How to write a content marketing mission statement

You’ve heard of a business mission statement – but have you also heard of a content marketing mission statement?

This is an important piece of text that should head up your content strategy.

Outlining your content marketing mission statement will give your content efforts a greater purpose. It will drive you toward a specific direction that aligns with your goals and the impact you want to create.

Needless to say, it’s really important to know how to create this special mission statement. Crafting it should be one of the first things you do when you build a content strategy.

Let’s dive into all the details.

What is a content marketing mission statement?

A content marketing mission statement is a short statement that describes the overarching purpose of your content marketing efforts and activities.

This statement answers the question: What do you want your content marketing to achieve overall for your business and your audience?

• What kind of content (format + topics) will you become known for?
• Why will you be creating this content?
• How will it benefit your audience?

A content marketing mission statement can act as the banner or guiding light your team follows to ensure every action you take in the name of your content stays true to your brand values and your audience.

And if you’re confused about the difference between your business mission statement and your content marketing mission statement, think of it this way:

Your business mission statement explains the reason why your brand exists. Your content marketing mission statement explains why you’re doing content marketing.

Why should you create a content marketing mission statement?

Creating a content marketing mission statement is key to building a content strategy. And without a content strategy, your content efforts are much more likely to fall flat.

Up to 78% of marketers who reported their marketing was very successful also reported having a documented content strategy, according to a Semrush survey.

“Documented” just means “written down somewhere.” That distinction is important. You can talk about strategy all day, but recording it makes it real and present. 

With a document in hand, you have something substantial to reference and follow, an agreed-upon set of guidelines versus the idea of that strategy floating around without form or function.

To sum up, your content marketing mission statement sets the purpose of your content marketing overall. (Without that purpose, your strategy will be aimless.) It can guide:

• The types of content you create.
• The kinds of stories you tell.
• Your goals for content marketing.

And once you write that mission statement down, it becomes a solid, shared, agreed-upon guideline your whole team can follow and unite around.

How to write a content marketing mission statement in 3 steps

There are three major components to writing a content marketing mission statement: target audience, topic area and benefits.

1. Know your target audience

Who are you creating content for? You must know this before crafting your content marketing mission statement.

In a nutshell, these are the people who will get the most value and benefit from your content. 

They’re not necessarily people who know your product or service exists or have a pressing need. Instead, your content audience includes people with information needs you can meet. They’re the people your brand can help with expert knowledge.

For some of these people, enough nurturing and positive experiences with your content might eventually lead to them becoming your customers. That’s what content marketing does – but it’s not the point of your content marketing mission statement.

So, when you think about your audience, keep it focused on who needs your content and who’s missing the unique expertise of your brand.

2. Find your topic areas and content formats of focus

Next, determine what information you’ll share in your content.

The intersection of the brand expertise (your unique mix of knowledge + experience) and what your audience wants is the sweet spot to find:

• Brand expertise: What do you sell? Why are you qualified to sell it? What knowledge/experience do you have about what you sell that sets you apart? What topics are tied to what you sell? Which of these topics are you most passionate about as a brand and align with your values?
• What your audience wants: What does your audience want to know within your topic area(s)? What problems and questions are they concerned with? What do they need to learn to meet their goals? What knowledge gaps do they have?

After you narrow down your topic areas, you should also outline the main content formats you’ll focus on. This shows how you’ll deliver the information your audience wants.

Blog posts are a given, but what form will those take? Tips and advice? Helpful guides? Step-by-step tutorials? Ideas and inspiration? Stories?

Consider other formats, too, beyond blogs. Videos. Podcasts. Original research. Interviews with experts.

For example, my brand delivers value through content through weekly blog posts, bi-weekly podcast episodes, and bi-weekly videos.

3. Explain how you help your audience using content

It’s time to combine items 1 and 2 to craft your content marketing mission statement.

How do you help your unique audience with your unique content? What benefits will your potential reader get from the information you’ll provide?

Explain the biggest benefit(s) as simply as possible. Consider what will make your content different from what’s already out there and how you’ll deliver value differently.

Here’s a formula for how to state your content marketing mission:

• We help [audience] by providing [type of content] to help them [goal they want to achieve/benefit].

For example, “We help small business entrepreneurs by providing insightful financial tips and advice to help them manage their businesses better and reach their career dreams.”

Need some real-life examples of how other brands have crafted their content mission statements? Here are seven of them.

Canva

• “Achieve your design goals with Canva’s in-depth articles and resources.”

The Kitchn

• “Inspiring cooks and nourishing homes through daily recipes, tips, kitchen design, and shopping guides.”

OpenForum

• “Insights, inspiration, and connections to grow your business.”

Harvard Business Review

• “Find new ideas and classic advice on strategy, innovation and leadership, for global leaders from the world’s best business and management experts.”

WordStream

• “WordStream is your go-to resource for digital marketing tips and strategies to help you learn, grow, and succeed.”

NerdWallet

• “Millions of people turn to the Nerds to find the best credit cards, up their credit score, land the perfect mortgage and so much more.”

Apartment Therapy

• “Lifestyle and interior design community sharing design lessons, DIY how-tos, shopping guides and expert advice for creating a happy, beautiful home.”

Write your content marketing mission statement with confidence

Your content marketing mission statement is a guiding sentence that gives your content efforts a deeper purpose. 

You’re not just creating content to increase leads or get more traffic – you’re creating content to help a specific type of person reach a specific goal with your brand’s unique mix of knowledge and expertise.

And, when you write down your content mission and share it with your team, that’s a uniting factor that will give everything you do more purpose.

Rally around your content mission, rely on it as you build your content strategy, and return to it as you create content and execute your plan. In turn, it will help guide you toward the results you want.