When you’re running a small or growing brand, your marketing content can’t just look good - it needs to work hard. Every post, email, and product image should be doing something deliberate: attracting, nurturing, or converting customers.
A clear content strategy is what keeps that effort cohesive. It ties together your goals, budget, messaging, and creators, ensuring everything you share actually builds momentum toward your bigger business outcomes.
Step 1: Start with Strategy Before diving into the next campaign idea, pause and ask:What am I actually trying to achieve?
Your goal isn’t always sales (at least, not directly). It might be awareness, re-engagement, or converting a specific customer group. Knowing why you’re running a campaign and who you’re speaking to is how you make content that moves the needle.
Then, zoom out. Does this campaign connect to your overall brand direction? Is it aligned with your long-term growth goals, or just a one-off push? Every campaign should feel like a natural next chapter, not a new book.
Step 2: Define the Message and the Audience A single campaign can’t (and shouldn’t) speak to everyone. Be specific. Are you targeting:
Current customers who need to repurchase or try something new?New customers just discovering your brand?Lapsed customers who dropped off after their first experience?Or maybe a specific segment like skincare lovers or sustainable shoppers? Once you’ve defined who you’re speaking to, refine what you’re saying. If the audience is new, your focus might be storytelling and brand values. If they already know you, go tactical - showcase results, reviews, or new releases.
Each group needs a slightly different message, tone, and type of content to take the next step.
Step 3: Know Your Numbers It’s easy to get lost in creative ideas, but strategy lives or dies by numbers.
What’s your budget and what portion of it is going to gifting, campaign build, and broader marketing spend? What’s your ROI target , and how will you measure it? Which metrics matter most - reach, engagement, conversions, or content assets created? If you’re using #gifted, you can use in-platform metrics to track reach, engagement, and completed content. This data helps you see which creators are driving actual business results - not just likes.
Step 4: Allocate Budget for Maximum Impact Every dollar counts, so make sure you’re distributing spend where it delivers.
For example:
Use creator gifting to drive awareness and authenticity in the top of the funnel. Invest in paid ads to amplify your best-performing creator content mid-funnel. Use email and website content to reinforce social proof and seal the deal at the conversion stage. The smartest brands repurpose gifted content across multiple channels, doubling the ROI of every creator partnership.
And don’t forget your post-conversion strategy: sharing real customer experiences and reviews keeps the cycle going and builds long-term trust.
Step 5: Use #gifted to Strengthen Every Stage A strong content strategy doesn’t just use creators, it integrates them.
Top of Funnel (Awareness): Mid Funnel (Consideration): Bottom of Funnel (Conversion): Post Purchase (Loyalty): By allocating gifting strategically, you’re not just “doing influencer marketing” - you’re using creator partnerships to enhance your marketing mix, data, and ROI.
Step 6: Measure, Learn, and Evolve The best strategies are never static. Track your metrics, assess your performance, and refine.
Did awareness grow? Did engagement improve? Did sales lift when you used UGC in your ads or emails? Those insights tell you where to focus next and help shape future campaigns.
If you’re using #gifted, the built-in analytics make it easier to see what’s performing across your funnel. That clarity allows small teams to act like big ones. Quickly, strategically, and with data to back every move.
Recap: Strategy Is Your Compass At its core, a content strategy is your roadmap between effort and impact .
It’s how you:
Align campaigns with brand goals Speak to the right audience with the right message Spend your budget wisely Create authentic, conversion-ready content Measure results that matter Gifting plays an essential role in that mix- bringing authenticity, agility, and scalability that traditional production can’t match.
BOOK IN WITH A #GIFTED STRATEGIST
Image: freepix
