.
  4. Review existing content: Just because you have content already, it doesn’t mean that it’s working to convert visitors to customers. Use a spreadsheet to compile a list of the content types and topics you currently have and identify the metrics that indicate how well (or how poorly) that content is performing and how to better connect it with the buyer’s journey you mapped out.
  5. Check out the competition: Take a look at what your competitors are putting out in terms of content. Is there anything your site is missing in comparison? Can you draw any inspiration from their out-of-the-box ideas? Take notes for your own content strategy, and talk to a marketing expert about tools to use to track the metrics of how well that content is performing.
  6. Put it all together: Using the data you gleaned from the first five steps, connect everything to brainstorm the best content topics to fill the gaps you’ve uncovered. You’ll also want to update your content strategy to avoid gaps going forward.

While the content gap analysis process is straightforward and effective, it can be time-intensive — especially for business owners who aren’t comfortable with hands-on marketing. It’s a great idea to bring in a team of marketing experts like the pros here at Cole-Dalton to tackle the work and remain your partner to implement other strategies along the way. 

Whether you just want your content to look professional to prospective customers or employees who are “kicking your tires” or if you also want to use your content to gain a steady stream of new leads and phone calls generated from Google searches that lead to your website, we can help.

The post Content Gap Analysis: A Guide appeared first on Cole Dalton.

Launching the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office New Website

16 May, 2024
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office debuted its new website at the beginning of May. Our Cole-Dalton Marketing Services (CDMS) team had the opportunity to build and design the new site. This project involved meticulous attention to detail and design with respect to user functioning and legal requirements, and we are excited about the finished product. From our work with small business owners, we know that any organization, no matter the size or which field it serves, benefits from a fast, secure, and information-driven website. Unfortunately, government agencies don't have updated websites. When citizens need assistance and direction to resources but get stuck on an outdated website, they can become discouraged and choose not to seek help. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabriel E. Gore and his office want St. Louisans to have proper access to resources; they also want to build trust with community members and pursue justice to achieve a higher level of public safety for St. Louis.

The State of Cybersecurity in 2024

09 May, 2024
What comes to mind when you think of a hacker or a digital scammer? A lone, 40-year-old man typing away at a computer monitor hunkered down in his mother's basement? An older adult who thinks she's on the phone with her granddaughter? Certainly not you? If that's your belief, it's time for a reality check. Cybercrime has increased by over 250% over the last two years, and the global cost of cybercrime is estimated to have exceeded 6 trillion dollars in 2023. The criminals behind these numbers are running highly efficient and effective operations – and many cybercrime organizations have hundreds of members/employees. The cybercrime industry intersects with international law, global politics, high-level business interests, fast-paced technological advancements, and human trafficking. While this information can be daunting, and the large-scale implications seem intangible, small business owners can't let overwhelming feelings prevent them from taking action. While many cybercrime organizations target large corporations, small businesses continue to be the most frequent victims of digital scams. The President of Moore Computing LLC, Fred Moore, recently presented "The State of Cybersecurity in 2024" to St. Louis small business owners. Let's review some of his key points and discuss the critical actions small business owners can take to safeguard their businesses, employees, assets, and their reputation. Types of Cyber Crime in 2024 Phishing Scams Phishing remains one of the most common scams affecting business owners and employees. The idea behind phishing is simple: a bad actor sends a message pretending to be someone else and prompting the recipient to reveal private information. Phishing scams are constantly evolving, with scammers designing email messages that resemble a standard email from a company, a client, or even the recipient's boss. Fred asserts that vigilance with links is vital. Be wary of any links sent in emails, especially those that ask you to share certain information. Verify the link before clicking on it. Take caution if you notice glaring spelling errors, conspicuous vocabulary, or something that needs to look right in the email's footer. It takes time to recognize these emails, and training can help. Ransomware Ransomware is one of the most detrimental cybercrimes. When cybercriminals target individuals or businesses with ransomware, a virus infects the computer system, encrypts data, and blocks the victim from accessing their information until they pay a ransom. The ramifications of a ransomware attack can be disastrous. Even if an attacked company can work with their legal team to pay the ransom or regain their data, the average downtime from a ransomware event is 21 days . When MGM Grand suffered a severe ransomware attack in 2023, getting their casinos and properties up and running took days since everything was tied to the computer system. Businesses may incur costs from the ransomware attack itself, along with costs from loss of business and reputation. Business Email Compromise Business email compromise scams are another common issue. These scams take phishing one step further, with cyber criminals hijacking email accounts. Once the bad actor can access the victim's account, they often orchestrate unauthorized fund transfers or manipulate account details. Like phishing, vigilant training and awareness are critical to lessen the chance of these attacks. Always be alert, never cut corners, and always follow company protocols to minimize risk.

Forecasting the Next Ten Years of Marketing

10 Apr, 2024
Marketing is gearing up for significant changes as we enter the new decade. With new technologies, shifts in buyer behavior, and changes in consumption culture, the way businesses reach out to customers will look very different in the coming years. While we can't say what marketing will look like in 10 years, we can examine emerging trends and strategies to forecast its future. Here are some predictions experts are suggesting could take shape moving forward. Increasing Personalized Advertising Personalized marketing should undergo even more profound transformations in the coming decade, leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to forge deeper customer connections. With the ability to glean insights from vast amounts of data, companies will craft highly tailored ads and messages that resonate with individual preferences and behaviors, fostering stronger brand-consumer relationships. From dynamic content customization to predictive marketing algorithms, the era of hyper-personalization will redefine how businesses engage with their target audiences on a one-to-one level. Advanced Device Communication The proliferation of voice-enabled devices and virtual assistants heralds a new era in consumer engagement, requiring marketers to adapt their strategies to communicate effectively through these mediums. As voice technology continues to gain traction, companies must anticipate the rise of voice commerce and tailor their approaches to accommodate this emerging trend. By leveraging conversational AI and natural language processing, brands can deliver seamless, personalized experiences that resonate with consumers, whether shopping, seeking information, or interacting with digital assistants. Wider Use of Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is poised to become a ubiquitous tool in the marketer's arsenal, offering immersive experiences that transcend traditional advertising methods. With VR, brands can transport consumers into captivating virtual environments where they can interact with products and services unprecedentedly, fostering deeper engagement and brand loyalty. As VR technology becomes more accessible and sophisticated, expect to see a proliferation of immersive marketing campaigns that leverage the power of virtual experiences to captivate audiences and drive conversions.
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