| name | cts - Content Strategy |
| description | Develop and execute content strategy that attracts, engages, and converts |
| output | {"format":"prose"} |
Content Strategy
Input: $ARGUMENTS
Interpretations
Before executing, identify which interpretation matches the user's input:
Interpretation 1 — Build a content strategy from scratch: The user is starting content marketing efforts and needs the full pipeline: goals, audience research, pillars, calendar, and distribution plan.
Interpretation 2 — Fix or revamp an existing strategy: The user already produces content but it is not performing — they need an audit of what exists, identification of gaps, and a revised approach.
Interpretation 3 — Plan content for a specific campaign or launch: The user has a time-bound goal (product launch, event, seasonal push) and needs a focused content plan to support it.
If ambiguous, ask: "I can help with building a content strategy from scratch, revamping an underperforming one, or planning content for a specific campaign — which fits?"
If clear from context, proceed with the matching interpretation.
Overview
Develop and execute content strategy that attracts, engages, and converts
Steps
Step 1: Define content goals and success metrics
Align content goals with business objectives:
Goal types to consider:
- Awareness: Reach new audience, build brand recognition
- Engagement: Build relationships, grow community
- Conversion: Generate leads, drive trials, close sales
- Retention: Keep existing customers engaged and loyal
For each goal, define SMART metrics:
- Specific: What exactly are we measuring?
- Measurable: How will we track it?
- Achievable: Is the target realistic?
- Relevant: Does it tie to business outcomes?
- Time-bound: By when?
Examples:
- "Increase organic traffic by 50% in 6 months"
- "Generate 100 email subscribers per month"
- "Achieve 5% conversion rate from content to trial"
Step 2: Research and define target audience
Build detailed audience understanding:
Demographics and firmographics:
- Who are they? (role, company, industry)
- What decisions do they make?
- What budget/authority do they have?
Psychographics and behaviors:
- What do they care about?
- What problems do they have?
- What content do they already consume?
- Where do they spend time online?
- How do they prefer to learn?
Create audience personas:
- 2-3 detailed profiles of ideal readers
- Include goals, challenges, objections
- Map content preferences per persona
Research methods:
- Customer interviews (use customer_discovery procedure)
- Sales team insights
- Support ticket analysis
- Competitor audience analysis
- Social media listening
Step 3: Audit existing content
Inventory and assess current content assets:
Catalog all content:
- Blog posts and articles
- Guides and ebooks
- Videos and podcasts
- Social media content
- Email sequences
- Documentation
Assess each piece:
- Traffic and engagement metrics
- SEO rankings and backlinks
- Conversion performance
- Content quality and accuracy
- Brand alignment
Categorize for action:
- Keep: Performing well, still relevant
- Update: Good foundation, needs refresh
- Consolidate: Multiple pieces on same topic
- Remove: Outdated, low quality, or off-brand
Identify gaps:
- Topics not covered
- Funnel stages missing content
- Formats not utilized
Step 4: Establish content pillars
Define 3-5 core themes for all content:
What makes a good pillar:
- Broad enough to generate many topics
- Specific enough to build authority
- Aligned with business expertise
- Relevant to audience needs
- Differentiated from competitors
Pillar selection process:
- List potential themes from audience research
- Map themes to business capabilities
- Assess competitive landscape per theme
- Prioritize based on opportunity and fit
- Select 3-5 pillars to focus on
For each pillar:
- Define the scope and boundaries
- Identify sub-topics to cover
- Determine content formats that work best
- Set expertise level (beginner to advanced)
Example pillars for project management software:
- Team productivity and collaboration
- Project planning and execution
- Remote work best practices
- Engineering leadership
Step 5: Build topic backlog and prioritize
Research and prioritize topics within pillars:
Topic sources:
- Keyword research (search volume, difficulty, intent)
- Audience questions (from interviews, support, sales)
- Competitive analysis (what's working for others)
- Trend monitoring (emerging topics in your space)
- Internal expertise (unique insights to share)
For each topic, assess:
- Search demand (volume and trends)
- Competition (difficulty to rank)
- Business relevance (ties to product/service)
- Audience value (how much they care)
- Expertise fit (can you add unique value)
Prioritization matrix:
- High demand + low competition = Quick wins
- High demand + high competition = Strategic investments
- Low demand + low competition = Niche opportunities
- Low demand + high competition = Avoid
Build backlog with 3-6 months of topics prioritized.
Step 6: Create content calendar
Plan content production schedule:
Determine sustainable cadence:
- What can you produce consistently long-term?
