Why a 60‑Day Strategy That Actually Ships

You don’t need another thought-piece about “storytelling.” You need a content marketing strategy that aligns leadership, survives legal, uses your existing tools, and drives pipeline—fast. Expect pragmatic steps, clear outputs, and a plan that works across BUs and regions.

Enterprise content marketing breaks when teams are misaligned, approvals are slow, and content doesn’t move pipeline. This 60‑day content marketing strategy gives you a pragmatic, enterprise-ready plan that balances rigor and speed. You’ll align on OKRs, define your ICP and buyer journey, build messaging pillars, lock governance and a resourcing model, and launch with measurement dialed in: so content drives qualified demand, not just pageviews.

What a Content Marketing Strategy Includes (for Enterprises)

A content marketing strategy is a documented plan that defines your ICP and buyer journey, messaging pillars, governance, resources, and a channel/editorial roadmap to create, distribute, and measure content that drives pipeline. In enterprises, it adds RACI, compliance, localization, and integration with paid and sales enablement.

Core components to expect:

• OKRs tied to pipeline and influence (not just output)
• ICPs and buying committee; buyer journey mapping
• Messaging pillars with proof points and example assets
• Editorial calendar and channel mix across owned, earned, and paid
• Governance (RACI, legal/compliance SLAs, taxonomy/localization)
• Resourcing model and workflows
• Measurement plan (GA4, CRM, attribution, dashboards)

How it differs at enterprise scale:

• Multiple BUs/regions and languages
• Legal, privacy, and brand compliance requirements
• Longer buying committees and journeys
• The need for content operations, enablement content, and ABM alignment

The 60‑Day Content Strategy Roadmap

You’ll work in four two‑week sprints:

Sprint 1 (Days 1–14): Align & Assess
Sprint 2 (Days 15–30): Architect the System
Sprint 3 (Days 31–45): Plan & Produce
Sprint 4 (Days 46–60): Launch, Measure, Optimize

Sprint 1: Align & Assess (Days 1–14)

Goal: get everyone on the same page about outcomes, audience, and what’s broken today. This locks the foundation for a content marketing strategy that your org can actually ship.

Start by aligning the people who will make or break your content marketing strategy: Marketing leadership, PMM, Sales, RevOps, and Regional leads. Right away, run a focused working session to set OKRs that tie directly to pipeline, not output.

Write one clear objective and a handful of KRs that mix leading and lagging indicators. These become the north star for every decision you’ll make over the next eight weeks.

Example: Objective—Establish a content engine that drives qualified pipeline for ICP A and B in two regions. KRs—Publish six assets across two pillars; 80% of assets include SME quotes; +15% organic share of voice for 10 priority keywords; 20% lift in content‑sourced MQLs quarter‑over‑quarter; two sales enablement kits adopted by more than half of AEs.

What you’ll do during your Content Strategy Sprint 1:

Set OKRs that tie to revenue impact and pipeline

• Run a 60‑minute workshop with Marketing, PMM, Sales, and RevOps.
• Write one clear objective and 4–5 KRs that include leading and lagging metrics.

Example:

• Objective: Establish a content engine that drives qualified pipeline for ICP A and B in two regions.
• KRs (60‑day): Publish 6 assets across 2 pillars; 80% of assets include SME quotes; +15% organic SOV for 10 priority keywords; 20% lift in content‑sourced MQLs QoQ; 2 enablement kits adopted by >50% of AEs.

Set OKRs that tie to revenue impact:

Objective: Establish a content engine that drives qualified pipeline for ICP A and B in two regions.

KRs (60‑day): Publish 6 assets across 2 pillars; 80% of assets include SME quotes; +15% organic share of voice for 10 priority terms; 20% lift in content‑sourced MQLs quarter‑over‑quarter; 2 sales enablement kits adopted by >50% of AEs.

Define or validate ICPs and the buying committee

• Build or refine ICP cards: industry/segment, triggers, jobs‑to‑be‑done, objections, preferred channels.
• Identify buying committee roles: economic buyer, technical validator, user champion.

