How to Strategize your Design and Content Marketing

When it comes to design and content marketing, the “chicken and the egg” debate often comes up. In what situation is it necessary to have a solid design strategy before you can put forth any marketing efforts? And when do you need some killer content ideas first to then team up with a designer? While every case varies, from new website proposals to social media strategy, the most powerful output comes when both the visionary and the wordsmith collaborate. The process is never linear, but a fluid conversion between both sides.

What Type of Content Needs Design

Sure, not all content marketing necessarily needs to have a complimentary design. For instance blogs, case studies, or newsletters are going to be, naturally, very word heavy, and the user isn’t expecting prominent visuals here. However, there are numerous opportunities to deliver content graphically – which many would argue is more effective than just words on a screen. Things like infographics, eBooks, and email campaigns, for example, are great strategies for transforming content.

Studies are finding that more and more people learn visually and rely heavily on icons and graphics to assist with interpreting information, which is why it’s so important to think about creative ways design and content can come together.

How to Find the Right Content

So you may be wondering where the best place to start is, and how to know what kind of content works best with the design. Here are a few tips to put forth this kind of marketing strategy:

Facts and figures: There’s certain content that can be inevitably kind of “dry.” Facts, figures, ‘how to’ manuals, etc. These are all excellent opportunities to ramp up your content and keep audiences engaged by presenting it visually. Designs could be anything from bar graphs, timelines, flow charts, and comparisons that illustrate the data. The idea is to break down something that could be more complex, or not very readable, into digestible pieces.

Look towards your audience: What kinds of questions do your consumers typically ask? Are they about price points? How to use a product? How do your services compare to Competitor X? Robust design can break down this information. Not only does it answer your commonly asked questions using a unique approach; it also makes information more accessible. For example, your customers may frequently ask for an average price estimate for a service – which isn’t something you advertise on your website. You could create a “cost comparison” chart between your services against, competitors, to make this price tag seem a little less daunting.

Jumping off points: If you’re still stuck, here are a few general ideas that make for great content/design immersion:

• How to Manuals
• How it Works
• Timelines
• Comparisons
• Service Features

A successful content marketing/design strategy only comes when both sides are involved. You may have found the information and verbiage you want to express, but only a seasoned designer can help you put what you want to say into visuals. The conversation is never one-sided, but instead a collaborative effort.

Want to learn more about design and marketing working together? Tune into Top Floor’s webinar Design and Marketing Working Together on September 14th to find out more!