- Quality > quantity always
- Better to do less well than more poorly
Typical cadences:
- Blog: 1-4 posts per week
- Newsletter: Weekly or bi-weekly
- Social: Daily to 3x per week
- Video: Weekly to monthly
- Podcast: Weekly to monthly
Calendar structure:
- Quarterly: Themes and major campaigns
- Monthly: Specific topics and formats
- Weekly: Production schedule and assignments
For each content piece:
- Topic and working title
- Content pillar it belongs to
- Funnel stage (awareness/consideration/decision)
- Format and length
- Target keyword
- Author/creator
- Publish date
- Distribution channels
- Status tracking
Build in flexibility for timely content and adjustments.
Step 7: Establish creation and quality process
Define workflow for content production:
Content brief template:
- Topic and title
- Target audience persona
- Goal and key message
- Target keyword and search intent
- Key points to cover
- Competitor content to beat
- Internal links to include
- Call to action
- Format and target length
Creation process:
- Research topic thoroughly
- Create detailed outline
- Write first draft
- Edit for clarity, value, and voice
- Add visuals and formatting
- Optimize for SEO
- Review and approve
- Schedule publication
Quality checklist:
- Does it provide genuine value?
- Is it better than existing content on the topic?
- Is it actionable (reader can do something)?
- Is it well-structured and scannable?
- Is it accurate and well-researched?
- Is it on-brand in voice and style?
- Is it optimized for target keyword?
Set up review process with clear ownership.
Step 8: Define distribution strategy
Plan how content will reach audience:
Owned channels (you control):
- Website/blog
- Email list
- Social media profiles
- App/product
- Community
Earned channels (others share):
- Social shares and virality
- Backlinks from other sites
- PR and media coverage
- Guest posting opportunities
- Podcast appearances
Paid channels (you pay for reach):
- Social media ads
- Search ads
- Sponsored content
- Influencer partnerships
- Content syndication
Repurposing strategy:
- Create once, distribute many times
- Long-form guide becomes blog series, social posts,
infographic, email course, webinar, podcast episode
For each content piece, define:
- Primary distribution channel
- Secondary channels
- Repurposing plan
- Promotion timeline
- Paid amplification (if any)
Step 9: Implement measurement and optimization
Set up tracking and review process:
Metrics by goal:
Awareness metrics:
- Traffic (total, by source, by content)
- Impressions and reach
- New vs returning visitors
- Brand mention tracking
Engagement metrics:
- Time on page
- Pages per session
- Scroll depth
- Social engagement (shares, comments)
- Email open and click rates
Conversion metrics:
- Email signups
- Lead generation
- Trial starts
- Sales attribution
SEO metrics:
- Keyword rankings
- Organic traffic growth
- Backlinks acquired
- Domain authority
Review cadence:
- Weekly: Quick metrics check
- Monthly: Performance review and adjustments
- Quarterly: Strategy review and planning
Optimization process:
- Identify top and bottom performers
- Analyze what's working and why
- Update underperforming content
- Double down on winning formats/topics
- Iterate on strategy based on data
Anti-Cached-Strategy Check
Content strategy is the domain most vulnerable to cached takes — every strategy ends up recommending the same pillars, the same calendar, the same "create valuable content" advice. Run these checks before delivering:
- Pillar originality: Are the recommended content pillars actually specific to THIS business, or could they apply to any company in the industry? "Thought leadership" and "industry insights" are not pillars — they're placeholders. A real pillar names the specific angle this company owns.
- Recommendation specificity: For each recommendation, ask: would I give this same advice to their competitor? If yes, it's a cached take. Strategy that doesn't differentiate isn't strategy — it's a template.
- Calendar substance: Is the content calendar organized around genuine editorial thinking, or just filling slots? "Monday: educational, Wednesday: engagement, Friday: fun" is false structure. Each planned piece should have a reason beyond "it's Tuesday."
- Metric defaults: Are the recommended metrics the standard list (traffic, engagement, conversions) or do they measure what actually matters for THIS business's specific goals?
- "Best practices" audit: Flag every instance of "best practice" or "industry standard." These are cached takes by definition. Replace with specific, evidence-backed recommendations or honest "we don't know yet, test this."
When to Use
- Building an audience for a product or service
- Establishing thought leadership in a domain
- Starting or revamping content marketing efforts
- When organic traffic and SEO are strategic priorities
- Building trust with potential customers before purchase
- Creating assets that compound over time (evergreen content)
- When paid acquisition costs are unsustainable alone
- Differentiating through expertise demonstration
Verification
- Content strategy is tied to specific business goals
- Audience is defined with real data, not assumptions
- Content pillars are focused and differentiated
- Calendar is realistic and sustainable long-term
- Every piece has clear purpose and distribution plan
- Measurement tracks business outcomes, not vanity metrics
- Quality standards are defined and consistently applied