Create ICP cards with real buying triggers, objections, and preferred channels, and map the buying committee—economic buyer, technical validator, and user champion. Then translate that into a practical buyer journey. Document the questions each role asks at Problem, Explore, Evaluate, Validate, Decide, and Post‑purchase stages, and mark where your content falls short. For instance, if technical validators lack mid‑funnel validation, plan a migration guide and an AE talk track to unblock deals.

Quick template for each ICP

• Trigger: “Costs rising due to legacy tool sprawl.”
• Top questions by stage: “Risk of switching?” “Implementation timeline?” “Proof of ROI?”
• Channels: “Peer proof and technical guides perform best.”

For each role, document triggers, objections, and preferred channels.

Map the buyer journey and surface gaps

Examine the work you’ve already published. Inventory assets, score quality (A/B/C), tag by pillar and stage, and note reuse potential. Pair this with an SEO gap analysis to surface pillar/cluster opportunities and internal linking fixes, and a channel diagnostic to see which partners, communities, email touches, or social formats actually drive qualified traffic and demo starts.

Document stages: Problem → Explore → Evaluate → Validate → Decide → Post‑purchase.

Create a simple matrix (stages × questions × asset types × owner) to reveal gaps.

Example gap: No mid‑funnel validation content for technical validators → plan a technical guide + AE talk track.

Run audits and channel diagnostics

Content audit: inventory, quality score (A/B/C), reuse potential, and stage coverage.

SEO gap analysis: category terms, pillar/cluster opportunities, internal linking fixes, featured snippet targets.

Channel diagnostics: email, partner, social, and events—what actually moves qualified traffic and demo starts.

Baseline measurement and standards

Finally, baseline measurement. Connect GA4 to your CRM so demo requests and opportunity stages are captured reliably. Agree on your attribution approach—data‑driven (DDA) or position‑based—log the decision, and resist changing models mid‑quarter. Standardize a UTM taxonomy and share a template so every campaign is trackable from day one. If you operate in a regulated space, confirm data governance and disclosures before launch

Examples and templates

ICP card example

ICP A: Mid‑market IT leader; trigger = legacy tool costs; key question = “How do we reduce risk while migrating?” Content = technical guide + ROI calculator + case explainer.

Buyer‑journey mapping example

Evaluation stage for economic buyer → “What business outcomes have peers seen?” Asset = 2‑minute customer proof video + one‑pager with before/after metrics.

Outputs (end of Sprint 1)

• Content Strategy Brief v1 (goals, ICPs, journey, risks)
• OKR sheet
• ICP cards and journey map
• Content, SEO, and channel audit findings

If your inventory or analytics are incomplete, consider a content marketing audit.

Our team has the expertise in content marketing your organization demands. Make the most of your content program.

Sprint 2: Architect the System (Days 15–30)

Goal: design the content strategy framework—pillars, governance, and the resourcing model—so enterprise teams can produce at quality and speed.

Define 3–5 messaging pillars with proof

With alignment in place, design the content strategy framework that lets enterprise content teams produce at quality and speed. Start by codifying your messaging pillars—three to five narrative lanes that connect your category POV, product value, and customer outcomes.

Work with PMM and SMEs to draft pillars, add proof, and map example assets.

For example, “Risk‑Smart Modernization” could be proven by compliance outcomes, reduced migration risk, and peer benchmarks, with a pillar page, technical guide, ROI explainer, and AE talk track as core assets. A second pillar, “Efficiency at Scale,” might lean on time‑to‑value and TCO modeling, supported by a calculator, one‑pager, webinar, and analyst brief. Add a crisp customer insight to each pillar to anchor your story

What you’ll do during your Content Strategy Sprint 2:

Messaging Pillar examples:

Pillar: Risk‑Smart Modernization

• Proof points: compliance outcomes, lower migration risk, peer benchmarks.
• Example assets: pillar page, technical guide, ROI explainer, AE talk track.

Pillar: Efficiency at Scale

• Proof points: time‑to‑value, automation impact, TCO modeling.
• Example assets: calculator, one‑pager, webinar, analyst brief.

Stand up governance and content operations

Put governance on rails. Define a simple RACI so decisions are fast and visible: Responsible—Content Lead, SEO, Project Manager; Approver—VP Marketing; Consulted—Legal, PMM, Regional Leads; Informed—Sales, CS, Executives.

Establish SLAs and guardrails: legal/compliance review within five business days, a pre‑approved claims library, and an escalation path for tier‑one assets.

Lock a taxonomy so every asset is tagged by pillar, ICP, journey stage, product, and region in your DAM. Set localization rules: publish “golden source” English assets, then batch translations weekly with a regional nuance checklist. Capture editorial standards for voice, tone, accessibility (including alt text), inclusive language, and snippet style.

RACI for content governance

• Responsible: Content Lead, SEO, PM
• Approver: VP Marketing
• Consulted: Legal, PMM, Regional Leads
• Informed: Sales, CS, Execs

Choose your resourcing model

Choose a resourcing model that matches your operating reality. A centralized Center of Excellence maximizes consistency (great for regulated content) but can be capacity‑constrained. A hub‑and‑spoke model keeps standards in the center while embedding creators in BUs/regions for speed.

Many enterprises run an embedded + agency hybrid—augment with our team for capacity spikes or specialized skills like technical SEO, analyst‑grade thought leadership, or motion design—so quarter‑end goals don’t stall.

Document who briefs, who writes, and who approves.

Confirm content tooling and intake

Use a CMP/PM tool to manage workflow and approvals, a DAM for version control and rights, SEO tools for topic/cluster planning, and GA4/CRM dashboards for measurement. Standardize an intake brief that captures ICP, journey stage, pillar, target keyword, SME, claims, distribution plan, KPI, and timeline. Before you move on, dry‑run one hero asset through the system end‑to‑end to expose bottlenecks and create an expedited lane for executive‑sponsored or launch‑critical content.

Standard intake/brief includes: ICP, journey stage, pillar, target keyword, SME, claims, distribution plan, success metric, timeline.

Outputs (end of Sprint 2)

• Messaging matrix (pillars, proof points, mapped assets)
• RACI, workflow diagram, SLAs, and localization rules
• Resourcing plan and standardized templates (intake brief, editorial standards, taxonomy guide)
• Need help setting governance and pillars? Talk to us about your Enterprise Content Marketing program

Sprint 3: Plan & Produce

Goal: translate your system into a concrete plan, start building high‑leverage pillar/cluster content, and set distribution from day one. This is enterprise content marketing that moves mid‑funnel metrics, not just impressions.

Prioritize pillars and clusters

Now turn structure into pipeline. Prioritize two to three pillars for your first wave, and for each one, design a cluster that maps cleanly to the buyer journey and keywords.

A “Risk‑Smart Modernization” cluster might include an evergreen pillar hub that internal‑links to a technical migration guide (Validate/Evaluate), an ROI calculator for economic buyers, a concise customer proof story, and a webinar whose Q&A yields short video clips.

Build the editorial calendar

Build an editorial calendar that your teams can actually keep.

Plan eight to twelve weeks across owned, partner, social, and email with clear owners, SMEs, and review gates. A simple first month might look like:

Week 1—publish the pillar page and enable Sales with a one‑pager
Week 2—ship the technical guide and two LinkedIn posts plus a partner newsletter blurb
Week 3—release the customer proof story with internal talk tracks and the first nurture email
Week 4—launch the ROI calculator, send an analyst/PR note, and publish three short clips.

Bake accessibility checks and alt text into the workflow so compliance isn’t a scramble.

Kick off production with clear briefs

Each content brief should specify ICP, stage, pillar, target keyword, SME, allowed claims, distribution, KPI, and timeline. Limit to two content drafts before approval to protect schedules, and record a 20‑minute SME interview for each hero asset; reuse quotes across derivatives.

Set distribution and repurposing from the start

Plan distribution the same day you start writing: publish to the pillar hub and resource center, line up partner co‑marketing and relevant communities, and pre‑build six derivatives for every hero asset so repurposing is guaranteed, not aspirational.

Integrate paid and ABM

On LinkedIn, target by role, industry, and named accounts; use content as creative and retarget visitors to pillar pages with proof‑heavy assets. Enforce a UTM schema (source, medium, campaign, content variant, term) and set budget guardrails that optimize to cost‑per‑qualified‑visit and demo rate, not clicks. Sync with SDR sequences so accounts experience consistent messaging across ads, outreach, and the website.

Pre‑launch QA

Before launch, run content and technical QA—claims, brand, internal links, schema, meta, page speed, tracking events in GA4, and privacy disclosures.

Outputs (end of Sprint 3)

• Four to six priority assets in production with approved briefs
• Editorial calendar (next 8–12 weeks) with SMEs and review gates
• Distribution and amplification plan (owned, partner, paid) plus enablement kit outline
• Consider Content Marketing Implementation and a Paid Media Strategy/Playbook to accelerate lift

Sprint 4: Launch, Measure, Optimize

Goal: ship, enable sales, and create a simple optimization loop that improves performance weekly. This is where content operations and measurement prove value.

Launch sequence

Ship decisively and make the impact visible. Publish your pillar and cluster assets, verify tags and taxonomy, strengthen internal links, and submit key pages for indexing. Add schema and alt text, confirm localization rules were followed, and then enable the field: circulate sales playcards, objection‑handling cards, and talk tracks, and host a 30‑minute enablement session so AEs know exactly where and how to use the assets in live deals.

Build dashboards and define decision rules

Stand up dashboards that distinguish momentum from noise. Track leading indicators—qualified pageviews, CTR, scroll depth, content‑assisted demo requests, and engagement with enablement content—to steer near‑term optimization. Pair them with lagging indicators—content‑sourced pipeline, opportunities influenced, and win‑rate lift in content‑exposed accounts—to prove business value.

Configure GA4 and CRM views with weekly snapshots and annotate launches and paid shifts so trends are explainable. Choose your attribution model (DDA or position‑based), document why, and keep it stable for the quarter to avoid decision thrash.

Run a weekly optimization loop

Refresh headlines and meta to tighten intent alignment, add FAQs to capture People Also Ask, and reinforce internal linking across your pillar/cluster. Test CTAs and forms, and use heatmaps to fix friction on high‑value pages. In paid, A/B proof‑point‑driven creative and rebalance budget toward ads that deliver qualified visits and demos. Keep the content garden tidy: prune or consolidate low‑value pages and maintain a clean taxonomy.

Plan the next 60 days

Backlog the next pillars, regional adaptations, and derivative assets based on performance. Host a one‑hour retro to pinpoint what slowed approvals and what content moved deals, and schedule a quarterly governance council to keep standards current and unblock cross‑functional issues. When you’re ready to scale beyond the pilot, book a Content Marketing Strategy working session and we’ll help operationalize the model across BUs and regions.

Outputs (end of Sprint 4)

• Published pillar and cluster assets with enablement kits
• Live dashboards (leading and lagging KPIs)
• Documented optimization wins and next‑60‑day backlog
• Strong CTA: Book a Content Marketing Strategy working session

Enterprise Considerations and Pitfalls

At enterprise scale, content rarely fails because the writing is bad. It fails because governance is vague, resourcing is brittle, and incentives point in different directions. Here’s what typically breaks—and the fixes that keep your content marketing strategy shipping and creating pipeline.

Approvals sprawl and unclear ownership

What it looks like: drafts stall in inboxes; four versions of “final” circulate; legal feedback arrives after the launch window.

Fix it fast:

• Two‑speed governance: a “Tier 1” lane (thought leadership, high‑risk claims) with full reviews, and a “Fast Lane” for updates and enablement with pre‑approved language.
• RACI that names people, not departments, plus SLAs (legal review ≤5 business days) and a clear escalation path.
• A claims library and evidence pack per pillar so reviewers comment on accuracy, not wordsmithing.

Misaligned metrics (activity over impact)

What it looks like: teams celebrate publish counts while Sales sees no change in opportunity quality.

Fix it fast:

• A measurement contract that defines content‑sourced vs. influenced pipeline, “qualified visit,” and attribution model (DDA or position‑based). Keep it stable for the quarter.
• Dashboards that pair leading indicators (qualified pageviews, demo starts) with lagging ones (pipeline, opps influenced, win‑rate lift), so weekly optimizations don’t fight strategic goals.

Content silos and duplicate work

What it looks like: three similar whitepapers from different BUs; none become the “golden” reference.

Fix it fast:

• Appoint an owner for each messaging pillar; publish “golden source” assets and enforce reuse before net‑new. Target a reuse ratio (e.g., 1 hero → 6 derivatives).
• Standardize taxonomy/tagging (pillar, ICP, stage, region, product) in your DAM so teams can actually find and repurpose assets.

Region vs. global friction

What it looks like: translated copy that reads off‑brand; local teams bypass HQ because “it won’t work here.”

Fix it fast:

• Transcreation beats translation: keep the structure and proof points, swap examples, stats, and CTAs for local relevance.
• Weekly localization sprints using a regional nuance checklist, in‑market reviewers, and a do‑not‑translate terms list (feature names, regulated phrases).
• A “local proof pack” per pillar (customer quotes, compliance notes, pricing caveats) to accelerate approvals.

Capacity crunch and quarter‑end chaos

What it looks like: calendars slip the last two weeks of every quarter; SMEs vanish before approvals.

Fix it fast:

• Choose an explicit resourcing model (CoE, hub‑and‑spoke, or embedded + agency hybrid) and publish who briefs/writes/approves by asset tier.
• Pre‑book SME time during planning; record 20‑minute interviews and treat transcripts as reusable source material.
• Use an agency partner to flex for peak loads or specialized skills without adding headcount mid‑quarter.

Sales adoption risk

What it looks like: new content never appears in calls; AEs can’t find the “right” deck.

Fix it fast:

• Ship content with enablement: talk tracks, objection‑handling cards, and a 15‑minute live demo of when to use what.
• Map every asset to a conversation moment in the buyer journey and add it to SDR/AE sequences and your enablement tool.
• Track adoption: views, shares, and assisted opps for content exposed to target accounts.

Tool sprawl and process theater

What it looks like: five tools, three spreadsheets, and no single source of truth; workflows exist but nobody follows them.

Fix it fast:

• One intake form, one Kanban, one DAM. Integrate GA4/CRM once; document events and UTMs in the brief template.
• A 90‑day adoption plan with training, office hours, and “what good looks like” examples; deprecate unused tools ruthlessly.

Compliance and privacy traps

What it looks like: last‑minute redlines for claims or consent; region‑specific disclaimers missing.

Fix it fast:

• Involve Legal early; label assets by risk and attach the claims/evidence pack to every brief.
• Maintain disclosure microcopy by region and auto‑insert via your CMS; verify tracking/consent events in QA.

How to keep it all working quarter after quarter

• Quarterly governance council: Chair = VP Marketing; Members = Head of Content, PMM, Legal, Regional Lead, Sales Ops. Agenda: SLA performance, taxonomy drift, pillar roadmaps, risk decisions, and “what to sunset.”
• Operating rhythm: weekly standup for active assets; monthly pillar performance review; quarterly retro on approvals and outcomes.
• Hygiene metrics: review SLA adherence, reuse ratio per pillar, percent of assets shipped with enablement, and “time from brief to first pipeline touch.”

If two or more of these pitfalls sound familiar, start with governance and resourcing. We can help design the two‑speed approval model, set up your claims library and taxonomy, and stand up the operating cadence so content ships on time and impacts pipeline. Talk to us about your organization’s Content Marketing program and how we can help build a strategy that meets your target effectively.

FAQs about Building An Enterprise Content Strategy